1.Interpretation of neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatments for early stage resectable non-small cell lung cancer: Consensus recommendations from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
Zhuokun HE ; Ning LI ; Qing GENG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(03):291-299
With the publication of several phase Ⅱ and Ⅲ clinical studies, the multidisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for early resectable non-small cell lung cancer (rNSCLC) are rapidly evolving. These studies have elucidated the significant effects of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies on improving the prognosis of rNSCLC patients, while also highlighting the urgent need to revise and refine corresponding treatment protocols and clinical pathways. In response, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer has assembled a diverse, multidisciplinary international expert panel to evaluate current clinical trials related to rNSCLC and to provide diagnostic, staging, and treatment recommendations for rNSCLC patients in accordance with the 8th edition of the AJCC-UICC staging system. The consensus recommendations titled "Neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatments for early stage resectable non-small cell lung cancer: Consensus recommendations from the International Associationfor the Study of Lung Cancer" outline 20 recommendations, 19 of which received over 85% agreement from the experts. The recommendations indicate that early rNSCLC patients should undergo evaluation by a multidisciplinary team and complete necessary imaging studies. For stage Ⅱ patients, consideration should be given to either adjuvant therapy following surgery or direct neoadjuvant/perioperative treatment, while stage Ⅲ patients are recommended to receive neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy followed by surgery. Postoperatively, adjuvant immunotherapy should be considered based on the expression levels of programmed cell death ligand 1, along with testing for other oncogenic driver mutations. For patients with epidermal growth factor receptor or anaplastic lymphoma kinase mutations sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors, corresponding adjuvant targeted therapy is recommended. These recommendations aim to provide personalized and precise treatment strategies for early rNSCLC patients to enhance the efficacy of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies. This article provides an in-depth interpretation of these consensus recommendations.
2.Clinical and pathological characteristics analysis of benign pulmonary nodules clinically highly suspected as malignant: A retrospective cohort study
Gaojian PAN ; Guojun GENG ; Xiaolei ZHU ; Hongming LIU ; Ning LI ; Jianyun PAN ; Guanzhi YE ; Jie JIANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(02):194-200
Objective To discuss the main pathological types and imaging characteristics of pulmonary nodules that are highly suspected to be malignant in clinical practice but are pathologically confirmed to be benign. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of patients with pulmonary nodules who were initially highly suspected of malignancy but were subsequently pathologically confirmed to be benign. These patients were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from December 2020 to April 2023. Based on the outcomes of preoperative discussions, the patients were categorized into a benign group and a suspicious malignancy group. The clinical data and imaging characteristics of both groups were compared. Results A total of 232 patients were included in the study, comprising 112 males and 120 females, with a mean age of (50.7±12.0) years. Among these, 127 patients were classified into the benign group, while 105 patients were categorized into the suspicious malignancy group. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding age, gender, symptoms, smoking history, or tumor history (P>0.05). However, significant differences were noted in nodule density, CT values, margins, shapes, and malignant signs (P<0.05). Further analysis revealed that in the suspicious malignancy group, solid nodules were predominantly characterized by collagen nodules and fibrous tissue hyperplasia (33.3%), followed by tuberculosis (20.4%) and fungal infections (18.5%). In contrast, non-solid nodules were primarily composed of collagen nodules and fibrous tissue hyperplasia (41.2%) and atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (17.7%). Conclusion Benign pulmonary nodules that are suspected to be malignant are pathologically characterized by the presence of collagen nodules, fibrous tissue hyperplasia, tuberculosis, atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, and fungal infections. Radiologically, these nodules typically present as non-solid lesions and may exhibit features suggestive of malignancy, including spiculation, lobulation, cavitation, and pleural retraction.
