Melanoma is the most aggressive cutaneous tumor. Neuropilin and tolloid-like 2 (NETO2) is closely related to tumorigenesis. However, the functional significance of NETO2 in melanoma progression remains unclear. Herein, we found that NETO2 expression was augmented in melanoma clinical tissues and associated with poor prognosis in melanoma patients. Disrupting NETO2 expression markedly inhibited melanoma proliferation, malignant growth, migration, and invasion by downregulating the levels of calcium ions (Ca²⁺) and the expression of key genes involved in the calcium signaling pathway. By contrast, NETO2 overexpression had the opposite effects. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of CaMKII/CREB activity with the CaMKII inhibitor KN93 suppressed NETO2-induced proliferation and melanoma metastasis. Overall, this study uncovered the crucial role of NETO2-mediated regulation in melanoma progression, indicating that targeting NETO2 may effectively improve melanoma treatment.
Humans ; Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Melanoma/genetics* ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Phosphorylation ; Signal Transduction

Objective    To analyze the research hotspots and progress of surgical treatment of myasthenia gravis. Methods    The top 100 most cited articles on surgical treatment of myasthenia gravis were identified by searching the Web of Science database, and a bibliometric analysis was conducted. Results    The publication year of the top 100 most cited articles ranged from 1939 to 2021, and the number of citations ranged from 55 to 850 per article. Most of the included articles were original research articles (75/100), which were mainly retrospective studies (64/75). The United States was the country with the most published articles and most citations, and Annals of Thoracic Surgery was the most sourced journal (n=20). Through VOSviewer analysis, high-density keywords were thymectomy, maximal thymectomy, extended thymectomy, transcervical thymectomy, thymoma, and autoantibodies. Conclusion    The scope of surgical resection, surgical approach and pathogenesis are the current hotspots in the field of surgical treatment of myasthenia gravis. It is hoped that this paper can provide references for future researches in this field.

Objective    To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor (PMYST). Methods    We collected the clinical data of PMYST patients who were admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from September 2000 to September 2020. The clinical and pathological characteristics, treatment and prognosis of PMYST patients were retrospectively analyzed. Results     Finally 18 patients were enrolled, including 17 males and 1 female with a median age of 22.0 (16.6, 26.2) years. Patients had increased level of alpha fetoprotein (AFP). The pathological type can be single yolk sac tumor or combined with other mediastinal germ cell tumors. Chemotherapy and radical surgery were the main treatment methods. Extensive resection was feasible for patients with tumor invasion of other organs. Seven patients developed lung or pleural metastasis after operation, and 3 of them had extrapleural metastasis. One patient recurred within 1 year after surgery. All patients were followed up by telephone or outpatient department. At the last follow-up, 5 patients survived, 9 died, and 4 were lost to follow up, with a median survival of 16.8 months. The median disease-free survival was 14.9 months. The survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 73.3%, 28.6% and 11.8%, respectively. Conclusion    PMYST often occurs in young-middle aged male patients. Preoperative puncture can provide an effective diagnostic basis. R0 resection, AFP returning to normal after treatment and no metastasis may be potential indicators of good prognosis. The overall prognosis of PMYST is poor, and some patients can achieve long-term survival after treatment.

Thymic neuroendocrine tumors (TNETs) are a series of rare diseases with aggressive biology and poor prognosis. Clinical manifestations of TNETs are atypical, and ectopic secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone can be found in some cases, resulting in associated endocrine symptoms. Due to the low morbidity and strong heterogeneity, it’s difficult to diagnose, treat and obtain new treatment regimen. Early complete surgical resection is an effective treatment. For advanced cancer, clinical trials of new drugs are expected to improve the survival of patients.

Lung cancer ranks the first cancer-related morbidity and mortality in China. With the development and penetration of imaging technology, increasing small pulmonary peripheral Nodules (SPPNs) have been detected. However, precise location and diagnosis of SPPNs is still a tough problem for clinical diagnosis and treatment in department of thoracic surgery. With the development of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB), it provides a novel minimally invasive method for the diagnosis and treatment of SPPNs. In this review, we summarized the application and progress of ENB in preoperative positioning, diagnosis, and local treatment, then, discussed the clinical application of ENB in the hybrid operating room.
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Bronchoscopy/methods* ; Electromagnetic Phenomena ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/surgery* ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules/diagnosis* ; Thoracic Surgery

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized CRISPR-Cas9, a super-selective and precise gene editing tool. CRISPR-Cas9 has an obvious advantage in editing multiple genes in the same cell, and presents great potential in disease treatment and animal model construction. In recent years, CRISPR-Cas9 has been used to establish a series of rat models of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), such as

Small cell lung cancer carries the worst prognosis among lung cancer. The current guidelines only recommend surgical treatment for patients in the Ⅰ-ⅡA stage, but surgical treatment is often in a neglected position in clinical practice. More and more recent studies have focused on this aspect. This article reviews the recent research literatures and reviews the progress of surgery in the multidisciplinary treatment of small cell lung cancer.

