Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of subxiphoid robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (SRATS) and intercostal robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (IRATS) in the treatment of anterior mediastinal tumors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with anterior mediastinal tumors who underwent robot-assisted surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, from May 2020 to July 2022. According to the surgical approach, patients were divided into an SRATS group and an IRATS group. Perioperative data were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 87 patients were included. There were 41 patients in the SRATS group [23 males, 18 females; mean age, (44.51±11.28) years] and 46 patients in the IRATS group [21 males, 25 females; mean age, (46.67±8.76) years]. Compared with the IRATS group, the SRATS group had significantly less intraoperative blood loss [(24.41±6.67) mL vs. (37.93±9.23) mL, P<0.001], shorter postoperative drainage duration [(1.73±0.59) days vs. (2.54±0.50) days, P<0.001], lower postoperative drainage volume [(94.46±34.08) mLvs. (116.72±24.90) mL, P=0.001], lower visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores on postoperative day 1 [(3.66±0.76) points vs. (4.15±0.84) points, P=0.005] and day 3 [(2.41±0.59) points vs. (2.89±0.82) points, P=0.003], shorter postoperative hospital stay [(4.12±0.81) days vs. (4.98±1.02) days, P<0.001], and lower hospitalization costs [(4.51±0.65) ten thousand yuan vs. (4.86±0.68) ten thousand yuan, P=0.020]. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in operative time or incidence of postoperative complications (P>0.05). Conclusion Both SRATS and IRATS are safe and effective for the treatment of anterior mediastinal tumors. However, SRATS is less invasive and more conducive to enhanced postoperative recovery.

Objective To evaluate the safety and feasibility of remote robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery utilizing 5G technology. Methods Clinical data from five patients who underwent 5G remote robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery at the Thoracic Surgery Center of Gansu Provincial People's Hospital from May to October 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Finally, five patients were included. There were 2 males and 3 females at median age of 50 (42-63) years. All five surgeries (including 1 patient of lobectomy, 3 patients of partial lung resection and 1 patient of mediastinal lesion resection) were successfully completed without conversion to thoracotomy, complications, or mortality. The median intraoperative signal delay across the patients was 39 (37-42) ms. The median psychological load score for the surgeons was 9 (3-13). The median operation time was 100 (80-122) minutes with a median intraoperative blood loss of 100 (30-200) mL. Catheter drainage lasted a median of 4 (3-5) days, and the median drainage volumes on the first, second, and third postoperative day were 200 (100-300) mL, 150 (60-220) mL, and 80 (30-180) mL, respectively. The median postoperative hospital stay was 4 (3-7) days, and the median pain scores on the third postoperative day were 3 (1-4), 3 (0-3), and 1 (0-3), respectively. Conclusion 5G remote robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is safe and effective, with good surgical experience, smooth operation and small intraoperative delay.

Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and EMbase databases were searched for clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ICIs as first-line treatment for NSCLC patients. The search period was from database inception to January 2023. Quality evaluation was conducted using the improved Jadad scale, and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results Twelve RCTs were included, all of which were assessed as high-quality literature, involving a total of 7 121 patients. Meta-analysis results showed that, compared with chemotherapy, ICIs as first-line treatment for NSCLC patients significantly improved median overall survival (OS) [HR=0.72, 95%CI (0.64, 0.80), P<0.001] and median progression-free survival (PFS) [HR=0.65, 95%CI (0.53, 0.78), P<0.001], and improved objective response rate (ORR) [RR=1.52, 95%CI (1.28, 1.79), P<0.001]. Subgroup analysis showed that, compared with the ICIs monotherapy group, the ICIs combination therapy group significantly improved OS, PFS, and ORR in NSCLC patients. In terms of safety, the risk of any grade treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and grade 3-5 TRAEs in the ICIs group was lower than that in the chemotherapy group. The incidence of TRAEs leading to treatment discontinuation was higher in the ICIs group than in the chemotherapy group. Subgroup analysis showed that the incidence of any grade, grade 3-5, and TRAEs leading to treatment discontinuation was higher in the immune combination therapy group than in the immune monotherapy group. Conclusion ICIs as first-line treatment for NSCLC patients can significantly improve OS, PFS, and ORR compared with chemotherapy. Compared to immune monotherapy, immune combination therapy can significantly improve the efficacy in NSCLC patients, but patients have a higher risk of TRAEs.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus sequential chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Methods The relevant literature was searched in PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI and Wanfang databases from the inception to October 15, 2023, and the literature was screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Review Manager 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis of the literature, and the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the literature. Results Finally, 14 randomized controlled studies were included covering a total of 1048 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that the overall response rate [OR=2.39, 95%CI (1.83, 3.11)], 1-year survival rate [OR=1.81, 95%CI (1.39, 2.35)], 2-year survival rate [OR=1.75, 95%CI (1.27, 2.42)] and 3-year survival rate [OR=2.33, 95%CI (1.49, 3.66)] were superior to sequential chemoradiotherapy (P<0.001). In terms of safety, concurrent chemoradiotherapy increased the incidence of radiation esophagitis (P<0.05), but there was no statistical difference in the incidence of leukopenia and radiation pneumonia (P>0.05). Conclusion For patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, the short-term efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy is better than that of sequential chemoradiotherapy and can improve the 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates, but the toxic side effects of the treatment are slightly greater than those of the sequential chemoradiotherapy.

Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy after thymoma resection. Methods The PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang, VIP, CNKI databases were systematically searched to find relevant literature comparing the efficacy and effectiveness of thymoma resection and thymoma resection+postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) for treating thymoma published from inception to January 2024. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of included retrospective studies, and Review Manager 5.4 software was used to perform meta-analysis. Results A total of 23 articles were included, all of which were retrospective studies. There were a total of 13742 patients, including 6980 patients in the simple surgery group, with 3321 males and 3659 females, and an average age of 54.08 years; 6762 patients in the surgery+PORT group, with 3385 males and 3377 females, and an average age of 53.76 years. The NOS scores of the included literature were all≥7 points. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with the simple surgery group, the surgery+PORT group had higher 1-year overall survival rate [OR=0.32, 95%CI (0.25, 0.42), P<0.001], 3-year overall survival rate [OR=0.55, 95%CI (0.48, 0.64), P<0.001], 5-year overall survival rate [OR=0.66, 95%CI (0.58, 0.75), P<0.001], 10-year overall survival rate [OR=0.71, 95%CI (0.57, 0.88), P=0.002], 1-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.47, 95%CI (0.23, 0.93), P=0.030], 5-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.61, 95%CI (0.45, 0.84), P=0.003], 3-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.44, 95%CI (0.35, 0.55), P<0.001], 5-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.53, 95%CI (0.44, 0.63), P<0.001] and 10-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.53, 95%CI (0.35, 0.82), P=0.004]. But there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of 3-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.86, 95%CI (0.61, 1.22), P=0.400], 10-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.70, 95%CI (0.47, 1.05), P=0.080] and 1-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.83, 95%CI (0.55, 1.26), P=0.380]. Conclusion PORT after thymoma resection has more advantages than simple surgical treatment in terms of 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year overall survival, 1- and 5-year disease-free survival, and 3-, 5- and 10-year disease-specific survival.

Objective To systematically review the efficacy and safety of cap-assisted endoscopy in the treatment of esophageal foreign bodies. Methods PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, CNKI and Wanfang databases were searched by computer for relevant literatures on cap-assisted endoscopy and traditional endoscopy for esophageal foreign bodies from inception to November 2022. The quality assessment of the literature was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1. Results Finally, 27 studies were collected, including 17 randomized controlled trials, 2 cohort studies and 8 case-control studies, with a total of 3 619 patients. NOS scores of all studies were ≥7 points. Meta-analysis results showed that compared with traditional endoscopic treatment, the success rate of removing esophageal foreign bodies in the cap-assisted endoscopy group was higher (OR=14.43, 95%CI 10.64 to 19.55, P<0.000 1), postoperative complications were fewer (OR=0.30, 95%CI 0.23 to 0.38, P<0.000 1), patients' tolerance was better (OR=4.07, 95%CI 2.95 to 5.60, P<0.000 1), intraoperative visual field clarity was better (OR=12.00, 95%CI 7.29 to 19.76, P<0.000 1) and operative time was shorter (SMD=−1.83, 95%CI −2.31 to −1.34, P<0.000 1). Conclusion Cap-assisted endoscopy for esophageal foreign bodies is an effective and safe method, worthy of further promotion and application in clinical practice.

