Objective To analyze the clinicopathologic features of patients with pathologic T2-3N0 thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and correlation to their prognosis.Methods The clinicopathologic data of 422 patients with pathologic T2-3N0 thoracic ESCC,who were treated with surgery were analyzed.Cumulative survival rate was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by Log-rank test.Cox regression model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis.Results The overall 1-,3-and 5-year survival rates were 89.3 ％,63.5 ％ and 52.5 ％,respectively.Univariate analysis revealed that the factors affecting the prognosis included gender (x2 =7.45,P ＜ 0.01),depth of invasion (x2 =7.79,P ＜ 0.01) andtissues differentiation (x2 =15.81,P ＜ 0.01).They were also independent prognostic factors according Cox regression multivariate survival analysis.Conclusion The gender,depth of invasion and differentiation should be independent prognostic factors of pathologic T2-3N0 ESCC.Surgery is still the standard treatment for pathologic T2-3N0 esophageal cancer.

Purpose:To investigate the clinical features,diagnosis, surgical treament and prognosis of pleural mesothelioma. Methods:A retrospective study was conducted in a total of 10 cases of pleural mesothelioma hospitalized from January 1980 to June 2000. Results: None of the 10 patients had history of exposure to asbestos,and the clinical manifestation were chest pain and feeling of compression,cough,shortness of breath. Pleural thickening or nodules were found in radiography examaination with or without pleural effusion.Of 10 cases,4 cases were localized type and 6 cases were diffused type, 8 cases received surgery(5 cases received radical operation and 3 cases received palliative operation) Conclusions:Exposure to asbestos or not has no definite relations to pleural mesothelioma,cytology examination of pleural effusion is not very helpful in pathologic diagnosis due to low positive rate.CT scan and pleural needle biopsy are helpful preoperatively. Surgical operation is the optional treatment in localized type and the prognosis is good,but prognosis is poor in diffused type and multimodality therapy is emphasized.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of the expression of XIAP mRNA and Survivin mRNA in non-small cell lung cancer and their relationship. Methods RT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression of XIAP mRNA and Survivin mRNA in 59 cases of NSCLC and corresponding normal tissues.Results There was a significant difference in XIAP mRNA expression in primary lung and corresponding normal tissues (61.0 % vs 30.5 %, P<0.05), whereas there were no significant correlation between the XIAP mRNA expression and gender, age, smoking history, histological subtype, T stage, lymph node metastatic status and TNM stage. There was a significant difference in Survivin mRNA expression in primary lung and corresponding normal tissues (81.4 % vs 23.7 %, P<0.05), whereas there were no significant correlation between the Survivin mRNA expression and gender, age, smoking history, histological subtype, T stage, lymph node metastatic status and TNM stage. Conclusion The significant difference of XIAP mRNA and Survivin mRNA expression between the tumor and corresponding normal tissues implies they might play important roles in the carcinogenesis and progress of NSCLC and might become marker for the diagnosis and target for treatment of NSCLC.

Objective To build a bio-material artificial chest wall and discuss its feasibility and efficiency in reconstruction of huge bony defects of chest wall in mongrels in comparison with traditional "sandwich" procedure. Methods (1) The procine osteal and membranate tissues were treated with epoxy cross linking method and their surfaces were modified with amino acid solutions at various concen-trations and at different temperatures to obtain an artificial pleura and artificial ribs for construction of the artificial chest wall. (2) The huge bony defects (5 cm×5 cm) were created in chest wall of five Chinese mongrels. (3) Three mongrels in test group was repaired with artificial chest wall, while two mongrels in control group was repaired with traditional "sandwich" complex. A follow-up was carried out to observe reconstruction effect and rejection in both groups at 3,6 and 12 months after implantation. Results There was no death found during the perioperative period and at 12 month follow-up in test group, with abnormal contour of chest wall and good thoracic activity after reconstruction. In the meantime, there found no rejection, collapse in the repaired region or paradoxical respiration. The postoperative X-rays at 3,6,12 and 24 months showed a good integrity of the thorax, with no collapse, deformation or abnormal movement. Meanwhile, the follow-up of control group showed a normal contour but slight collapse, with no paradoxical respiration. The Chest X-ray examination revealed that the bone cement in" sandwich" complex was X ray opaque and showed mild abnormal movement with breathing. The common blood test and immune items showed no abnormal. Conclusions The bio-material artificial chest wall is a safe and effective reconstruction technique for bony defects of thoracic wall in mongrels, with no acute or chronic rejection.

