The present study evaluated Korean women with lung cancer and compared the clinical characteristics of ever-smoker and never-smoker groups using the National Lung Cancer Registry.
In affiliation with ...the Korean Central Cancer Registry, the Korean Association for Lung Cancer constructed a registry into which 10% of the lung cancer cases in Korea were registered. Female lung cancer patients with valid smoking history were evaluated.
Among 735 female lung cancer patients, 643 (87.5%) were never-smokers and 92 (12.5%) were smokers. The median survival was significantly longer in the never-smoker group (28
14 months; P<0.001). Among 683 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the never-smoker group showed significantly longer median survival (29
14 months; P=0.002) and a higher proportion of stage I cancer (40.3%
25.7%; P<0.001). Survival analysis of the NSCLC patients showed that smoking status, receiving only supportive care, EGFR mutation status, lung cancer stage, and forced vital capacity (FVC) (%) were significantly associated with mortality in the multivariate analysis (P=0.025, HR 2.39, 95% CI: 1.12-5.11; P=0.017, HR 3.14, 95% CI: 1.22-8.06; P=0.033, HR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.41-0.96; P<0.001, HR 11.88, 95% CI: 5.79-24.38; P=0.002, HR 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96-0.99, respectively).
In Korean women with NSCLC, smoking status, not receiving active anticancer treatment, EGFR mutation status, lung cancer stage, and pulmonary function were significantly associated with mortality.
We aimed to examine the usefulness of serum glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) as a biomarker of lung cancer recurrence after complete resection. We prospectively collected serial serum samples at the ...baseline, as well as 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery from complete resection cases in 2013. GPx3 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Statistical tests including t-tests and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed. Totally, 135 patients were enrolled, and 39 (28.9%) showed relapse during the median follow-up period (63.60 months; range, 0.167-81.867). The mean GPx3 change was significantly higher in the recurrence group at 6 months (0.32 ± 0.38 vs. 0.15 ± 0.29,
= 0.016) and 12 months (0.40 ± 0.37 vs. 0.13 ± 0.28,
= 0.001). The high GPx3 change group showed significantly higher 60-months recurrence rates than the low group (48.1% vs. 25.2% at 3 months,
= 0.005; 54.5% vs. 28.9% at 6 months,
= 0.018; 38.3% vs. 18.3% at 12 months,
= 0.035). High GPx3 change at 3 months were independent risk factors of recurrence (hazard ratio (HR) 3.318, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.582-6.960,
= 0.002) and survival (HR 3.150, 95% CI, 1.301-7.628,
= 0.011). Therefore, serum GPx3 changes after surgery may be useful predictive biomarkers for recurrence in lung cancer. Larger-scale validation studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
Since 1995, the Korean Society for Cytopathology has overseen the Continuous Quality Improvement program for cytopathology laboratories. The Committee of Quality Improvement has carried out an annual ...survey of cytology data for each laboratory and set standards for proficiency tests.
Evaluations were conducted four times per year from 2008 to 2018 and comprised statistics regarding cytology diagnoses of previous years, proficiency tests using cytology slides provided by the committee, assessment of adequacy of gynecology (GYN) cytology slides, and submission of cytology slides for proficiency tests.
A total of 206 institutes participated in 2017, and the results were as follows. The number of cytology tests increased from year to year. The ratio of liquid-based cytology in GYN gradually decreased, as most of the GYN cytology had been performed at commercial laboratories. The distribution of GYN diagnoses demonstrated nearly 3.0% as atypical squamous cells. The rate for squamous cell carcinoma was less than 0.02%. The atypical squamous cell/squamous intraepithelial lesion ratio was about 3:1 and showed an upward trend. The major discordant rate of cytology-histology in GYN cytology was less than 1%. The proficiency test maintained a major discordant rate less than 2%. The rate of inappropriate specimens for GYN cytology slides gradually decreased.
The Continuous Quality Improvement program should be included in quality assurance programs. Moreover, these data can contribute to development of national cancer examination guidelines and facilitate cancer prevention and treatment.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed death-1 (PD-1) pathway have significantly improved outcomes for patients with a variety of malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer ...(NSCLC). In contrast, the incidence of immune-related cutaneous adverse events such as vitiligo have been on the rise because of the increasing use of ICIs. Vitiligo-like depigmentation has been reported in only 2.0% to 8.3% of patients with melanoma and is considered a favorable prognostic factor. However, it has been rarely reported in patients with non-melanoma malignancies. We describe a case of vitiligo-like skin depigmentation after pembrolizumab use in a patient with stage IV NSCLC. Multiple ill-defined painless and non-pruritic depigmented patches appeared on the patient’s hands, scrotum, and lower lip after five months of pembrolizumab. We continued treatment with pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg for 14 months with close monitoring of vitiligo lesions until the progression of brain metastasis, but the vitiligo-like depigmentation did not improve by the combined excimer laser and topical corticosteroid therapy. Clinicians should be aware that immune-related cutaneous adverse events such as vitiligo-like depigmentation are not limited to cases of melanoma but arise as a direct result of anti-PD-1 therapy.
