Search

Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the predominant type of esophageal cancer and most clinically curable patients are diagnosed with locally advanced disease. While the efficacy of preoperative treatment is relatively clear and well characterized, the effect of postoperative treatment, especially postoperative chemotherapy, remains controversial, and its role in the treatment strategy is obscure. We conducted an updated meta‐analysis to include recent developments. Methods A comprehensive search in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases was performed to identify studies published from the inception of each database to February 2018. The overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS) rates of patients treated with and without postoperative chemotherapy were analyzed and compared. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the associations between postoperative chemotherapy and patient survival. Potential publication bias was assessed using Egger's line regression test. Results A total of nine studies, including three randomized controlled trials and six retrospective studies, were retrieved from the databases, comprising a total of 1684 cases. The results showed that postoperative chemotherapy could improve OS (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.66–0.91; P = 0.002) and DFS (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.6–0.86; P < 0.001). Conclusions The current meta‐analysis supports postoperative chemotherapy as an independent favorable prognostic factor for ESCC, which could improve both OS and DFS.

Background Histone H3 lysine 4 methylation (H3K4 methylation), including mono‐methylation (H3K4me1), di‐methylation (H3K4me2), or tri‐methylation (H3K4me3), is one of the epigenetic modifications to histone proteins, which are related to the transcriptional activation of genes. H3K4 methylation has both tumor inhibiting and promoting effects, and the prognostic value of H3K4 methylation in cancer remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to examine the association between H3K4 methylation and cancer prognosis. Methods A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Embase, and Ovid databases was conducted to identify studies investigating the association between H3K4 methylation and prognosis of patients with malignant tumors. The data and characteristics of each study were extracted, and the hazard ratio (HR) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to estimate the effect. Results A total of 1474 patients in 10 studies were enrolled in this meta‐analysis. The pooled HR of 1.52 (95% CI 1.02–2.26) indicated that patients with a lower level of H3K4me2 expression were expected to have shorter overall survival, while the pooled HR of 0.45 (95% CI 0.27–0.74) indicated that patients with a lower level of H3K4me3 expression were expected to have longer overall survival. Conclusion This meta‐analysis indicates that increased H3K4me3 expression and decreased H3K4me2 expression might be predictive factors of poor prognosis in cancer. Further large cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.

In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of baseline computed tomography (CT) signs and postoperative TN stages on survival of patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with preoperative chemotherapy. Consecutive patients (n = 130) with preoperative chemotherapy and radical esophagectomy from January 2006 to December 2011 were enrolled in this study retrospectively. Pathological T and N stages were confirmed by surgery. Baseline CT signs of tumor length, tumor thickness, outer membrane features, total number of lymph node (tLN), short diameter of the largest lymph node (SDL), and clinical T and N stages were measured. Eight-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were estimated using Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to determine associations between baseline CT signs and survival outcomes. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that tLN number, largest LN short axis diameter, pT, and pN stages all correlated with OS significantly. And the total tLN number, SDL and pN stages significantly correlated with DFS. In Cox analyses, total tLN number (>6) and pN stage were significantly associated with OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.55 [95% CI, 1.13–2.11, P = 0.006] and HR: 1.49 [95% CI, 1.17–1.90, P = 0.001], respectively). Cox regression analysis showed that OS index was predictive of 1- to 3-year survival. Total number of lymph node in baseline CT provides equal efficiency compared to pN stages in the prediction of 8-year long-term survival outcomes for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients with preoperative chemotherapy.

Synchronous occurrence of pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma and malignant lymphoma of the lymph node is not reported in the literature. We report a case of pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma coexisting with a mantle cell lymphoma involving cervical and mediastinal lymph node. It is important to recognize this synchronous occurrence histopathologically and to be aware of the existence of “in situ” MCL.

Chest wall tumors are a relatively uncommon disease in clinical practice. Most of the published studies about chest wall tumors are usually single-center retrospective studies, involving few patients. Therefore, evidences regarding clinical conclusions about chest wall tumors are lacking, and some controversial issues have still to be agreed upon. In January 2019, 73 experts in thoracic surgery, plastic surgery, science, and engineering jointly released the Chinese Expert Consensus on Chest Wall Tumor Resection and Chest Wall Reconstruction (2018 edition). After that, numerous experts put forward new perspectives on some academic issues in this version of the consensus, pointing out the necessity to further discuss the points of contention. Thus, we conducted a survey through the administration of a questionnaire among 85 experts in the world. Consensus has been reached on some major points as follows. (I) Wide excision should be performed for desmoid tumor (DT) of chest wall. After excluding the distant metastasis by multi-disciplinary team, solitary sternal plasmacytoma can be treated with extensive resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. (II) Wide excision with above 2 cm margin distance should be attempted to obtain R0 resection margin for chest wall tumor unless the tumor involves vital organs or structures, including the great vessels, heart, trachea, joints, and spine. (III) For patients with chest wall tumors undergoing unplanned excision (UE) for the first time, it is necessary to carry out wide excision as soon as possible within 1-3 months following the previous surgery. (IV) Current Tumor Node Metastasis staging criteria (American Joint Committee on Cancer) of bone tumor and soft tissue sarcoma are not suitable for chest wall sarcomas. (V) It is necessary to use rigid implants for chest wall reconstruction once the maximum diameter of the chest wall defect exceeds 5 cm in adults and adolescents. (VI) For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the chest wall, wide excision with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant therapy are recommended for patients with stage T3-4N0-1M0. As clear guidelines are lacking, these consensus statements on controversial issues on chest wall tumors and resection could possibly serve as further guidance in clinical practice during the upcoming years. ispartof: TRANSLATIONAL LUNG CANCER RESEARCH vol:10 issue:11 pages:4057-4083 ispartof: location:China status: published