Chemical composition and antifungal activity of essential oil from Origanum vulgare against Botrytis cinerea.

In this study, the chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) of Origanum vulgare was characterized, and the antifungal activity of the EO and some individual components against Botrytis cinerea (Y-BC-1) was determined. Twenty-one components were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, constituting 95.7% of the EO. The major components were methyleugenol (16.5%), myristicin (15.6%), carvacrol (15.0%), thymol (9.8%), apioline (9.4%), and (Z)-ß-farnesene (8.7%). B. cinerea in vitro mycelial growth and spore germination were strongly inhibited by the EO and two of its main components, thymol and carvacrol. In vivo vapor contact assays, the antifungal activity of the EO at 250 mg/L suppressed the decay of cherry tomatoes 96.39%. Moreover, thymol and carvacrol at 125 mg/L completely suppressed the gray mold. Thus, the EO of O. vulgare is a potentially nontoxic and ecofriendly botanical fungicide for postharvest control of gray mold.

Comparison of perioperative outcomes of robotic-assisted versus video-assisted thoracoscopic right upper lobectomy in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) has been widely used in the treatment of lung cancer. The perioperative outcomes of right upper lobectomy (RUL) using RATS and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) were retrospectively investigated and compared. We aimed to summarize a single-center experience of RATS and 4-port unidirectional VATS in RUL, and to discuss the safety and the essentials of the surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the 685 with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who underwent minimally invasive RUL in our center by the same surgical group from January 2015 to December 2019. Both RATS and VATS were performed with three ports with utility incision. The 685 participants were divided into RATS (335 cases) and VATS (350 cases) groups according to surgical method. Baseline characteristics and perioperative outcomes including dissected lymph nodes, postoperative duration of drainage, postoperative hospital stay, and incidence of postoperative complications were compared between the groups. RESULTS: In the 685 patients enrolled, the baseline characteristics were comparable, and no postoperative 30-day mortality or intraoperative blood transfusion were observed. Compared with VATS, RATS had less surgical duration (90.22±12.16 vs. 92.68±12.26 min, P<0.001), less length of stay (4.71±1.37 vs. 5.26±1.56 days, P<0.001), and decreased postoperative duration of drainage (3.49±1.15 vs. 4.09±1.57 days, P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in the lymph nodes dissection, blood loss, conversion rate and morbidities. The cost of RATS was much higher than VATS (85,329.41±12,893.44 vs. 68,733.43±14,781.32 CNY, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Robot assisted RUL had similar perioperative outcomes compared to VATS RUL lobectomy using similar three port with utility incision technique. The advantages of RATS included finer dissection of lymph node, relatively less operation time, earlier chest tube removal and discharge.

SUVmax of 18FDG PET/CT Predicts Histological Grade of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between the 18FDG PET-CT maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) and the type of lung adenocarcinoma is still not established. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between SUVmax value and histological grade and pathological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, and to determine the optimum SUVmax cutoffs for distinguishing different histological grades. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data of 618 lung adenocarcinoma patients were retrospectively analyzed. The relationship between SUVmax measured on preoperative 18FDG-PET-CT and the histological grade and pathological subtype was examined. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare differences among groups, and the Bonferroni-Dunn test for pairwise comparison among groups. ROC analysis was applied to determine the optimal cut-off values for distinguishing different groups. In addition, the cut-off value was verified in an independent cohort of 85 consecutive lung adenocarcinoma cases. RESULTS: The SUVmax was significantly different between the low, intermediate, and high-grade groups(p < .001). SUVmax value increased with increase in the degree of malignancy. The optimal cut-off value for identifying low-grade tumors was 2.01 (sensitivity 90.4%, specificity 86.9%, area under the curve [AUC] = 0.928, 95% confidence interval: 0.91-0.95; p < .001). The optimal cutoff SUVmax value for identifying high-grade tumors was 7.41 (sensitivity 79.8%, specificity 73.5%, AUC = 0.830, 95% confidence interval: 0.79-0.87; p < .001). The validation experiment showed that the coincidence rate was 88.89% in the low-level group, 64.15% in the middle-level group, and 78.57% in the high-level group. CONCLUSION: SUVmax can be used to predict pathological subtype and histological grade of lung adenocarcinoma. Thus, 18FDG PET-CT can serve as a noninvasive tool for precise diagnosis and help in the preoperative formulation of patient-specific treatment strategies.

