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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate regional postoperative preserved pulmonary function (PPPF) and three-dimensional (3D) volumetric changes according to the number of resected subsegments and investigate the factors that most affected pre-/post PPPF., Methods: Patients who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy (n = 73), and segmentectomy (n = 87) were eligible for inclusion in the study. They were classified according to the number of resected subsegments which ranged from 1 to 10. The percentage of pre-/postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was used for comparison. Furthermore, lung volumetric changes were calculated using 3D computed tomography (CT) volumetry., Results: The percentage of pre-/postoperative EFV1 between 4 and 5-7 and between 5-7 and 10 were significant (p = 0.03 and p < 0.01, respectively), but not between 1-2 to 4 (p = 0.99). The difference between volumetric changes in the left lower lobe of patients with a number of resected subsegments was significant (p < 0.01). On univariate and multivariate analyses, chronic inflammation was significant for decrease in recovery percentages. When the PPPF was compared among resected subsegments, it gradually decreased with an increase in the number of patients without a postoperative procrastination of inflammation (p < 0.01)., Conclusions: Segmentectomy is feasible and useful for PPPF. Even a relatively large-volume resection procedure where 5-7 subsegments are resected can preserve pulmonary function. Chronic inflammation was statistically identified as a risk factor for postoperative preserved pulmonary function., Key Points: ., (© 2021The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: Our previous report suggested that fluorescence thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy (TAS) using intravenous (IV) indocyanine green (ICG) injection is safe, feasible, and efficacious for identifying segmental boundaries. However, contrast visualization in the conventional indocyanine green mode (CIM) remains relatively obscure in smoking-related comorbidities. Our aim was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of recently released Spectra-A with CIM by simultaneous observation., Materials and Methods: We postoperatively analyzed captive imaging using histogram counts in 29 patients who underwent TAS and previously reported that Δ indicates the index of visualization obtained by subtraction from its representative illuminated signal quantities of maximum pixels so that light-shade, intensity-removed image signals are obtained., Results: Sixteen (55.2%) patients were male, and 13 (44.8%) were female. Segmental boundaries were successfully visualized in all patients (100%). The histogram count widths in dim and bright segments with CIM were 13.3 ± 3.8 and 52.5 ± 12.2, and those with Spectra-A were 19.4 ± 6.1 and 118.1 ± 37.4, respectively. The mean value was 4.3-fold higher for ΔSpa-A (61.4 ± 33.2) than for ΔCIM (14.2 ± 8.5) (P < 0.01). In 14 (48.3%) patients, the segmental boundary could not be clearly visualized using CIM but was explicitly identified using Spectra-A., Conclusions: Spectra-A is a safe and promising noninvasive alternative like CIM, and more effective because of overcoming the limitation of CIM, but its use should be studied further to determine its usefulness in identifying segmental boundaries., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study investigated recent clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of metastasectomy for pulmonary metastasis (PM) from colorectal cancer., Methods: Data for 785 patients with PM from colorectal cancer who underwent curative resection, including 376 patients treated with postmetastasectomy adjuvant chemotherapy, between 2004 and 2008, were collected from 46 Japanese hospitals. Disease-free and overall survival was analyzed. Potential prognostic factors were assessed., Results: The 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates (95% confidence interval) of all patients were 37.1% (33.7% to 40.9%) and 68.1% (64.6% to 71.8%), respectively, over a median follow-up of 65 months. On multivariable analysis, no survival benefit for postmetastasectomy adjuvant chemotherapy was observed (hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.65 to 1.12; p = 0.25), and the independent poor prognostic factors for overall survival (hazard ratio, 95% confidence interval) were age 70 years and older (1.50, 1.15 to 1.97), disease-free interval of less than 2 years (1.76, 1.31 to 2.35), extrathoracic metastatic lesion treated curatively before PM resection (1.35, 1.01 to 1.79), abnormal carcinoembryonic antigen level (1.99, 1.53 to 2.58), and three or more PMs (1.72, 1.20 to 2.45). The 5-year overall survival rates (95% confidence interval) of the low-risk (no prognostic factor, n = 87), moderate-risk (1 to 2 factors, n = 539), and high-risk (≥3 factors, n = 159) groups were 89.4% (82.2% to 98.2%), 72.5% (68.3% to 76.8%), and 48.9% (41.7% to 57.3%), respectively., Conclusions: Metastasectomy of PM from colorectal cancer was associated with a favorable prognosis. Patients could be classified into three risk groups using five prognostic factors. This grouping may be useful for identifying an optimal treatment strategy according to risk in future