Objective:To analyze clinical features of aortoesphageal fistula (AEF) patients with massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage.Methods:Five AEF patients with massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage admitted in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2016 January 1st to 2019 December 31st. The clinical data, endoscopic findings, radiological manifestations, treatment and clinical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among 5 patients, 4 were males, 1 was female with an average age of (58±8) years old. The underlying conditions were atherosclerosis ( n=4), hypertension ( n=3), hyperlipidemia ( n=1); 2 cases had aortic aneurysm stent implantation and 1 case of rheumatic heart disease had valve replacement. All 5 patients were complicated with hematemesis and hypovolemic shock, and 4 cases had sentinel hemorrhage. Contrast-enhanced CT or CT angiography of the aorta showed thicken esophageal wall, local esophageal discontinuity, aortic aneurysm, gas around the aortic stent and contrast agent spilling over. The gastroscopy showed esophageal depression lesions, deep ulcers, mucosal erosion with bleeding. Conservative therapy and endoscopic hemostasis failed, 2 patients died without surgical intervention; 3 patients underwent emergency surgeries, 2 survived and 1 died perioperatively. Conclusions:Aortoesophageal fistula is in lack of specific clinical manifestations but is highly in mortality. Therefore CT and gastrocopic examination should be performed for suspected patients, early diagnosis and surgical treatment are the key to save patients′ lives.

Objective To analysis the clinicopathological features of skip N2 metastasis in NSCLC in our clinical center,therefore guide for clinical decision making for NSCLC patients.Methods A total of 120 NSCLC patients with N2 metastasis treated by surgery were enrolled from January 2017 to May 2018,of which 55 were males and 65 were females.The mean age of them were (58.36 ± 11.34) years old.36 patients had skip N2 metastasis,accounting for 30％ of patients with N2 metastasis.48 patients had a history of smoking or a definitive history of second-hand smoke exposure,compared with other 72 patients.Collected pre-and post-operation clinical data of those patients,and carried out relevant statistical analysis.Results Among the NSCLC with skip N2 metastasis,it occulted more frequently in right lower lobe and peripheral lung cancer.The main pathological type was adenocarcinoma with acinar subtype.The most cases of skip N2 metastasis were characterized by single N2 station metastasis.Age of patients showed a significant difference between the two groups(P =0.049).Gender,smoking history,T staging of lung cancer,pathological type and involvement of pulmonary membrane showed no statistic difference between the two groups(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Patient with skip N2 metastasis seemed to be elder,and the lesions of those patients were more likely to be lung adenocarcinoma in the right lower lobe and peripheral lung cancer,often involved single N2 station.The lung cancer in right upper lobe often skipped to level R2 + R4,which in right middle lobe often skipped to levels R2 + R4 and 7,in right and left lower lobes skipped to level 7,in the left upper lobe often skipped to level 5.

Objective To investigate the clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome caused by bronchopulmonary carcinoid. Methods Twenty patients (13 males and 7 females) with ectopic ACTH syndrome caused by bronchopulmonary carcinoid confirmed by surgical pathology were selected from March 2007 to May 2016 in our hospital. We collected and arranged the important clinical data of 20 patients and analyzed carefully. Results The mean age of 20 patients including 14 patients of typical carcinoid and 6 patients of atypical carcinoid was 38.85±15.31 years ranged 13-70 years. All patients had the typical clinical manifestation of Cushing's syndrome. All the thoracic lesions were located by thoracic computed tomography (CT) eventually. The concentration of serum cortisol and ACTH significantly decreased after surgery. Postoperative complications in 3 patients (15.00%) were severe pulmonary infection. Eighteen patients including 13 patients of typical carcinoid and 5 patients of atypical carcinoid were followed up. The median time of follow-up was 31.5 (12-122) months. There were 7 patients of stage Ⅰa, 1 patient of stage Ⅰb, 2 patients of stage Ⅱa and 8 patients of stage Ⅲa in the patients followed up. One patient underwent postoperative radiotherapy, and 4 patients with postoperative chemotherapy. During the follow-up period, one patient relapsed and there was no death. Conclusion Ectopic ACTH syndrome caused by bronchopulmonary carcinoid is a very rare disease. It is every difficult for clinicians to make early diagnosis and draw up plans of treatment without multidisciplinary collaboration. Chest CT is an important method of finding lesions and assessing the viability of surgery. Surgical treatment in early stage will be effective for this disease. And almost all of patients can achieve long-term survival after complete resection of tumors early.