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BACKGROUND/AIM Primary sarcomas of the lung (PSL) represent a rare, largely unknown entity. We herein present a retrospective study of 26 patients diagnosed with PSL. PATIENTS AND METHODS For a period of 10 years, the records of patients from 5 centers were gathered and analyzed. RESULTS Median age at diagnosis was 61.96 years (range=31-75 years). Eight patients (33.33%) had mediastinal node invasion (MNI). From 17 patients (70.83%) with localized disease, 11 patients (64.70%) underwent surgery. Recurrence rate was 72.72%. Median disease-free interval was 15 months. The median overall survival (OS) of patients with metastatic disease was 4 months and 10 months for the whole population. Only surgery had an impact on survival. CONCLUSION Prognosis of PSL is somber. The high proportion of patients with MNI at diagnosis may serve as an indication for surgical evaluation of mediastinum and raises the question whether patients with locoregional PSL should be treated with a more aggressive approach.

Background The retinoblastoma (RB) gene is a tumor-suppressor gene that plays a central role in regulating the cell cycle. Inactivation of this gene is involved in breast cancer. Patients and methods A total of 827 patients with breast cancer treated with taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy were included in the study. Protein expression of RB, phosphorylated RB (pRB), p16, cyclin D1 and p53 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results Neither of the retinoblastoma markers (RB and pRB) reached statistical significance in terms of their association with disease-free or overall survival. Nevertheless, when clustering analysis was performed, patients with tumors featuring low levels of p16, cyclin D1 and p53 with concomitantly high levels of pRB had reduced risk for relapse (Wald's p=0.015). Conclusion The p53-mediated sensitivity of breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents appears to be driven mostly by pRB. Using agents that enhance RB phosphorylation might possibly increase the chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells.