Objective·To verify the performance and explore the clinical application value of a multi-modal pulmonary nodule diagnosis model combined with metabolic fingerprints,protein biomarker CEA and Image-AI via random forest(MPI-RF).Methods·This study enrolled 289 patients with pulmonary nodules who were admitted to the Shanghai Chest Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and were detected by low-dose helical computed tomography(LDCT).The patients were divided into malignant nodule group(n=197)and benign nodule group(n=92)based on postoperative pathological results,and the basic information of the two groups was collected and compared.Electrochemiluminescence was used to detect the preoperative serum CEA levels of the patients in the two groups,matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry(MALDI-MS)was used to detect the serum metabolic fingerprints,and the CT image artificial intelligence model Image-AI was used to calculate the image scores.CEA data,serum metabolic fingerprints data and image scores were integrated and input into MPI-RF to calculate the malignant probability score of each patient.The receiver operator characteristic curve(ROC curve)and area under the curve(AUC)were used to evaluate the performance of different models,and the DeLong test was used for comparative analysis,including the diagnostic performance of MPI-RF in different types(solid nodule,pure ground-glass nodule and part-solid nodule)and sizes(diameter<8 mm and diameter≥8 mm)of pulmonary nodules,the diagnostic performance comparison of MPI-RF with Mayo Clinic model,veterans administration(VA)model and Brock model,and the diagnostic performance comparison of MPI-RF with lung imaging reporting and data system(Lung-RADS)in benign and malignant nodules.Results·MPI-RF had good diagnostic performance in the differentiation of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules(AUC=0.887,95%CI 0.848?0.925,sensitivity 81.22%,specificity 83.70%).Among them,the AUC of MPI-RF for solid nodules was 0.877(95%CI 0.820?0.934),for part-solid nodules was 0.858(95%CI 0.771?0.946),and for pure ground-glass nodules was 0.978(95%CI 0.923?1.000).The AUC of MPI-RF was 0.840(95%CI 0.716?0.963)for nodules within 8 mm diameter and 0.891(95%CI 0.849?0.933)for nodules larger than 8 mm diameter.Compared with the existing models,the diagnostic performance of MPI-RF was better than that of Mayo Clinic model,VA model and Brock model(all P=0.000).Compared with Lung-RADS,MPI-RF had better diagnostic performance in the total samples and different types of nodules(all P=0.000).Conclusion·MPI-RF is a model for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules with excellent performance,and has potential clinical application value.

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of laboratory examination in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) for interstitial lung disease (ILD) and its application value in assessing the degree of fibrosis in the disease.Methods:Retrospective analysis. The clinical data of ILD patients treated in Shanghai First People′s Hospital from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023[104 cases, male︰female=48︰56, (62.79±1.24) years] were collected. According to the imaging scores, they were divided into a mild fibrosis ILD group [53 cases, male︰female=26︰27, (61.32±1.71) years] and a moderate to severe ILD fibrosis group [51 cases, male︰female=22︰29, (64.31±1.88) years]. Patients with community-acquired pneumonia without fibrotic lesions by HRCTduring the same period were selected as the control group [49 cases, male︰female=25︰24, (65.37±1.65)years]. The clinical information of all study subjects, as well as BALF lymphocyte subset analysis, cytokine and cytology count detection results were collected. Furthermore, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to screen the differential indexes, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the differential indexes to assess the degree of ILD pulmonary fibrosis.Results:Compared with the non-fibrotic pneumonia group, IL-6, IL-8, CD4+CD45RO+cells and macrophages (M%) were significantly upregulated in the mild fibrosis ILD group (P<0.05), and significantly higher in the moderate to severe fibrosis ILD group ( P<0.05). Compared with the non-fibrotic pneumonia group, IL-1β and white blood cell (WBC) count were significantly upregulated only in the moderate to severe fibrotic ILD group ( P<0.05). The correction model was constructed by stepwise logistic regression analysis, and the differential indexes were combined, and the proportion of IL-1β+IL-6+IL-8+CD4+CD45RO+cells+macrophages was finally screened as the optimal combined diagnostic mode, with an area under the curve of 0.925, sensitivity of 92.3%, and specificity of 80.0%. Conclusion:Compared with the non-fibrotic pneumonia group, BALF-derived IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, CD4+CD45RO+cells, WBC count and M% can be used as potential biomarkers to assess the degree of fibrosis, and the combination of IL-1β+IL-6+IL-8+CD4+CD45RO+cells+macrophages has a better diagnostic efficacy for moderate to severe fibrotic ILD.

