Evaluation of HE4 in the Diagnosis and Follow Up of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of HE4 in the diagnosis and follow up in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Serum levels of HE4, CEA, and Cyfra 21-1 were analyzed in 146 patients suspected with NSCLC and 30 healthy subjects to evaluate their diagnostic performance. A one year follow up was performed in 61 patients confirmed with NSCLC after surgery eradication at the interval of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. RESULTS: Our results showed that the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of HE4 was 0.761, which was similar with CEA. The sensitivity and specificity of HE4 was 0.82 and 0.62, respectively, at the level of 75.0 pmol/L. The AUC of HE4 was 0.70, 0.81, and 0.90 at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery, respectively, which was significantly higher than CEA and Cyfra 21-1. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding indicates that HE4 is a potential marker for the diagnosis and follow up of NSCLC patients, which is complementary with CEA and Cyfra 21-1 and accurate in predicting NSCLC recurrence in early stage.

MicroRNA-137-regulated AKT serine/threonine kinase 2 inhibits tumor growth and sensitizes cisplatin in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

The present study investigated the role of microRNA-137-regulated AKT serine/threonine kinase 2 (AKT2) on tumor growth and cisplatin sensitivity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The results demonstrated that the expression of microRNA-137 in cisplatin-treated NSCLC patient tissue samples was markedly lower than that in healthy tissue samples. The disease-free survival and overall survival rates of patients with NSCLC exhibiting a high microRNA-137 expression were higher than the survival rates of patients with NSCLC exhibiting a low expression of microRNA-137. Overexpression of microRNA-137 inhibited the proliferation of A549 and H520 cells treated with cisplatin. Overexpression of miR-137 suppressed the protein expression of AKT2, increased caspase-3 activity, increased Bax protein expression and suppressed Cyclin D1 protein expression in A549 and H520 cells treated with cisplatin. MK2206, an AKT2 inhibitor, inhibited AKT2 protein expression and suppressed the proliferation of A549 and H520 cells treated with cisplatin following overexpression of miR-137. The inhibition of AKT2 also increased caspase-3 activity and Bax protein expression, and suppressed Cyclin D1 protein expression in A549 and H520 cells treated with cisplatin following overexpression of miR-137. Taken together, the results of the present study suggested that microRNA-137-regulated AKT2 inhibits tumor growth and sensitizes cisplatin in patients with NSCLC.

Giant liposarcoma of the esophagus: A case report.

Liposarcomas rarely develop in the aerodigestive tract. Here, we present a primary esophageal liposarcoma that was discovered between the T3 and T7 levels of the esophagus during right pleural exploration of a 51-year-old male patient. The patient had presented with non-specific symptoms, including progressive dysphagia over the previous 6 mo, without complaints of chest or epigastric pain, regurgitation, or weight loss. A radical three-hole esophagectomy was performed. The tumor was extremely large (14 cm × 7.0 cm × 6.5 cm), but completely encapsulated. Upon histological examination, the tumor was diagnosed as a giant, well-differentiated esophageal liposarcoma with a dedifferentiated component. Non-specific radiological and endoscopic results during the clinical work-up delayed diagnosis until post-operative histology was performed. In this report, the clinical, radiological and endoscopic diagnostic challenges specific to the case are discussed, as well as the surgical and pathological findings.