Objective To investigate the features of lymph node metastasis and its effects on the prognosis of patients after radical operation for thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer, and investigate the reasonable postoperative adjuvant protocol. Methods Multivariate analysis of the clinical data of 204 patients was carried out by Spearman correlation analysis, Cox model and Kaplan-Meier method. Results The lymph node metastasis rate was 40.2% (82/204), and 166 out of 2193 dissected lymph nodes had metastasis with the rate of 7.57%. The analysis of related factors revealed that the invasion depth, tumor length and differentiation grade were significantly associated with the postoperative lymph node metastasis (χ2 = 17.466, 11.494, 6.767, P <0.05), while age, tumor site were not significantly correlated with the postoperative lymph node metastasis (χ2=1.086, 3.897, P > 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates of patients with < 4 lymph nodes metastasis were significantly higher than those with ≥4 lymph nodes metastasis (χ2=4.493, 4.494, 4.450, P < 0.05). The recurrence and metastasis were more often occurred in patients with lymph node metastasis compared with those without lymph node metastasis (r=-2.060, -4.296, P <0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the pathological stage, tumor differentiation grade, and the postoperative adjuvant treatment were the independent prognostic factors. Conclusions The invasion depth, tumor length and differentiation grade are significantly associated with the postoperative lymph node metastasis. The lymph node metastasis state and the number of involved lymph nodes affect the prognosis of patients. Oral administration of 5-FU is benefit to the patients without lymph node metastasis.

Objective To assess the safety and efficacy of an olive oil-based lipid emulsion for parenteral nutrition in patients after esophagectomy.Methods In the randomized controlled trial,60 patients undergoing esophagectomy were divided into study group(n=30,received olive oil-based lipid emulsion)and control group [n=30,received medium-chain triglyceride/long-chain triglyceride(MCT/LCT)emulsion].The parenteral nutrition Was provided for 7-10 postoperative days.The nutritional formulas were equivalent in nitrogen,calorie,osmotic pressure,and fluid volume.Peripheral venous blood tests were performed before operation and on the first and eighth postoperative days.All the patients were evaluated by nutritional status(weight,body mass index,nutritional risk screening,etc.),safety profiles[full blood test,electrolytes,aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alanine amiotransferase(ALT),total bilirubin and direct bilirubin,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine,blood glucose,etc.],and efficacy indicators(hemoglobin,albumin,total protein,etc.).Results The albumin and total protein levels returned to the normal ranges in beth groups 8 days after operation,although both levels were significantly higher in study group(P=0.000).Also,the difference of total protein levels between the eighth and first postoperative days Was significantly higher in the study group(P=0.002).In addition,the AST and BUN readings returned to normal ranges 8 days after operation in the study group, which were significantly lower than those in control group (P = 0.025, P = 0.013).No serious adverse events were reported in both groups.Other nutritional parameters, renal and hepatic safety profiels, vital signs, and hematology showed no significant difference between two groups.Conclusions Olive oil-based lipid emulsion is a safe and efficient lipid emulsion for parenteral nutrition in patients undergoing esophagectomy.Compared with MCT/LCT, it has less effect on AST and BUN.

Objective:Mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) can predict tumor response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, not all cases of NSCLC with EGFR mutations can respond well;thus, discovering the heterogeneity of NSCLC at the molecular level is necessary. This study aimed to determine the discrepancy in EGFR mutations in primary tumors, N2 lymph nodes, and plasma samples. Methods:Primary tumors, N2 lymph nodes, and plasma samples obtained from 49 patients with stageⅢA-N2 NSCLC were analyzed for EGFR mutations in exons 19 and 21 by using mutant-enriched liquidchip technology. Results:In 49 patients, we detected 18 (36.7%) EGFR mutations in primary tumors, 11 (22.4%) mutations in N2 lymph nodes, and 2 (4.1%) mutations in plasma samples. Eleven (22.4%) cases showed discordance in EGFR mutations between primary tu-mors and N2 lymph nodes. In nine cases, EGFR mutations were detected only in primary tumors, whereas EGFR mutations were de-tected only in N2 lymph nodes in two cases. In addition, EGFR mutations were detected in the plasma samples of two patients, who al-so carry mutations in their primary tumors. Conclusion:A considerable proportion of NSCLC cases showed discrepancy in EGFR muta-tions between primary tumors and N2 lymph nodes. In addition, the detection rate of EGFR mutations was lower in plasma samples obtained from patients with stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. All of the results indicated tumor heterogeneity at the molecular level during metas-tasis, and this heterogeneity may have implications during treatment with TKIs.