Treatment of stage III non-small cell lung cancer in the era of immunotherapy: pathological complete response to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and chemotherapy.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. The expected 5-year survival of stage III NSCLC ranges from 13% to 36% for stage III. Due to the heterogeneity and poor efficacy of stage III patients, there is great controversy on how to optimize the therapy strategy. Immunotherapy is providing better clinical efficacy to more NSCLC patients, and is rapidly extending its range of care from advanced stage to locally advanced stage and early stage NSCLC. Due to the patient's strong treatment intention, drug availability, and a few encouraging results from clinical trials (NADIM, NCT02716038, etc.), the authors observed a case of stage III NSCLC that achieved complete remission after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy. In view of such a satisfactory result in neoadjuvant therapy, this article discusses how comprehensive treatment for stage III NSCLC patients may be conducted and the manner in which various therapeutic techniques can be mastered in the era of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy has opened the exploratory space for finding resolutions to numerous challenges of treating stage III NSCLC. Further clinical studies and exploration of personalized treatment, guided by imaging data, and clinical and pathological biomarkers are imperative for the benefit of these patients.

[Chemical composition and allelopathic potential of essential oil isolated from Origanum vulgare]. / ç‰›è‡³æŒ¥å‘æ²¹çš„åŒ–å­¦æˆåˆ†åŠå ¶åŒ–æ„Ÿä½œç”¨.

This study aimed to explore the chemical composition of essential oil isolated from Origanum vulgare and investigated its allelopathic potential. The essential oil isolated by hydro-distillation from the whole plant of O. vulgare was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Fourteen different components were identified, constituting 93.56% of the total area of peaks. The major components were methyleugenol (16.5%), myristicin (15.6%), carvacrol (15.0%), thymol (9.8%), and apioline (9.4%). We examined the inhibitory effects of essential oil on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum), mung bean (Vigna radiata), and radish (Raphanus sativus). The results showed that essential oil of O. vulgare inhibited seed germination of all tested crops, with wheat being the most susceptible, followed by radish and mung bean. The inhibitory effects of essential oil on growth of the aboveground part of tested crops were greater than that of underground part. The inhibitory effects of essential oil on the seedling length of all tested crops increased in a dose-dependent manner, with the same pattern for radicle length of wheat and radish as well. Meanwhile, essential oil could stimulate radicle growth of V. radiata at low concentration, but inhibit the growth at high concentration. Our results confirmed the existence of allelochemicals in the essential oil of O. vulgare. However, what the compounds will be and how about their allelopathic mechanism needs further investigation.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a rare form of non-small cell lung carcinoma. The current study focused on its clinicopathological features and potential factors influencing the prognosis. METHODS: The statistical analysis was based on the clinicopathological records and the prognosis of 43 LELC patients, analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, Log-rank test, and COX regression analysis. RESULTS: The patients' average age was 57.35±9.22 years, 86.05% of them were non-smokers and 53.49% were women. The average tumor diameter was 3.24±1.57 cm. The 2- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of LELC patients were 90% and 74%, respectively; the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 87% and 47%, respectively. The patients with large tumor, accompanied with lymph nodes metastasis or at the advanced stage had the worst OS, and the patients with lymph nodes metastasis or at the advanced stage had the worst DFS. Univariate analysis indicated that T and N grading and TNM stage influenced the OS, and N grading and TNM stage influenced the DFS; the independent factors affecting OS or DFS were not identified by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: LELC commonly occurred in senior non-smoking women. In summary, the prognosis of LELC was satisfactory.