Glomus tumors are rare mesenchymal neoplasms arising from the glomus bodies in the deep dermis of the extremities or derive from the modified smooth muscle cells of the normal glomus body. Primary ...pulmonary glomus tumors are particularly rare and infrequently reported. We report a case of a primary glomus tumor occurring in the lung with adenocarcinoma in the ipsilateral lung as synchronous lung cancers in a 69‐year‐old man. He underwent lobectomy for adenocarcinoma and wedge resection for the glomus tumor with mediastinal lymph node dissection and was doing well without recurrence or metastasis at the last follow‐up.
Background Although other primary systemic cancers in patients with melanoma have been studied, there have been few focusing on acral melanomas. Objectives We assessed other primary systemic cancers ...in patients with acral and nonacral melanomas. Methods We analyzed other primary cancers in 452 patients with melanoma from 1994 to 2013. Metachronous cancers were defined as those given a diagnosis more than 2 months after diagnosis of melanoma. The others were considered prechronous or synchronous cancers. Results Among 51 cases of other primary cancers, gastrointestinal cancer (35.3%, n = 18/51) was the most common, followed by thyroid (17.6%), lung (11.8%), and breast (5.9%). Those were more prevalent in the acral melanoma group (12.8%, n = 31/243) compared with the nonacral melanoma group (9.6%, n = 20/209). Of 23 cases of metachronous cancer, the risk was the highest in bone marrow, followed by oral cavity, bladder, colon, lung, and thyroid. Among 28 cases of prechronous or synchronous cancers, gastrointestinal tract (35.7%, n = 10/28) was the most common site, followed by thyroid (17.9%), breast (10.7%), and lung (7.1%). Limitations The study is limited by a small number of patients. Conclusion Careful follow-up and imaging studies are necessary for early detection of other primary cancers and metastatic lesions in patients with melanoma.
Carcinoid tumors are well documented in the pulmonary and gastrointestinal systems, but very rare in the urinary tract, especially in the renal pelvis. We report on a 60‐year‐old female patient who ...presented with left flank pain and fever. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated a heterogeneously enhancing mass in the left renal pelvis and a stone at the left proximal ureter. Multiple parenchymal lesions were also observed, which were identified as uneven caliectasis displaying air‐fluid levels and renal parenchymal atrophy. The patient underwent simple nephro‐ureterectomy. Macroscopically, a polypoid mass was observed in the renal pelvis. Microscopically, the tumor revealed acinar, tubular, and solid pattern and was composed of small, monotonous and hyperchromatic cells. Lining epithelia in renal pelvis and ureter revealed columnar epithelia with dysplastic change. The tumor cells were positive for chromogranin A, synaptophysin, CD56, and focally positive for cytokeratin. Immunohistochemical staining of synaptophysin and chromogranin A highlighted the neuroendocrine cells in the columnar epithelium. Ki‐67 (1:50; MIB‐1) labeling index was less than 1% in the area with highest uptake. We report here a case of carcinoid tumor of the renal pelvis that was associated with adjacent dysplastic columnar epithelium.
Background Amelanotic acral melanoma (AAM) is very rare and difficult to diagnose both clinically and pathologically. Complete-type AAM shows no black to brown pigmentation in the lesion, whereas ...incomplete-type AAM shows focal or subtle pigmentation. AAM has been the subject of few investigations. Objectives We analyzed the clinicopathological features, BRAF mutations, and KIT aberrations in 35 Korean AAM cases. Methods We included 28 cases of complete-type and 7 cases of incomplete-type AAM. Results In all, 26 AAMs (45.7%) were located on the feet of patients, 21 of which (82.9%) showed ulceration. Sixteen cases developed in subungual areas. Nodular melanoma was the most common histopathological subtype (63.6%). The most frequent cell types affected were epithelioid and spindled. HMB-45 staining was strongly positive in 66.7% of AAMs; 4 (12.1%) were negative for HMB-45, and 3 of these were complete-type AAMs. Of 33 total patients, BRAF mutations were detected in 2 AAM cases, and KIT aberrations were present in 11 cases (33.3%). Four cases (12.1%), all of which were complete-type AAMs, had KIT mutations. KIT aberrations were weakly correlated with c-kit staining. Twenty patients were TNM stage I or II, and mean survival was 30.14 ± 4.54 months. Limitations The study is limited by the small number of patients. Conclusion Physicians should be aware of rare and hard-to-diagnose AAMs. We expect that tyrosine kinase inhibitors would be effective for KIT -mutated patients with complete-type AAMs.
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