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When a mass occurs at the staple line following lung resection, it can be difficult to distinguish between local cancer recurrence and granuloma. We present a case of a staple‐line granuloma with 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose‐positron emission tomography uptake and elevated serum carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19‐9) in a patient with ovarian cancer lung metastasis. After granuloma resection, serum CA19‐9 levels normalized, and CA19‐9 positive cells were identified in the resected tumor. Therefore, serum CA19‐9 elevation does not rule out a staple‐line granuloma. Whereas granulomas on computed tomography (CT) scans tend to show smooth shadows along the staple line unilaterally, detailed CT evaluation may help diagnostic differentiation. Differentiation based on imaging and tumor markers has limitations. However, core needle biopsy has the risk of misdiagnosis and tumor cell dissemination, therefore surgical resection should be considered when comprehensive findings indicate a potential recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Because the optimal treatment strategy for borderline resectable (cT3br) thoracic esophageal cancer patients remains unclear, it is of great interest whether preoperative neoadjuvant therapy for cT3br could achieve results comparable to those seen with resectable T3 cancer (cT3r). We speculated that preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) would be particularly effective in cT3br thoracic esophageal cancer patients and compared to cT3br and cT3r. Methods: Of 186 cT3 thoracic esophageal cancer patients treated with intended NACRT, 162 received radical esophagectomy. More than 97% were squamous cell carcinomas. Patients were partitioned into two groups according to whether invasion of adjacent organs was suspected (cT3br and cT3r). Treatment outcomes and survival were analyzed. Results: Sixty‐eight patients (36.6%) were classified as cT3br and 118 (63.4%) as cT3r. The cT3br group had significantly more tumors in the upper and middle mediastinum (p < 0.0001) and more cases with cM1 (lymph node) (p = 0.0104) than the cT3r group. In addition, the cT3br patients receiving esophagectomy exhibited a significantly lower pathological complete response rate than the cT3r patients (p = 0.0374). However, the R0 resection rate did not differ between the cT3br and cT3r patients (p = 0.0978), and the two groups treated with intended NACRT had similar 5‐year overall (OS) and disease‐specific survival (DSS) (p = 0.3831 and p = 0.9020). In addition, the incidence and patterns of recurrence did not differ between the cT3br and cT3r patients receiving esophagectomy (p = 0.8109 and p = 0.3128). Conclusions: Preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy appears to be a promising treatment for patients with borderline resectable thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tracheobronchial injury (TBI) is a rare but potentially life-threatening trauma that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. We present a case in which a patient with COVID-19 infection was successfully treated for a TBI through surgical repair and intensive care with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Case presentation: This is the case of a 31-year-old man transported to a peripheral hospital following a car crash. Tracheal intubation was performed for severe hypoxia and subcutaneous emphysema. Chest computed tomography showed bilateral lung contusion, hemopneumothorax, and penetration of the endotracheal tube beyond the tracheal bifurcation. A TBI was suspected; moreover, his COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction screening test was positive. Requiring emergency surgery, the patient was transferred to a private negative pressure room in our intensive care unit. Due to persistent hypoxia and in preparation for repair, the patient was started on veno-venous ECMO. With ECMO support, tracheobronchial injury repair was performed without intraoperative ventilation. In accordance with the surgery manual for COVID-19 patients in our hospital, all medical staff who treated this patient used personal protective equipment. Partial transection of the tracheal bifurcation membranous wall was detected and repaired using 4-0 monofilament absorbable sutures. The patient was discharged on the 29th postoperative day without postoperative complications. Conclusions: ECMO support for traumatic TBI in this patient with COVID-19 reduced mortality risk while preventing aerosol exposure to the virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the histologic type and primary origin of pulmonary tumors is essential when preparing a surgical strategy. Intraoperative diagnosis of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)‐stained frozen sections is the gold standard, but reliable pathology requires time‐consuming immunohistochemistry (IHC) to distinguish among histological types/organ origins and to analyze molecular status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical reliability of a new rapid‐IHC technique for intraoperative diagnosis of pulmonary tumors. In total, 169 patients with undiagnosed pulmonary tumors were enrolled in a multicenter prospective observational study. At three institutes, pulmonary tumor samples were collected through core needle biopsy and/or surgery to determine surgical strategies. Using a new device for rapid IHC, we applied a high‐voltage, low‐frequency alternating current (AC) field, which mixes the available antibody as the voltage is switched on/off. Rapid IHC can provide tumor histologic type/origin diagnoses within 20 min, as opposed to the 3–6 h required for conventional IHC. No false diagnoses of malignancy were rendered in any of the cases when using simple H&E staining. With H&E staining alone, the overall definitive diagnosis rate, the rate of defined tumor origin, and the rate of determined histological type were 76.92%, 85.80%, and 90.53%, respectively. When rapid IHC was added, those rates were significantly improved to 88.76%, 94.67%, and 91.72%, respectively. By providing prompt and accurate intraoperative histological/molecular analysis, rapid IHC driven by AC mixing could serve as an effective clinical tool guiding the surgical strategy for undiagnosed pulmonary tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demonstration of optical processing based on spectral line-by-line pulse shaping on an optical frequency comb generator (OFCG) is discussed. Findings reveal the generation of transform-limited 1.6-ps short pulses at 10 GHz due to the direct combination of two pulses in each period from the OFCG.

Background: The aim of the present study was to use surgical and histological results to develop a simple noninvasive technique to improve nodal staging using preoperative PET/CT in patients with resectable lung cancer. Methods: Preoperative PET/CT findings (pStage IB–III 182 patients) and pathological diagnoses after surgical resection were evaluated. Using PET/CT images to determine the standardized uptake value (SUV) ratio, the SUVmax of a contralateral hilar lymph node (on the side of the chest opposite to the primary tumor) was measured simultaneously. The I/C‐SUV ratio was calculated as ipsilateral hilar node SUV/contralateral hilar node SUV. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were then used to analyze those data. Results: Based on ROC analyses, the cutoff I/C‐SUV ratio for diagnosis of lymph node metastasis was 1.34. With a tumor ipsilateral lymph node SUVmax ≥2.5, an IC‐SUV ratio ≥1.34 had the highest accuracy for predicting N1/N2 metastasis; the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of nodal staging were 60.66, 85.11, 84.09, 62.5 and 71.29%, respectively. Conclusions: When diagnosing nodal stage, a lymph node I/C‐SUV ratio ≥1.34 can be an effective criterion for determining surgical indications in advanced lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]