Mediastinal transposition of the omentum reduces infection severity and pharmacy cost for patients undergoing esophagectomy.

BACKGROUND: The greater omentum has been found to be immunologically competent in protecting abdominal organs from inflammation. Anastomotic omentoplasty has been used and proven effective in preventing anastomotic leaks after an esophagectomy. However, pulmonary complications are still a substantial problem after an esophagectomy. This study investigated the benefits of mediastinal transposition of the omentum, a modification of the conventional omental wrapping technique, in controlling overall postoperative intrathoracic complications. METHODS: From January 2010 to March 2015, 208 consecutive patients receiving an open Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. One hundred twenty-one patients with omentum mediastinal transposition were assigned to the transposition group and 87 patients without omental transposition were placed in the non-transposition group. The patients' demographics, postoperative short-term outcomes, and in-hospital cost were documented and analyzed. RESULTS: Mediastinal transposition of the omentum led to a shorter postoperative hospital stay (14 vs. 16 d, P=0.038) and a lower intrathoracic infection rate (30.6% vs. 48.3%, P=0.009). Intrathoracic infection was milder in the transposition group (P=0.005), though a non-significant was found in overall complications (P=0.071). The multivariate logistic regression analyses identified omentum mediastinal transposition (P=0.007, OR=0.415) as an independent protective factor for postoperative intrathoracic infection. The total in-hospital cost was comparable in both groups (P>0.05), whereas the pharmacy cost was lower in the transposition group than in the non-transposition group (¥21,668 vs. ¥27,012, P=0.010). CONCLUSIONS: Mediastinal transposition of the omentum decreases the rate and severity of postoperative intrathoracic infection following an open Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy. This result in decreased pharmacy costs, rather than resulting in an increased economic burden sustained by surgical patients.

Association between the TERT Genetic Polymorphism rs2853676 and Cancer Risk: Meta-Analysis of 76,108 Cases and 134,215 Controls.

BACKGROUND: Several recent studies have identified that the TERT genetic polymorphism rs2853676 is associated with cancer risk, but presented inconsistent results. We investigated these inconclusive results by performing a meta-analysis to systematically evaluate the association. METHODS: We conducted a search in PubMed, Google Scholar and ISI Web of Science to select studies on the association between TERT rs2853676 and cancer risk. We conducted a stratified analysis using cancer type, ethnicity and source of controls. We calculated the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Article quality, heterogeneity, sensitivity, publication bias and statistical power were also assessed. RESULTS: 26 articles covering 76,108 cases and 134,215 controls met our inclusion criteria. A significant association between TERT rs2853676 allele A and cancer susceptibility was demonstrated under a per-allele risk analysis (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04-1.13). Stratification analysis revealed an increased cancer risk in subgroups of glioma, lung cancer and ovarian cancer. No significant increase was found in melanoma, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer. In a subgroup analysis of lung cancer, a statistically significant increase was only observed in adenocarcinoma. Moreover, a stratified analysis performed for ethnic groups revealed that the significant increase was only observed in Caucasians, whereas a non-significant increase was found in Asians. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that the TERT genetic polymorphism rs2853676 is associated with increased risk of glioma, lung adenocarcinoma and ovarian cancer among Caucasians. Further functional studies are warranted to validate this association and investigate further.

ECMO-assisted esophagectomy after left pneumonectomy.

BACKGROUND: Esophagectomy after pneumonectomy has been rarely reported, mainly due to the technical difficulty in performing this surgical approach. Conventional intubation to the contralateral respiratory passage is technically challenging, while the homolateral respiratory tract is absent, making oxygenation impossible. METHODS: To overcome this problem, we used venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) which can help achieve gas exchange despite the collapsed lung and provide a clear unobstructed surgical field for esophagectomy. RESULTS: We obtained satisfactory outcomes with VA ECMO in our treated patient. CONCLUSIONS: This technique may be an excellent option for the treatment of complex situations such as esophagectomy after pneumonectomy.