Objective:To investigate the tissue methylation features of adenocarcinoma patients presenting as pulmonary nodules on CT scans.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 adenocarcinoma patients with pulmonary nodules diagnosed at the Shanghai General Hospital from June 1, 2022 to January 20, 2024. Participants were assigned to two groups using the random number table, with 40 in the discovery group and 30 in the validation group. In the discovery group, tissue samples were analyzed using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) technology to compare the average methylation levels between cancer tissues and paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were screened for analysis of their distribution across various genomic functional elements, and hierarchical clustering was plotted. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were further conducted on the DMRs. Subsequently, candidate DMRs associated with lung adenocarcinoma were validated using TCGA lung adenocarcinoma cohort and targeted bisulfite sequencing technology in the validation group. The comparison of methylation levels between groups was conducted using t-tests or non-parametric tests, while rates and composition ratios were analyzed using chi-square tests or Fisher′s exact test.Results:In discovery cohort, the average methylation level in cancer tissues was lower compared to adjacent normal tissues [(42.369±4.627) vs (44.370±4.046), t=?2.059, P=0.043]. A total of 37 995 DMRs were identified, including 16 889 upregulated regions and 21 106 downregulated regions, predominantly locating in promoter regions (48.917%), introns (36.457%), and exons (10.812%). The DMR clustering heatmap revealed two distinct clusters corresponding to cancer tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues. GO analysis showed that DMRs associated genes were mainly located in the cell membrane and nuclear chromatin, and were primarily involved in RNA polymerase Ⅱ-related transcription and regulation. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that DMRs associated genes were mainly involved in neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, cancer pathways, calcium signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. Validation in the TCGA cohort confirmed 11 potential characteristic DMRs. In the validation group, TBS confirmed that the methylation levels of DMRs associated with MIR10B, DMRTA2, HOPX, TFAP2B and MARCH11 in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent non-cancerous tissues [11.200(4.305, 27.088) vs 2.650(1.298, 4.645), Z=?4.539, P<0.05; 18.610(13.600, 33.025) vs 8.675(5.488, 13.085), Z=?4.554, P<0.05; 17.600(2.183, 76.015) vs 1.085(0.898, 1.835), Z=?5.131, P<0.05; 5.250(3.220, 7.693) vs 3.495(2.165, 4.383), Z=?2.861, P<0.05; 11.515(7.525, 21.033) vs 7.830(5.518, 11.488), Z=?2.440, P<0.05 ], and the differences were statistically significant. Conclusions:Lung adenocarcinoma tissue exhibits different methylation patterns compared with adjacent normal lung tissue. The identified DMRs are involved in the regulation of several key pathways. Results from the TCGA cohort and an independent validation group support the potential diagnostic value of DMRs such as MIR10B, DMRTA2, HOPX, TFAP2B, and MARCH11 in lung adenocarcinoma, though their clinical application requires further validation.

[Abstract] Objective: To investigate the effect of miR-93/EphA4 (Eph receptor A4) axis on the proliferation and migration of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) H460 and H1299 cells via regulating extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) pathway. Methods: The expression levels of miR-93 in H460 and H1299 cells was detected by qPCR. miR-93 mimics and EphA4 overexpression plasmids were transfected into H460 cells and miR-93 inhibitor was transfected into H1299 cells respectively, after which MTT assay and Transwell assay were used to detect the effects of miR-93 on proliferation and migration of transfected cells. The targeted regulatory relationship betweenmiR-93andEphA4wasverifiedbyDual-luciferasereportergeneassay.Theexpression levels of PCNA(proliferating cell nuclear antigen), EphA4, ERK and p-ERK were detected by Westernblotting.The effects of simultaneous overexpression of miR-93 and EphA4 on proliferation and migration of H460 cells were detected by MTT assay and Transwell assay. Results: The expression of miR-93 in H1299 cells was higher than that in H460 cells (P<0.01). Overexpression of miR-93 promoted proliferation and migration of H460 cells (all P<0.01), and knockdown of miR-93 inhibited proliferation and migration of H1299 cells (all P<0.01). The Dualluciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that miR-93 could target EphA4. Overexpression of miR-93 down-regulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of EphA4(allP<0.05), and promoted proliferation and migration of H460 cells through targeted regulation of EphA4 and activation of ERK pathway (all P<0.01). Conclusion: miR-93 promotes the proliferation and migration of NSCLC cells, and its mechanism may be related to the targeted regulation of EphA4 and activation of the ERK pathway.

