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Background The role of preoperative chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. Chemotherapy followed by surgery was compared with surgery ± chemotherapy, and the detection of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) was performed on all enrolled patients. Methods We randomly assigned patients with resectable tumours to the preoperative chemotherapy group (Pre group) or surgery group (patients who were either given or not given adjuvant chemotherapy according to their postoperative lymph node status, Post group). Blood samples were collected 1–3 days before treatment (including preoperative chemotherapy and surgery) and 7 days after surgery for CTC detection. Results From July 2016 to October 2018, 115 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 57 were assigned to the Pre group and 58 to the Post group. The proportion of patients with stage III ESCC was 63.16% in the Pre group and 48.28% in the Post group. No patients died during chemotherapy. One patient exhibited a complete response to preoperative chemotherapy, and 13 patients exhibited partial responses. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were not significantly different between the Pre and Post groups. In the subgroup analysis, patients with CTC (+) prior to treatments receiving preoperative chemotherapy had a better 2-year PFS (71.90% vs. 38.73%, P = 0.0379). In the Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, platelet count was proven to correlate significantly with disease progression (P = 0.016), and no factors were proven to correlate significantly with mortality after the factors were balanced in the present analysis. Conclusions Preoperative chemotherapy improved the short-term PFS when CTC detection was positive prior to any treatment for patients with stage II or III ESCC. CTC detection may be used as an index to guide individualized strategic decisions regarding preoperative chemotherapy, but more evidence is needed.

Background and Aims: Lung cancer has become one of the most dangerous malignant tumors in the world nowadays, whose pathogenesis is complex involving multi-genes and multi-elements. This study aims to investigate the values of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) in lymphangiogenesis and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. Materials and Methods: The pcDNA3.1-VEGF-C and pLNCX-syk were constructed and transfected into A549 cells. After cells with stable expression were sorted, the level of VEGF-C was tested by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry and the mRNA of syk was tested by RT-PCR. The cell invasion assay was investigated by transwell chamber in vitro. Restriction enzyme digestion and gel electrophoresis demonstrated successful construction of the pcDNA3.1-VEGF-C. Results: RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry revealed higher expression of VEGF-C in VEGFC-construct-transfected A549 cells than that in controls (P < 0.05). Successful construction of the pLNCX-syk was demonstrated by restriction enzyme electrophoresis and sequencing. RT-PCR revealed Syk expression higher in syk-construct-transfected cells than in controls (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The results indicate a potential link between the upregulation of Syk and VEGF-C expression and lung adenocarcinoma.

Background Thoracoscopic-laparoscopic procedures have been used more in the operations of esophagus cancer; in most times we call it minimally invasive esophagectomy, which is becoming mature. However, the efficacy of minimally invasive esophagectomy is still unclear, especially about the dissection of lymph nodes and survival. Methods A retrospective review was performed. The development process of minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal cancer was divided into three stages: the first stage 20, the second stage 37, the third stage 50. Result Total 107 patients underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy between July 2010 and May 2015. The number of lymph node resected during the three stages increased significantly, with a mean of 12.65, 15.91, and 20.16 nodes, respectively ( p = 0.0075). The number of lymph nodes dissection greater than or equal to 12 or 18 increased significantly ( p = 0.000). The patients from the first and the second stages had the similar 2-year survival rate ( p = 0.8618). There is no significant difference in the 2-year disease-free survival rate ( p = 0.606). Conclusion Surgeons accumulate experience on lymphadenectomy during minimally invasive esophagectomy as time goes by, and experience on 50 to 60 cases is essential and necessary to accomplish an apparent progress.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Endostar, a recombined humanized endostatin, on lymphatic tumor growth, lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) xenograft in mice. Methods Lewis lung carcinoma xenografts were established in C57BL/6 mice by intravenous injection of 1 × 10(6) cells. Then the mice were assigned to two groups: the control group received caudal vein injections of 0.2 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride for 15 days, and the treatment group received 500 µg Endostar daily. Six weeks after LLC cell injection, the mice were sacrificed, and tumor multiplicity and tumor sizes were recorded. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) and podoplanin were observed by immunohistochemical staining. Results Tumor numbers and sizes in the control group were significantly higher than those of the treatment group. The microlymphatic vessel density (MLVD) was 5.67 ± 1.57 in the treatment group, which was markedly lower than in the control mice (7.78 ± 1.56). Two lymph node metastases were observed in the treatment group, and eight in the control group. Lymphatic metastases were more frequent in the control group than in the treatment group. Expression of VEGF-C in the control group was significantly higher than that in the treatment group. Conclusion Endostar significantly inhibits the lymphatic tumor growth, lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma xenografts, and its inhibitory effect is due to its ability to partially regulate the tumor expression of VEGF-C.