studies., (Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Thoracoscopic surgery for lung metastasectomy remains controversial. The study aimed at determining the efficacy of thoracoscopic surgery for lung metastasectomy., Methods: This was a multi-institutional, retrospective study that included 1047 patients who underwent lung metastasectomy for colorectal cancer between 1999 and 2014. Prognostic factors of overall survival were compared between the thoracoscopic and open thoracotomy groups using the multivariate Cox proportional hazard model. The propensity score, calculated using the preoperative covariates, included the era of lung surgery as a covariate. A stepwise backward elimination method, with a probability level of 0.15, was used to select the most powerful sets of outcome predictors. The difference between the radiological tumour number and the resected tumour number (delta&#95;num) was also evaluated., Results: The c -statistics and the P -value of the Hosmer-Lemeshow Chi-square of the propensity score model were 0.7149 and 0.1579, respectively. After adjusting for the propensity score, the thoracoscopy group had a better survival rate than the open group (stratified log-rank test: P  = 0.0353). After adjusting for the propensity score, the most powerful predictive model for overall survival was that which combined thoracoscopy [hazard ratio (HR): 0.468, 95% CI: 0.262-0.838, P  = 0.011] and anatomical resection (HR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.134-1.953, P  = 0.004). Before adjusting for the propensity score, the delta&#95;num was significantly greater in the open group than in the thoracoscopy group (thoracoscopy: 0.06, open: 0.33, P  = 0.001); however, after adjustment, there was no difference in the delta&#95;num (thoracoscopy: 0.04, open: 0.19, P  = 0.114)., Conclusions: Thoracoscopic metastasectomy showed better overall survival than the open approach in this analysis. The thoracoscopic approach may be an acceptable option for resection of pulmonary metastases in terms of tumour identification and survival outcome in the current era., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Background: The purpose of this study was to clarify the long-term survival outcomes after repeated lung resection (RLR) of pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer (PM-CRC) using data from a Japanese nationwide investigation., Methods: Among 898 patients who underwent R0 resection of PM-CRC at 46 Japanese institutions between 2004 and 2008, we analyzed the data of 216 patients who experienced recurrence limited to the lung after initial resection of PM-CRC. Overall survival (OS) after RLR was analyzed, and prognostic factors were explored using a multivariate Cox analysis., Results: Of a total 216 patients, 132 (61%) received RLR, and their 5-year OS rate was 75.3%. Twenty-two patients underwent a second RLR, and 2 patients underwent a third RLR; a favorable survival outcome was observed even after a second RLR (5-year OS rate, 55.1%). The prognostic factors associated with worse survival after RLR were concomitant liver metastasis, which had been completely resected or ablated at the initial lung metastasectomy (hazard ratio [HR], 4.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48-14.8) and location of the primary tumor in the rectum (HR, 3.16; 95% CI, 1.17-9.35). Patients without these 2 poor prognostic factors (n = 58) showed a 5-year OS rate of 82.6% after RLR., Conclusions: This nationwide database study showed that RLR for resectable lung-limited recurrence after PM-CRC resection could provide favorable survival, especially for patients with colon cancer without liver metastases at the initial PM-CRC resection., (Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Although 30-day mortality rate is adapted to evaluate perioperative mortality after surgery, whether 90-day mortality rate adequately evaluates perioperative mortality remains unknown. Therefore, we analyzed 30- and 90-day mortality rates after pulmonary resection in patients with primary lung cancer., Methods: A total of 2207 pulmonary resections for primary lung cancer performed between 1996 and 2010 at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital were analyzed and divided into two groups of almost equal number: the early period group (1070 patients, 1996-2004) and the late period group (1137 patients, 2005-2010). Sixty-six and 34 patients died within a year during the early and late periods, respectively. The causes of death (recurrence, bleeding, sudden death, respiratory failure, and adverse event of chemotherapy), and 30- and 90-day mortality rates were investigated., Results: The 30-/90-day mortality rates in the early and late period groups were 0.56/0.75 and 0.35/0.79 %, respectively. The postoperative survival days of 75 patients who died from recurrence within 1 year after pulmonary resection and 7 patients from bleeding or sudden death were more than 91 days and <30 days, respectively. The median postoperative survival of patients who died from respiratory failure was 67 days (range 20-142 days) in the early period and 100 days (range 47-149 days) in the late period. In the late period, it was difficult to assess perioperative mortality of pulmonary complications with 30-day mortality., Conclusions: A risk assessment of perioperative mortality after pulmonary resection should be performed using the 30- and 90-day mortality.

Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) caused by malignant tumors is rare, which often makes the choice of treatment difficult. In our hospital, we performed radical surgery for all pulmonary metastases arising from osteosarcoma (OS) in seven patients with SSP from February 1988 to February 2008 and retrospectively examined the clinicopathological features and postoperative outcomes. The common SSP etiology was tumor tissue rupture at the lung periphery. All patients died of OS recurrence within 18 months. A short disease-free interval (DFI) and a short interval to the second recurrence were the common clinical risk factors of poor prognosis. Curative surgery for pulmonary metastases in OS with SSP is unlikely, but in OS patients with peripheral metastatic lesions that are not accompanied by SSP and have a satisfactory DFI and few lesions, surgical resection should be strongly considered.

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate common clinicopathological factors and clarify the prognostic factors of small-sized peripheral-lung squamous cell carcinomas., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 71 patients with peripheral squamous cell carcinoma ≤3 cm in diameter, who were surgically treated between January 1989 and December 2010. Patients undergoing partial lung resection without lymph node dissection were excluded. The median follow-up for living patients was 63 months., Results: The overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were 83.9% and 74.7%, respectively.Although the ROC curve of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels showed marginally significance (P = 0.050), multivariate analyses revealed that age (P = 0.043), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.004), and preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (P = 0.037) were independent prognostic factors. For pathologic N0 patients, there was a significant difference for recurrence-free survival based on CEA levels: patients with normal CEA levels (n = 40), 5-year-recurrence-free rate = 93.5%;elevated CEA (n = 14), 5-year-recurrence-free rate = 72.7% (P = 0.0160). The distribution of tumor cells immunoreactive for CEA was significantly associated with serum CEA levels (P = 0.033)., Conclusion: Age, lymph node metastasis, and serum CEA level are independent prognostic factors for small-sized peripheral-lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Since 2008, 46 patients have undergone thoracoscopic segmentectomy without mini-thoracotomy for almost pure ground-glass opacity (GGO) lesion by thin-section computed tomography (CT) finding which was difficult to be performed wedge resection. No patient was converted to both thoracotomy and lobectomy. The operation time ranged from 75 to 240 min (mean, 161 min), and blood loss ranged from 1 to 110 g( mean, 25 g). We used stapler in 29 patients and electrocautery in 17 patients to deviate inter segmental plane. Postoperative complications were seen in 6 patients (13%), major complication was air leakage in 6 patients. There was no in-hospital mortality. Only 1 patient had bone metastasis on 11 months after operation. Thoracoscopic segmentectomy considered to be a safe and feasible procedure for the selected patients with small-sized peripheral lung cancer.

Objective: Chronic dry cough is reported to occur in about 25% of patients following lung cancer surgery. Experimental data suggest that it may be caused mainly by stimulation of C-fibers, which are widely distributed to the lower trachea and bronchi. We assessed the clinical usefulness of suplatast tosilate (IPD) for chronic dry cough after lung cancer surgery., Methods: The subjects were patients with stage I lung cancer who had undergone lobectomy combined with mediastinal lymph node dissection. IPD was administered orally at 400 mg daily, and its efficacy was evaluated by patient interview 1, 2, and 3 months after the start of treatment. The subjects were 19 patients, and the duration of cough before entering the study was 393.2 days., Results: The response rate was 84.2% (16/19) 1 month after the start of treatment. It seems that IPD inhibits cough resulting from stimulation of the bifurcated trachea with a high content of C-fibers., Conclusion: The present study suggested the efficacy of IPD for controlling chronic dry cough after lung cancer surgery.

