Surfactant protein D (SP‑D) is a member of the collectin family of proteins, which is secreted by airway epithelial cells. SP‑D serves an important role in the immune system and in the inflammatory regulation of the lung. SP‑D was recently found to suppress lung cancer progression by downregulating epidermal growth factor signaling. However, the relationship between SP‑D and pulmonary metastases from colon cancer remains unknown. The present study aimed to determine whether SP‑D may suppress the development of the mouse rectal carcinoma cell line, CMT93, in vitro. The present study investigated the effect of SP‑D on pulmonary metastases from colon cancer in vivo using SP‑D knockout mice. A wound healing assay and cell invasion assay revealed that SP‑D suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of CMT‑93 cells. After injection of CMT‑93 cells into the tail vein, SP‑D knockout mice were significantly more susceptible to developing pulmonary metastases than C57/BL6 mice (control). Moreover, a novel cell line (CMT‑93 pulmonary metastasis; CMT‑93 PM) was established from the lesions of pulmonary metastases in C57/BL6 mice following injection of CMT93 into the tail vein. CMT‑93 PM exhibited more robust invasion and proliferation compared to CMT93, which was unaffected by exposure to SP‑D. A higher incidence of pulmonary metastases was detected following injection of CMT93 PM into the tail vein of C57/BL6 mice compared with CMT‑93. Consequently, SP‑D may be involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary metastases from colon cancer.
Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for advanced gastric cancer is rarely performed because of the high morbidity and mortality rates and low survival rate. However, neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer has improved, and chemotherapy combined with trastuzumab may have a preoperative tumor-reducing effect, especially for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive cases.
To evaluate the risk of radiation pneumonitis (RP) after stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients presenting with severe pulmonary emphysema.This study included 40 patients with Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer who underwent SBRT, 75 Gy given in 30 fractions, at the Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan, between February 2010 and February 2013. The median age of the patients was 79 years (range, 49-90 years), and the male:female ratio was 24:16. There were 20 T1 and 20 T2 tumours. 17 patients had emphysema, 6 had slight interstitial changes on CT images and the remaining 17 had no underlying lung disease. The level of emphysema was classified into three groups according to the modified Goddard's criteria (severe: three patients, moderate: eight patients and mild: six patients). Changes in the irradiated lung following SBRT were evaluated by CT.On CT images, RP was detected in 34 (85%) patients, and not in 6 (15%) patients, during a median observation period of 313 days. Of the six patients, three had severe emphysema and three had no underlying lung disease. Patients with severe emphysema had lower risk of RP than those with moderate emphysema (p = 0.01), mild emphysema (p = 0.04) and no underlying lung disease (p = 0.01).Patients with severe emphysema had a low risk of RP following SBRT.Little is known about the association between RP and pulmonary emphysema. Patients with severe emphysema had lower risk of RP than those with no underlying lung disease.
A man in the 60s visited our hospital with the complaints of epigastralgia and weight loss. Following an investigation, he was diagnosed with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-positive gastric cancer with invasion to the pancreas (T4b[pancreas], N2, M0, Stage ⅣA[Union for International Cancer Control 8th edition]). Preoperatively, he was administered a chemotherapeutic regimen of S-1 and cisplatin plus trastuzumab. After 2 courses of chemotherapy, computed tomography revealed invasion to the abdominal wall and pyloric stenosis; however, invasion to the pancreas was obscured, and the lymph node metastases had shrunk. He underwent laparoscopic gastro-jejunostomy. After 4 courses of chemotherapy, his condition was considered stable. A laparoscopic distal gastrectomy was performed together with resection of the abdominal wall invasion. The pathological stage was pT4b(abdominal wall), pN0, M0, Stage ⅢA, and R0 resection was achieved. The patient was administered 4 courses of adjuvant capecitabine plus oxaliplatin therapy and 4 courses of capecitabine monotherapy. He has been followed-up for 1.5 years since the curative resection and has not developed recurrences. This case suggests the usefulness of multimodal therapy for locally advanced gastric cancer.
Spirometry is a basic test that provides much information about pulmonary function; it is performed preoperatively in almost all patients undergoing colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery in our hospital. However, the value of spirometry as a preoperative test for CRC surgery remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether spirometry is useful to predict postoperative complications (PCs) after CRC surgery.The medical records of 1236 patients who had preoperative spirometry tests and underwent CRC surgery between 2005 and 2014 were reviewed. Preoperative spirometry results, such as forced vital capacity (FVC), one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), %VC (FVC/predicted VC) and FEV1/FVC (%FEV1), were analyzed with regard to PCs, including pneumonia.PCs were found in 383 (30.9%) patients, including 218 (56%) with surgical site infections, 67 (17%) with bowel obstruction, 62 (16%) with leakage and 20 (5.2%) with pneumonia. Of the spirometry results, %VC was correlated with PC according to logistic regression analysis (odds ratio, OR = 0.99, 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.98-0.99; P = 0.034). Multivariate analysis after adjusting for male sex, age, laparoscopic surgery, tumor location, operation time and blood loss showed that a lower %VC tends to be a risk factor for PC (OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.98-1.002; P = 0.159) and %VC was an independent risk factor for postoperative pneumonia in PCs (OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.94-0.99; P = 0.049).In CRC surgery, %VC may be a predictor of postoperative complications, especially pneumonia.
Emphysema is one of the pathological hallmarks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We have recently reported that radiofrequency therapy improves lung function in rodent models of emphysema. However, preclinical data using large animals is necessary for clinical translation. Here, we describe the work performed to establish a unilateral porcine emphysema model. Different doses of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) were instilled into the left lung of 10 Yucatan pigs. Three additional pigs were used as controls. Six weeks after instillation, lungs were harvested. Lung compliance was measured by a water displacement method and plethysmography. Systematic uniform random sampling of the left and right lungs was performed independently to measure alveolar surface area using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histology. In pigs instilled with 725-750 U/kg of PPE (PPE group, n = 6), the compliance of the left lung was significantly higher by 37.6% than that of the right lung (P = 0.03) using the water displacement method. With plethysmography, the volume of the left lung was significantly larger than that of the right lung at 3, 5, and 10 cmH2O. Measurements from either micro-CT or histology images showed a significant decrease in alveolar surface area by 14.2% or 14.5% (P = 0.031) in the left lung compared with the right lung of the PPE group. A unilateral model for mild emphysema in Yucatan pigs has been established, which can now be used for evaluating novel therapeutics and interventional strategies.NEW & NOTEWORTHY For clinical translation, preclinical data using large animal models is necessary. However, papers describing an emphysema model in pigs, which are anatomically and physiologically similar to humans, are lacking. Here, we report success in creating a unilateral mild-emphysema model in pigs with only one single dose of porcine pancreatic elastase. This model will be useful in bringing novel technologies and therapies from small animals to humans with emphysema.
Survival rates in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing esophagectomy have improved, but the prevalence of gastric tube cancer (GTC) has also increased. Total resection of the gastric tube with lymph node dissection is considered a radical treatment, but GTC surgery is more invasive and involves a higher risk of severe complications or death, particularly in elderly patients.