Objective: To explore the status of lymph node metastasis of middle third thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its influence on the prognosis and to seek the reasonable range of lymphade-nectomy. Methods: A total of 129 patients who underwent curative esophagectomy with modern two-field lymphadenectomy of middle third thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were reviewed. Results: The lymph node metastasis rate was 56.6% and the upper mediastinal lymph node metastasis rate was 43.4%. The lymph node metastasis ratio (positive nodes/total dissected nodes, LMR) was 11.3%. Paraesophageal lymph nodes, lymph nodes near the right recurrent nerve, the left gastric and infracadnal lymph nodes were most commonly involved when the tumor was located in the middle thoracic esophagus. Tumor differentiation, the depth of tumor invasion and the length of tumor were influencing factors for lymph node metastasis. The 5-year survival of N_0, N_1 (LMR≤20%) and N_1 (LMR>20%) patients were 50.4%, 31.0% and 6.8%, respective-ly, with a significant difference among the three groups (P=0.000). Conclusion: LMR was one of the key fac-tors affecting the prognosis, of esophageal cancer. Patients with middle third thoracic esophageal carcinoma should be treated with radical surgery with modern two-field lymphadenectomy.

OBJECTIVETo study the survival and prognostic factors of stage III N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgical treatment.

METHODS266 patients with stage III N2 NSCLC underwent operation from 1982 to 1996, with the 5-year survival rate compared with those of stage N0 and N1 patients who received operation in the same period. Histological classification, number of positive nodes, location and extent of mediastinal lymph node involvement, T primary tumor status, complete or incomplete operation, the procedure of operation were univariately and multivariately analyzed to determine their impact on the 5-year survival.

RESULTSThe 5-year survival rate of patients with stage III N2 non-small lung cancer after surgical treatment was 17.3%, which was significant lower than those with N0 (51.4%) and N1 (30.4%). Four prognostic factors significantly influenced the outcome: number of positive nodes, location and extent of mediastinal lymph node involvement, T primary tumor status and complete resection of the tumor.

CONCLUSIONPatients with stage III N2 NSCLC are candidates for surgical treatment if they have evidence of limited mediastinal lymph node metastasis and prospects of complete resection.

Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; diagnosis ; mortality ; secondary ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUNDRecently, results from IALT, JBR10 and CALGB9633 showed that postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy improved survival rate of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after complete resection. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy on survival after complete resection for stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC.

METHODSFrom Jan 1999 to Dec 2003, one-hundred and fifty patients with stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC were randomly divided into two groups. The chemotherapy group received four cycles of chemotherapy with navelbine or paclitaxel plus carboplatin, while the observation group did not receive chemotherapy after operation.

RESULTSIn the chemotherapy group, 86.1% (68/79) of patients finished 4 cycles of chemotherapy, and no one died of toxic effects of chemotherapy; 25% of patients had grade III-IV leukopenia, 2% of patients had febrile leukopenia. The median survival time for the entire 150 patients was 879 days, and 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rate was 81%, 59% and 43%. There was no significant difference in median survival between the chemotherapy and observation groups (P= 0.0527), but there was significant difference in the 1- and 2-year survival rate (94.71% and 76.28% vs 88.24% and 60.13%, P < 0.05). The most common site of recurrence was the brain. Twenty-six percent (39/150) of patients recurred in the brain as their first site of failure, and 22.8% (18/79) for the chemotherapy group, 29.6% (21/71) for the observation group. The median survival time for patients who developed brain metastasis was not significantly different between the chemotherapy and observation groups (812 days vs 512 days, P=0.122), but there was significant difference in the 2-year survival rate (66.7% vs 37.6%, P < 0.01). The median survival was 190 days for the patients since brain metastasis appeared.

CONCLUSIONSPostoperative adjuvant chemotherapy dose not significantly improve median survival among patients with completely resected stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC, but significantly improves the 1- and 2-year survival rate. It also dose not decrease the incidence of brain metastasis but puts off the time of brain metastasis.