The aim of this study was to evaluate our personal experience with video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and compare survival between this procedure and conventional lobectomy via open thoracotomy in patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma. Between May 1997 and December 2004, 140 patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma had either VATS lobectomy (VATS group, 84 patients) or standard lobectomy via open thoracotomy (open group, 56 patients) performed in our hospital. We compared overall survival, disease-free survival and recurrence between the two groups. The overall survival rate five years after surgery was 72% in the open group and 82% in the VATS group. There were no significant differences in the overall survival rate between the two groups. The disease-free survival rate five years after surgery was 68% in the open group and 80% in the VATS group. There were no significant differences in the disease-free survival rate between the two groups. Five patients in the open group developed distant recurrence, whereas one patient developed regional recurrence. In the VATS group six patients developed distant recurrence, whereas one patient developed regional recurrence. We consider VATS lobectomy to be one of the therapeutic options in patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Objectives: The psychological effects of surgery have received little attention in patients with lung cancer, so it is unclear how much psychological support is required by these patients. This study was done to assess the mental state of patients with lung cancer before and after surgery and to determine their need for psychological care., Methods: A group of 165 patients with lung cancer scheduled for surgical treatment were included in this study. They were asked to complete the Profile of Mood States questionnaire before surgery and on discharge after completion of treatment. The data on mood from the questionnaires were analyzed., Results: Tension-anxiety improved significantly after surgery, whereas the fatigue score increased significantly. The scores for depression-dejection and confusion were elevated before surgery and were unchanged afterward., Conclusions: Patients with lung cancer were depressed before surgery and remained depressed after their operations, although postoperative tension-anxiety diminished. These results indicate that lung cancer patients need psychological support to alleviate depression during the perioperative period.

Objective: Although many case reports of acute pulmonary embolism (APE) have been published, the literature dealing with the management of APE after resection of lung cancer is limited. This report describes seven cases of successful management of APE after surgery for lung cancer and discusses how to manage this problematic complication., Methods: The medical charts of seven patients with APE after lobectomy and complete mediastinal lymphnode dissection were retrospectively reviewed., Results: Six patients collapsed during their first attempt at walking after surgery in conjunction with a dramatic respiratory change. All these patients promptly underwent enhanced spiral computed tomography (CT) scanning. Bilateral clots were detected in all patients and one patient with a deep venous thrombus (DVT) in the femoral vein had a temporary inferior vena cava filter implanted. Non-surgical therapy was used for six patients: thrombolysis (systemic urokinase) and anticoagulant (heparin or argatroban) for four patients and only anticoagulant therapy started on the day after the operation using argatroban for two. There were no bleeding problems with these thrombolysis and/or anticoagulant therapies except in one case of hemorrhage induced by heparin usage on the day after the operation. None of the cases required allotransfusion in connection with these therapies. Thromboembolectomy was performed for one patient who was hemodynamically unstable due to massive embolism and primary atrial fibrillation. All patients were discharged from our hospital without major complications., Conclusions: Patients with pulmonary embolism after surgery for lung cancer can be treated aggressively with anticoagulants with/without fibrinolitics or even with pulmonary embolectomy on cardiopulmonary bypass, without excessive risk of bleeding complications. Enhanced spiral CT scanning was very helpful for making a simultaneous diagnosis of APE and DVT. The use of argatroban in conjunction with activated clotting time monitoring should be effective without causing bleeding problems during the early stages after pulmonary resection for lung cancer.

Lobectomy under a thoracoscope is a minimally invasive surgery and full consideration must also be given to the length of access thoracotomy and the number of access ports inserted. On the other hand, securing a full visual field within a limited access and treating the pulmonary artery/vein and bronchus safely and for sure are needed. However, it would not be too much to say that the easiness of lobectomy under a thoracoscope depends on the length of access thoracotomy and the number of access ports inserted. In the experiment this time we discussed an approach to the access area in lobectomy under a thoracoscope in our cases.