A Case of Mediastinal Cystic Lymphangioma

A 35-year-old Japanese manʼs routine chest radiography revealed an abnormal opacity. Chest computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a 5.5cm in dia. cystic tumor located at the left anterior mediastinum. The tumor was suspected to be an asymptomatic thymic cyst, and we chose observation for the tumor. At the 3-year follow up, the cystic tumor had gradually enlarged to 7.5cm in dia. and we thus performed a surgical resection via left video-assisted thoracic surgery. An immunohistochemical analysis showed that the cystic tumor was not a thymic cyst but rather a mediastinal cystic lymphangioma. Mediastinal cystic lymphangiomas are very rare, and they are difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Complete surgical resection is proposed for the treatment of such tumors

Impact of Travel Distance on Surgical Outcomes of Patients Surgically Treated for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Single-Center Study in Ehime, Japan

Travel burden is a poor prognostic factor for many cancers worldwide because it hinders optimal diagnosis and treatment planning. Currently, the impact of travel burden on survival after surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Japan is largely unexplored. We examined the impact of travel distance on the postoperative outcomes of patients with NSCLC in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The data of 1212 patients who underwent surgical resection for NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into quartiles based on the travel distance from their home to the hospital (≤ 13 km, 13-40 km, 40-57 km, and > 57 km) in Ehime Prefecture. We found no significant differences among the quartiles in baseline clinicopathological characteristics, including sex, smoking status, histology, surgical procedure, clinical stage, and pathological stage. Overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) also were not significantly different among the travel distance quartiles. We conclude that travel distance did not impact OS or RFS among patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical resection at our institution

A Rare Case of Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Diaphragmatic Parietal Pleura with Dissemination

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare neoplasm that occurs at different sites in the body. Pleural IMT in particular is especially rare. IMTs infrequently tend to have malignancy. We report a rare case of advanced diaphragmatic parietal pleural IMT with dissemination. A 30-year-old woman complained of right upper abdominal pain. Computed tomography showed a large lobulated mass over the right diaphragm, but no disseminated nodules were noted. Intraoperatively, we found the primary tumor arising from the diaphragmatic parietal pleura and a dozen disseminated nodules, and we removed them completely. The histopathological and immunohistochemical diagnosis was IMT

Current Spike Reduction Technique for High Power Laser Diode Driver with Pulse Current Output

A Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) has attracted a strong interest as a pump source of diode pumped solid state (DPSS) lasers for many applications, such as welding, cutting and marking, in recent years. In the past, a series dropper has been typically used as a laser driver. However, the power loss of series dropper which adopts several kW class high power laser is very large, and the cooling system becomes much larger and whole driver is also much larger. In order to solve these problems, switch mode power supply (SMPS) is adopted as a laser driver. However, switch device breakdown problem occurs in this case. This paper clarifies the mechanism of mentioned above problem and proposes the solution technique.2017 IEEE 12th International Conference on Power Electronics & Drive Systems, Hawaii convention center, Honolulu, USA, 12-15 December 201

Silenced Expression of NFKBIA in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients with a Never-smoking History

Nuclear factor of κ-light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells inhibitor α (NFKBIA), which is a tumor suppressor gene, was found to be silenced in lung adenocarcinomas. We examined NFKBIA expression, mutations in the EGFR and K-ras genes, and EML4-ALK fusion in 101 resected lung adenocarcinoma samples from never-smokers. NFKBIA expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry. NFKBIA expression was negative in 16 of the 101 samples (15.8%). EGFR and K-ras mutations and EML4-ALK fusion were detected in 61 (60.5%), 1 (1.0%), and 2 (2.0%) of the 101 samples, respectively, in a completely mutually exclusive manner. Negative NFKBIA expression was observed significantly more frequently among the tumors with none of the three genetic alterations compared to those with such alterations (p＝0.009). In addition, negative NFKBIA expression was significantly more frequent among the EGFR-wild type samples compared to the EGFR-mutant samples (p＝0.013). In conclusion, NFKBIA expression was silenced in adenocarcinomas without EGFR/K-ras mutations or EML4-ALK fusion, suggesting that the silencing of NFKBIA may play an important role in the carcinogenesis of adenocarcinomas independent of EGFR/K-ras mutations or EML4-ALK fusion

Feasibility Trial of Oral UFT after Platinum-based Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Resected Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

We evaluated the feasibility of maintenance treatment using UFT (a combination of tegafur and uracil) after adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with resected lung cancer. A prospective feasibility trial was conducted. Between 2010 and 2014, UFT was administered for 2 years sequentially after platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy in 24 patients with resected Stage IIA-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. The safety of UFT and the rate of treatment completion were then evaluated. The prior platinum-based chemotherapy regimens consisted of cisplatin+vinorelbine in 16 patients, carboplatin+paclitaxel in 5 and carboplatin+S-1 in one. During the subsequent UFT administration, a total of 3 patients required a dose reduction because of Grade 1 blood-stained sputum, Grade 2 numbness, and Grade 2 constipation, in one patient each. Eleven patients underwent the planned 2-year UFT administration, but 12 patients could not because of the recurrence of lung cancer in 5 patients, metachronous malignancy in one, and toxicities in 6. The completion rate for UFT administration was 64.7% (11/17). The most common type of toxicity was gastrointestinal toxicities. All of the toxicities were grade 1 or 2, and no severe toxicities were observed. UFT treatment after platinum-based chemotherapy was revealed to be feasible

Short-Term Impact of Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery on Lung Function, Physical Function, and Quality of Life

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been increasingly used as an approach for lung lobectomy. However, the recovery of respiratory and physical function may be insufficient at discharge because the average length of hospital stay is decreasing after surgery. In this study, we investigated the changes in physical function, lung function, and quality of life (QOL) of lung cancer patients after VATS, and factors for QOL were also evaluated. Methods: The subjects of this study were 41 consecutive patients who underwent video-assisted lung lobectomy for lung cancer. Rehabilitation was performed both before and after surgery. Lung function testing, physical function testing (timed up and go test (TUG) and the 30-s chair-stand test (CS-30)), and QOL (EORTC QLQ-C30) were measured before and 1 week after surgery. Results: Postoperative VC recovered to 76.3% +/- 15.6% 1 week after surgery. TUG, CS-30, and QOL were significantly worse after surgery (p < 0.05). Lung function and physical function were found to affect QOL. Postoperative complications included pneumonia in 1 patient. There were no patients who discontinued rehabilitation. Conclusion: Our rehabilitation program was safe and useful for patients after VATS