Objective    To compare the clinical efficacy of different surgical approaches for Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG). Methods    The clinical data of the patients with Siewert type Ⅱ AEG who received sugeries in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Gansu Provincial People's Hospital from August 2014 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical approach: a transabdominal group (transabdominal diaphragmatic esophageal hiatus approach) and a combined group (thoracoabdominal combined with right thoracic approach). Perioperative clinical data and postoperative follow-up data were collected to compare the short- and long-term efficacy of the two groups. Results     A total of 87 patients were enrolled. There were 48 patients (31 males and 17 females, with an average age of 60.85±8.47 years) in the transabdominal group, and 39 patients (25 males and 14 females, with an average age of 61.13±8.51 years) in the combined group. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the baseline indicators such as gender, age, tumor size and stage (P>0.05). Compared with the combined group, the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative bed rest time, postoperative total drainage volume were shorter or less, and the visual analogue scale score on the 3rd day after surgery were lower in the transabdominal group (P<0.05). However, the total number of lymph nodes dissected, the number of thoracic lymph nodes dissected and the number of positive thoracic lymph nodes in the combined group were larger than those in the transabdominal group, and the differences were statistically significant (P=0.001). The median survival time in the combined group and transabdominal group was 25.85 months and 20.86 months, respectively. The 3-year overall survival rate of the combined group was higher than that of the transabdominal group (46.2% vs. 38.9%, χ2=5.995, P=0.014). However, there was no statistical difference between the two groups in the postoperative catheter time, esophageal and gastric resection margin distance, number of abdominal lymph nodes dissected, number of positive abdominal lymph nodes, or incidence of postoperative complications (P>0.05). Conclusion    For patients with Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, thoracoabdominal combined with right thoracic approach is safe and effective, and has advantages in thoracic lymph node dissection, bringing more benefits to the patients, so it is recommended to be popularized in clinical practice.

Objective To evaluate the short-term outcome of robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) for the treatment of posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumour. Methods The clinical data of consecutive patients with mediastinal neurogenic tumors who received RATS treatment completed by the same operator in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Gansu Provincial People's Hospital from June 2016 to June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The tumors were preoperatively localized and evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging or enhanced CT. Results A total of 35 patients were enrolled, including 19 males and 16 females with a mean age of 34.9±7.1 years. All patients successfully completed the resection of posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumors under RATS, and no conversion to thoracotomy occurred during the operation. The average operative time was 62.3±18.0 min, docking time was 10.3±2.6 min, intraoperative bleeding was 33.9±21.6 mL, postoperative 24-hour chest drainage was 69.0±28.9 mL, postoperative chest drainage time was 2.0 (1.0, 3.0) d and the postoperative hospital stay was 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) d. Postoperative complications occurred in 3 patients, including 2 patients with transient Honor syndrome and 1 patient with transient anhidrosis of the affected upper limb. Conclusion RATS for posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumours is safe, effective and feasible, and allows the full benefit of the robotic surgical system to be exploited.

Objective To compare the short- and long-term effects of R4 versus R3+R4 endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) for acrohyperhidrosis. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients with acrohyperhidrosis admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Gansu Provincial Hospital for surgical treatment from April 2014 to April 2021. The patients were divided into two groups according to the methods of ETS, including a R4 group and a R3+R4 group. Perioperative clinical data and postoperative follow-up data were collected to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of the two groups. Results A total of 155 eligible patients were included. There were 60 patients in the R4 group, including 23 males and 37 females, with a mean age of 22.55±2.74 years. There were 95 patients in the R3+R4 group, including 40 males and 55 females, with a mean age of 23.14±3.65 years. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in terms of baseline indicators such as gender, age and positive family history (P>0.05). Total operative time was 38.67±5.20 min in the R4 group and 40.05±5.18 min in the R3+R4 group; intraoperative bleeding was 7.25±3.25 mL in the R4 group and 7.95±3.90 mL in the R3+R4 group; postoperative hospital stay was 1.28±0.52 d in the R4 group and 1.38±0.57 d in the R3+R4 group, the differences between the two groups in the above indicators were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Postoperative hand hyperhidrosis symptoms were significantly relieved in both groups, and the complete remission rate was better in the R3+R4 group than that in the R4 group (98.0% vs. 93.3%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.358). The R3+R4 group was superior to the R4 group in terms of the relief of plantar hyperhidrosis symptoms, patient satisfaction and quality of life index at 6 months postoperatively (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the overall incidence of compensatory hyperhidrosis at 12 months postoperatively between the two groups (P=0.867), but the incidence of compensatory hyperhidrosis was higher in the R3+R4 group than that in the R4 group (72.6% vs. 70.0%). Conclusion The perioperative outcomes of R4 and R3+R4 ETS are similar, but R3+R4 ETS has a higher rate of symptomatic relief of acrohyperhidrosis, and patients have a better postoperative quality of life. R3+R4 ETS is a reliable option for the treatment of acrohyperhidrosis. However, patients need to be informed that this procedure may increase the risk of compensatory hyperhidrosis.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite growing efforts for its early detection by screening populations at risk, the majority of lung cancer patients are still diagnosed in an advanced stage. In the last decade, the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been improved significantly. Emerging options of targeted therapies and immunotherapies have shifted the management of lung cancer to a more personalized treatment approach, significantly influencing the clinical course and outcome of the disease. At present, molecular biomarkers are becoming a powerful tool for diagnosing cancer, predicting treatment response outcomes, and assessing prognosis. In this review, we summarized the biomarkers relevant to the diagnosis, prediction, and prognosis of NSCLC as well as promising novel predictive biomarkers in the future.