3.Diagnosis and malignant analysis of mass versus pneumonia type of primary pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma
Yihui FENG ; Xiaolei ZHU ; Shaohan FANG ; Xiaowen ZHANG ; Ning LI ; Guojun GENG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(03):360-365
Objective To investigate the relationship between primary pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma (PPMA) mass type and pneumonia type and their difference in malignant degree, and to analyze the role of clinical manifestations and CT features in the diagnosis of this disease. Methods The clinical data of PPMA patients admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from May 2011 to March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to CT features, they were divided into a mass type group and a pneumonia type group. The clinical manifestations, CT features and the degree of malignancy between the two groups were analyzed and compared. Results A total of 57 PPMA patients were enrolled. There were 17 males and 40 females, with an average age of (53.82±10.65) years, and 28 (49%) patients had reversed hato-like sign. There were 42 patients in the mass type group and 15 patients in the pneumonia type group. PPMA often occurs in both lower lungs, with clinical manifestations mainly of coughing and expectorating white mucoid sputum. There were statistical differences between the two groups in the maximum diameter of tumor (P<0.001), boundary condition (P<0.001) and pleural indentation sign (P=0.019). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in Ki-67 index (P>0.05). Conclusion There is no statistical difference in the degree of malignancy between the two types of PPMA. Considering their clinical manifestations and differences in imaging features, it is supported that the pneumonia type is just a progression of the mass type. CT can present various manifestations, among which the reversed hato-like sign is expected to become an important imaging feature. Combined with a high proportion of solid components, pleural indentation sign, and vacuole sign, reversed hato-like sign can play a significant role in the diagnosis of PPMA.
4.Interpretation of "Differentiating separate primary lung adenocarcinomas from intrapulmonary metastases with emphasis on pathological and molecular considerations: Recommendations from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Pathology Committee"
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(06):738-745
The diagnostic frequency of multiple pulmonary tumor nodules has increased significantly in clinical practice. Among patients with multiple pulmonary nodules, distinguishing between separate primary lung carcinomas and intrapulmonary metastases is critical for accurate tumor staging, therapeutic decision-making, and prognostic evaluation. The consensus document "Differentiating separate primary lung adenocarcinomas from intrapulmonary metastases with emphasis on pathological and molecular considerations: Recommendations from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Pathology Committee" highlights the pivotal role of integrated pathological and molecular analyses in diagnosing and differentiating primary lung adenocarcinomas from intrapulmonary metastatic lesions. It further proposes a combined four-step histologic and molecular classification algorithm for addressing multiple pulmonary tumor nodules of adenocarcinoma histology, providing clinicians with enhanced diagnostic tools to refine staging accuracy, guide therapeutic strategies, and improve prognostic predictions for lung adenocarcinoma. Building on current advancements in global research, this article offers a comprehensive interpretation of the consensus recommendations.
5.Interpretation of "Single-cell and spatial genomic landscape of non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases"
Shishi ZOU ; Ruyuan HE ; Guoqing LUO ; Ning LI ; Qing GENG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(07):953-957
Non-small cell lung cancer is one of the primary types of cancer that leads to brain metastases. Approximately 10% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer have brain metastases at the time of diagnosis, and 26%-53% of patients develop brain metastases during the progression of their disease. However, the underlying mechanisms of lung cancer brain metastasis have not been fully elucidated. With the continuous development of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, the genomic and transcriptomic characteristics of lung cancer brain metastasis are gradually being revealed. In February 2025, the journal Nature Medicine published an article titled "Single-cell and spatial genomic landscape of non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases". This article aims to provide a brief interpretation of the paper for colleagues in research and clinical practice.
6.Interpretation of the global burden of lung cancer: Current status and future trends
Jingxuan ZHANG ; Tinglü ; FU ; Ning LI ; Qing GENG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2024;31(01):17-23
The article titled "The global burden of lung cancer: Current status and future trends" which is recently published in Nature Reviews Cinical Oncology has provided a detailed analysis of the current global status of lung cancer. This article focuses on the global burden of lung cancer, risk factors, related prevention, control measures and treatment progress. Based on the current situation of lung cancer in the world, this paper analyzes the current situation of lung cancer in China, and briefly interprets the key points of prevention as well as control measures in the article.
