A 26-Year-Old Male with Mesothelioma Due to Asbestos Exposure

Mesothelioma is a malignancy with poor prognosis, with an average 5-year survival rate being less than 9%. This type of cancer is almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos. A long exposure can cause mesothelioma and so can short ones, as each exposure is cumulative. We report a case of a 26-year-old male who was exposed to asbestos during his primary school years from the age of 6 to 12. Although the tumor mainly affects older men who in their youth were occupationally exposed to asbestos, malignant mesothelioma can also occur in young adults. A medical history was carefully taken and asbestos exposure was immediately mentioned by the patient. We conducted biopsy on the right supraclavicular lymph node. The patient was not a candidate for surgery, and chemotherapy treatment was initiated. While patient's chemotherapy is still ongoing, no other similar cases of students or teachers have been traced up to date from his school. The school building was demolished in January 2009

Vibration Response Imaging: evaluation of rater agreement in healthy subjects and subjects with pneumonia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We evaluated pulmonologists variability in the interpretation of Vibration response imaging (VRI) obtained from healthy subjects and patients hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary university hospital. Twenty healthy subjects and twenty three pneumonia cases were included in this study. Six pulmonologists blindly analyzed images of normal subjects and pneumonia cases and evaluated different aspects of VRI images related to the quality of data aquisition, synchronization of the progression of breath sound distribution and agreement between the maximal energy frame (MEF) of VRI (which is the maximal geographical area of lung vibrations produced at maximal inspiration) and chest radiography. For qualitative assessment of VRI images, the raters' evaluations were analyzed by degree of consistency and agreement.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average value for overall identical evaluations of twelve features of the VRI image evaluation, ranged from 87% to 95% per rater (94% to 97% in control cases and from 79% to 93% per rater in pneumonia cases). Inter-rater median (IQR) agreement was 91% (82-96). The level of agreement according to VRI feature evaluated was in most cases over 80%; intra-class correlation (ICC) obtained by using a model of subject/rater for the averaged features was overall 0.86 (0.92 in normal and 0.73 in pneumonia cases).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest good agreement in the interpretation of VRI data between different raters. In this respect, VRI might be helpful as a radiation free diagnostic tool for the management of pneumonia.</p

Foxp3 expression in human cancer cells

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Angiogenesis: Antiangiogenesis strategy and angiogenesis inhibitors

Angiogenesis is the development of new blood vessels from preexisting vasculature. The angiogenic process is controlled by the net balance between molecules with positive and negative regulatory activity. In the past three decades, the understanding of the fundamental role of angiogenesis in tumor growth, progression and metastasis has led to tremendous interest in research regarding its regulatory mechanisms and clinical implications in the management of cancer patients. Different antiangiogenic strategies, predominantly acting through inhibition of the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway have been evaluated for the treatment of various types of cancer. A plethora of angiogenesis inhibitors are currently subjected to clinical trials as monotherapy or in combination with conventional chemotherapy while few of them have been approved for clinical use in cancer therapy. © 2010

Pleural effusion levels of dj-1 are increased in elderly lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusions

Objectives: DJ-1 is a multifunctional protein implicated in redox dependent cell fate decisions. The aim of ourstudy was to determine the pleural fluid (PF) levels of DJ-1 in malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) secondary tolung cancer. Additionally, we opted to assess potential correlations of DJ-1 PF levels with the PF levels ofsuperoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) and 8-isoprostane that are known antioxidant enzymes and have beenpreviously reported in MPEs. Methods: Forty lung cancer patients with cytological proof of MPE were enrolled in this study. The PF levels ofDJ-1, SOD1, and 8-isoprostane were measured by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: The median PF levels of DJ-1 were 826 ng/mL (interquartile range, IQR: 482–1010 ng/mL). DJ-1 PFlevels significantly correlated with PF Cu/Zn-SOD1 and PF 8-isoprostane levels (Spearman’s rho, r;r = −0476, P = 0002 and r = −0264, P = 0033, respectively), PF lactate dehydrogenase (r = −0497,P = 0001) and total PF cell counts (r = −0325, P = 0041). Finally, in patients aged over 65 the PF DJ-1levels were significantly higher than patients aged less than 65 (875 ng/mL vs. 607 ng/mL, respectively,P = 0037).Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first report to determine DJ-1’s levels in MPEs due to lung cancer.The negative correlations between DJ-1, SOD1, and 8-isorpostane warrant further investigation regarding thealtered redox regulation associated with MPEs. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2015

A potential role for VEGF in the diagnostic approach of pleural effusions

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) may play a role in pleural fluid formation, as it represents a potent inducer of capillary permeability. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic utility of VEGF levels in pleural fluid and serum in patients with pleural effusions with initially negative diagnostic work up. Methods: Seventy-one patients with exudative lymphocytic pleural effusions undiagnosed after initial diagnostic work up were enrolled in this prospective study and their clinical course was followed up to 24 months. VEGF levels were measured in serum and pleural fluid by using immunoenzymometric assay. Results: During the follow up period, in 43 patients the pleural effusion was eventually attributed to malignancy while in the rest 28 patients it was due to non-malignant causes (benign and unknown origin). Patients with malignancy had significantly higher VEGF levels in pleural fluid compared to patients with non-malignant effusions (1,506 vs. 588 pg/dL, P=0.0001), while no statistically significant difference was found in the VEGF serum levels between the two groups. Conclusions: Pleural VEGF levels may be helpful in identifying malignant pleural effusion (MPE) in patients with negative diagnostic work up at the initial assessment and help in selecting patients for more invasive procedures. © Journal of Thoracic Disease