Objective To estimate the diagnostic value of circulating tumor cell detection for non-small cell lung cancer.Methods A Non-intervention clinical study was conducted in this research.From October 2014 to April 2015, totally 162 NSCLC who presented at Thoracic Surgery Department, 119 benign pulmonary disease and 52 healthy individuals were collected from Shanghai Chest Hospital.Folate receptor ( FR) based polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) method was used to detect the circulating tumor cell ( CTC) level, CEA and CYFRA21-1 was detected by the flowcytometry fluorescence luminance method, SCC was detected with Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay.The differences among groups were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test( multi group comparison) and the Mann-Whitney U test( two group comparison) , and the chi-square test was used in the positive rate comparison;the Receiver Operating Characteristics ( ROC) curve was established.Results The median level of CTC in NSCLC patients was 11.90 Units/3 ml, which was significantly higher than those of benign pulmonary disease ( 6.72 CTC Units/3 ml ) and healthy individuals (5.82 CTC Units/3 ml,χ2 =125.990, P<0.01).Areas Under Curve ( AUCs) of ROC curve for NSCLC was 0.853 2(95% CI: 0.809 5,0.896 9).The cut-off value for discriminating NSCLC with benign pulmonary disease/healthy people was 8.74 CTC Units/3 ml with sensitivity being 77.16% and specificity being 90.06%.The positive rate of CTC in Stage I NSCLC patients was 68.7%, which was much higher than that of the combination of tumor markers(χ2 =32.98,P<0.01).Conclusion With relatively high sensitivity and specificity, the detection of circulating tumor cell may has a clinical value of application and extension.

Objective To evaluate the application value of circulating tumor cell ( CTC ) in the differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodule ( SPN ) . Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 134 patients with solitary pulmonary nodule in Shanghai Chest Hospital from September 2013 to January 2015, including 80 patients with malignant nodule and 54 with benign nodule.CTC levels of the above subjects were detected by ligand-targeted polymerase chain reaction ( LT-PCR ) assay, and serum carcinoembryonic antigen ( CEA ) and cytokeratin 19 fragment ( CYFRA21-1 ) were detected by flow fluorescence assay.Results By Mann-Whitney U Test, the CTC levels of malignant SPN patients [11.06 (8.77-14.41)units/3 ml] were significantly higher than those of benign SPN patients [6.65(4.49 -7.84)units/3 ml] (Z=-6.217,P<0.001).The sensitivity and specificity of differential diagnosis of SPN for CTC were 80%(64/80) and 85%(46/54) respectively.According to the diameter of SPN, the patients were divided into three groups to evaluate the diagnostic value of CTC in SPN with different size .For SPN with diameter less than 8 mm, the sensitivity and specificity of CTC were 6/9 and 4/5 respectively .For SPN with diameter between 8 mm and 20 mm, the sensitivity and specificity of CTC were 83%(35/42) and 85%(29/34).For SPN with diameter greater than 20 mm, the sensitivity and specificity of CTC were 79%(23/29) and 13/15.Conclusion Comparing with the traditional tumor markers, CTC could provide more clinical value in the differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodule .

Objective To evaluate the performance of self‐established angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) detection system . Methods The performance evaluation of ACE reagent kit produced by the Jiuqiang Company including precision ,linearity ,correla‐tion with the reference reagent and reportable range were conducted by using the automatic biochemical analyzer according to the re‐quirements of the EP5‐A2 and EP9‐A documentation in the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) .Results Intra‐as‐say CV of the system were 6 .87% ,2 .39% and inter‐assay CV were 6 .09% ,1 .81% ,respectively .During the day CV were 8 .00 %and 2 .8% respectively ,which were less than those provided by the manufacturer (<10% );the lenearity result was R2 =0 .99 .The correlation coefficient (r) of the system comparing with the reference reagent was 0 .990 56 ,moreover the average bias was 8 .55% , showing good correlation ;the repotable range was 9 .0U/L‐600U/L .Conclusion Self‐established ACE detection system can meet the requirements for clinical application .

Objective To explore the clinical diagnostic value of serum human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit (β-HCG) and alpha fetoprotein ( AFP) in mediastinal germ cell tumors .Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the patients who were definitely diagnosed as mediastinal tumors or mediastinal neoplastic lesions .A total of 133 patients were included for analysis between January 2008 and May 2014, divided into two groups.42 cases of mediastinal germ cell tumor patients were marked as case group while 91 cases of other mediastinal tumor or mediastinal neoplastic lesion patients were marked as control group ( including 31 cases of thymoma , 10 cases of mediastinal neurogenic tumor , 2 cases of intrathoracic goiter , 25 cases of mediastinal cyst , 2 cases of mediastinal lipoma , 11 cases of mediastinal lymphoma and 10 cases of thymic carcinoma ) .AFP was detected by chemiluminescence detection , and -HCG was detected by electrochemical luminescence .K-S test was performed to investigate normality of data , non-normally distributed data were described as Median ( interquartile range ) .Mann-Whitney U test was done for measurement of data between two groups .Logistic regression analysis was performed as multivariate analysis.Receiver operating characteristic curve ( ROC) was used to determine the cut-off values.Results The levels of serum AFP and β-HCG in case group were 13.26 (2.39-48.09) ng/ml and 1.99 (0.10-15.7) IU/L, respectively, significantly higher than those in control group [AFP:2.47 (1.78-3.16) ng/ml,β-HCG:0.10 (0.10-0.55) IU/L].The difference of levels of AFP and β-HCG between the case group and the control group were statistically significant ( P=0.000 ) .There were no significant difference when it comes to β-HCG between the case group and intrathoracic goiter patients in control group .Apart from it, the difference of levels of AFP and β-HCG between the case group and every single control group were statistically significant .Cut-off values of AFP and β-HCG for distinguishing mediastinal germ cell tumors from mediastinal tumors were 5.07 ng/ml and 2.32 IU/L.In this scenario, for AFP and β-HCG, sensitivity were 57.1%and 50%, specificity were 97.8%and 96.7%, accuracy were 54.9%and 46.7%, area under the curve ( AUC ) were 0.773 and 0.755, positive likelihood ratios were 26.00 and 15.17respectively.Parallel experiments contributed to increase the sensitivity to 71.4%. Predictive probability (P) =1/[1+exp ( -0.319AFP-0.253HCG+2.850)] was obtained by logistic regression model.When cut-off value of predictive probability ( P ) was 0.30, specificity, AUC, and positive likelihood ratio were increased to 98.9%, 0.835 and 65.00respectively, negative likelihood ratio was decreased to 0.29, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were increased also (96.8%and 88.2%respectively).Conclusion Serum β-HCG, AFP and predictive probability ( P ) is valuable in the diagnosis of mediastinal germ cell tumor .

Objective To investigate the clinical value of whole blood red cell distribution width ( RDW) in discriminating lung cancer metastasis.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the patients who were initially diagnosed as primary lung cancer.A total of 525 patients were included for analysis between January 2012 and July 2013,stratified by different stages and metastasis scenarios.RDW data was investigated.Kruskal-Wallis H tests were performed to know the difference of RDW without and within groups.Spearman correlation test was done subsequently to further analyze the correlationship among RDW and clinical parameters.Results RDW was14.5 ( 13.0-15.4 )%in patients with metastasis , which was significantly higher than those without metastasis [12.7 (12.3-13.0)%].Further analysis indicated a similar ascending trend in cases that already had distant or multiple organ invasion.For example,RDW was 14.6 (12.9-15.4) %in patients of stage ⅢtoⅣ,while was 12.6 (12.2-13.1) %in patients of stageⅠtoⅡ.RDW was correlated to lung cancer metastasis and stage advancement.Areas Under Curve ( AUCs) of ROC for lung cancer metastasis and distant metastasis were 0.823 ( 95% CI:0.787-0.859 ) and 0.710 (95%CI:0.655-0.765) respectively,indicating a promising accuracy.The Cut-off value for discriminating lung cancer with/without metastasis was 14.25% with sensitivity being 56.8% and specificity being 98.3%.Conclusion RDW may be a novel biomarker for auxiliary diagnosis of lung cancer metastasis and could be useful to understand state of illness.

Objective A new method for detecting K-ras mutations based liquid chip was used to evaluate K-ras mutations associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients,to direct the personalized treatment and prognosis evaluation.Methods Take the diagnosis technology research methods,the sensitivity and repeatability of the liquid chip K-ras gene mutation detection method were assessed.A total of 100 NSCLC patients from Nov 2011 to Feb 2012 in Shanghai Chest hospital were included in this study,the fresh tumor tissues were collected for DNA extraction.The 2nd exon 12 and 13 codons,containing 8 K-ras mutations occuring in high frequency were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR),followed by ligation of the PCR products to a series of special probes using ligase detection reaction (LDR),then the PCR-LDR products were analyzed by liquid chip platform.Direct sequencing was applied to compare with the detection results.Results The sensitivity of liquid chip technology detection was 10％-20％,higher than the traditional sequencing method by 1％.Average CV value was 4％-15％ and showed good repeatability.5 K-ras mutations in 100 patients (5％) were detected using multiplex PCR-LDR combined fluid chip methods,including 3 Glyl2Val and 2 Gly12Asp mutations in exon 2.The 5 K-ras mutations were verified accurately by direct sequencing.Conclusions The novel detection method of K-ras mutations based PCRLDR and fluid chip shows high throughput,high sensitivity,good repeatability and the results are reliable and accurate.This method can be used to accurately identified K-ras mutations for NSCLC patients prior to their targeted therapy with TKIs.