7.Application and ethical exploration of ChatGPT in medical clinical practice
Gaojian PAN ; Guanzhi YE ; Shaohan FANG ; Xiaolei ZHU ; Hongming LIU ; Ning LI ; Guojun GENG ; Jie JIANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2024;31(06):910-914
Following the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technologies, especially the development of large language models like ChatGPT, the field of medical clinical practice is undergoing an unprecedented technological revolution. These advanced technologies, through efficient processing and analysis of large datasets, not only provide medical professionals with auxiliary diagnoses and treatment suggestions but also significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of medical education. This study conducts a comprehensive analysis and review of the applications of large language models in various aspects, including clinical inquiry, history collection, medical literature writing, clinical decision support, optimization of medical portal websites, patient health management, medical education, academic research, and scientific writing. However, the application of these technologies is not without flaws and presents several limitations and ethical challenges. This paper focuses on challenges related to technological errors, academic dishonesty, abuse risks, over-reliance, possibilities of misdiagnosis and treatment errors, and issues of accountability. In conclusion, large language models demonstrate tremendous potential in the integration and advancement of medical practices. Nevertheless, while fully harnessing the benefits brought by ChatGPT, it is essential to acknowledge and address these ethical challenges to ensure that the application of ChatGPT in the medical field is responsible and effective.
8.Interpretation of the updated NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology: Non-small cell lung cancer (version 5. 2024)
Guoqing LUO ; Xiao LU ; Dinghui LI ; Min PENG ; Ning LI ; Qing GENG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2024;31(07):955-961
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With the popularization of low-dose CT and the improvement of people’s awareness of physical examinations, the number of detected pulmonary nodules is gradually increasing, and there is a greater demand for standardized diagnostic and treatment guidelines. On April 23, 2024, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network updated its clinical practice guidelines for NSCLC to the version 5. Compared with the version 5 in 2023, the version 5 in 2024 updates focus on diagnostic evaluation, perioperative systemic therapy, treatment of advanced NSCLC, and molecular marker testing, which will be interpreted in this article with the aim of providing the latest guidance and reference for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in China.
9.Clinicopathological analysis of gastric adenocarcinoma with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein and enteroblastic differentiation
Likun ZAN ; Lulu SHEN ; Xin ZHANG ; Ning GAO ; Baoguo TIAN ; Xiaoxin GENG ; Xiao PENG ; Jiawen LI ; Peng BU ; Guohai ZHAO
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2024;46(7):686-695
Objective:To investigate the immunophenotypic and molecular biological characteristics of patients with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and enteroblastic differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma (GAED).Methods:The clinicopathological data of 13 patients with elevated serum AFP and GAED admitted to Shanxi Cancer Hospital from 2018 to 2020 were collected. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) were used to analyze the immune markers and molecular biological characteristics of the pathological tissues of the patients. Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test were used for survival analysis.Results:Among the 13 patients with GAED, 12 were male and 1 was female, aged 41-70 years, with a median age of 64 years. The lesions were mainly located in the gastric antrum (5 cases) and gastric body (4 cases). IHC results showed that the tumor embryonic protein (AFP, SALL4, GPC3), intestinal epithelial differentiation protein (CDX-2, CD10), and some original intestinal epithelial phenotype markers (OCT3/4, Claudin6) were expressed in the tumor tissues. Combined application of multiple markers can reduce the rate of missed diagnosis. Among the 13 patients, 12 had at least one mutation (1 mutation: 1 case, 2-5 mutations: 3 cases, 6-15 mutations: 8 cases), and 1 case was not detected. The gene with the highest mutation frequency was TP53 (10 cases), and other mutant genes included EPHB1 (3 cases), ATRX (2 cases), EPHA5 (2 cases), GATA3 (2 cases), LRP1B (2 cases) and MAP2K4 (2 cases) were also detected. Three of the 13 patients had structural variations, which were C14orf177- GNAS, AIM1- FGFR3, and EPHA6- ROS1 gene rearrangements. All 13 patients had copy number variation, and 11 patients had copy number variation of more than 2 genes. The common amplification genes were IRS2 (5 cases), PTEN (5 cases), GNAS (4 cases), CCNE1 (3 cases), CEBPA (3 cases), PCK1 (3 cases) and ERBB2 (2 cases). The common deletion genes were SOX2 (5 cases) and MYC (5 cases). Among the 13 patients, 4 died, and 2 of the dead patients had liver metastasis. There were 4 patients with disease-free survival and 5 patients with disease progression, including 3 cases of abdominal metastasis and 2 cases of liver metastasis. The 3-year survival rate of patients was 65.9 %, and the 3-year progression-free survival rate was 30.7 %. Gene LRP1B point mutation was associated with poor prognosis ( P<0.001). There was no significant improvement in the prognosis of patients treated with immunotherapy compared with those treated with chemotherapy alone ( P=0.595), but the prognosis of patients treated with postoperative chemotherapy or postoperative chemotherapy plus immunotherapy was better than that of patients treated with surgery alone ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Elevated serum AFP with GAED is a highly invasive tumor with unique molecular characteristics, often accompanied by multiple molecular events. TP53 mutation is the most common type of gene mutation. In addition, some cases are accompanied by HER2 amplification and gene rearrangement.
10.Clinicopathological analysis of gastric adenocarcinoma with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein and enteroblastic differentiation
Likun ZAN ; Lulu SHEN ; Xin ZHANG ; Ning GAO ; Baoguo TIAN ; Xiaoxin GENG ; Xiao PENG ; Jiawen LI ; Peng BU ; Guohai ZHAO
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2024;46(7):686-695
Objective:To investigate the immunophenotypic and molecular biological characteristics of patients with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and enteroblastic differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma (GAED).Methods:The clinicopathological data of 13 patients with elevated serum AFP and GAED admitted to Shanxi Cancer Hospital from 2018 to 2020 were collected. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) were used to analyze the immune markers and molecular biological characteristics of the pathological tissues of the patients. Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test were used for survival analysis.Results:Among the 13 patients with GAED, 12 were male and 1 was female, aged 41-70 years, with a median age of 64 years. The lesions were mainly located in the gastric antrum (5 cases) and gastric body (4 cases). IHC results showed that the tumor embryonic protein (AFP, SALL4, GPC3), intestinal epithelial differentiation protein (CDX-2, CD10), and some original intestinal epithelial phenotype markers (OCT3/4, Claudin6) were expressed in the tumor tissues. Combined application of multiple markers can reduce the rate of missed diagnosis. Among the 13 patients, 12 had at least one mutation (1 mutation: 1 case, 2-5 mutations: 3 cases, 6-15 mutations: 8 cases), and 1 case was not detected. The gene with the highest mutation frequency was TP53 (10 cases), and other mutant genes included EPHB1 (3 cases), ATRX (2 cases), EPHA5 (2 cases), GATA3 (2 cases), LRP1B (2 cases) and MAP2K4 (2 cases) were also detected. Three of the 13 patients had structural variations, which were C14orf177- GNAS, AIM1- FGFR3, and EPHA6- ROS1 gene rearrangements. All 13 patients had copy number variation, and 11 patients had copy number variation of more than 2 genes. The common amplification genes were IRS2 (5 cases), PTEN (5 cases), GNAS (4 cases), CCNE1 (3 cases), CEBPA (3 cases), PCK1 (3 cases) and ERBB2 (2 cases). The common deletion genes were SOX2 (5 cases) and MYC (5 cases). Among the 13 patients, 4 died, and 2 of the dead patients had liver metastasis. There were 4 patients with disease-free survival and 5 patients with disease progression, including 3 cases of abdominal metastasis and 2 cases of liver metastasis. The 3-year survival rate of patients was 65.9 %, and the 3-year progression-free survival rate was 30.7 %. Gene LRP1B point mutation was associated with poor prognosis ( P<0.001). There was no significant improvement in the prognosis of patients treated with immunotherapy compared with those treated with chemotherapy alone ( P=0.595), but the prognosis of patients treated with postoperative chemotherapy or postoperative chemotherapy plus immunotherapy was better than that of patients treated with surgery alone ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Elevated serum AFP with GAED is a highly invasive tumor with unique molecular characteristics, often accompanied by multiple molecular events. TP53 mutation is the most common type of gene mutation. In addition, some cases are accompanied by HER2 amplification and gene rearrangement.

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