The seco-prezizaane-type sesquiterpenes (SPS), as a special class of sesquiterpenes with a highly oxidative five-ring cage structure and seven consecutive chiral centers, are isolated from the genus Illicium, which have a variety of biological activities, including neurotoxicity and neurotrophic effects, etc. This review summarizes the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of SPS, and discusses the potential trend and scope of future research.

Sufficient embryos are needed for the preservation of Beagle dogs germplasm resources and the prepara-tion of gene?modified human disease animal models. Up to now, the induced ovulation technique has no effect on dogs,it is hard to obtain mature oocytes in vivo, although the scientists try a lot in many aspects, but still could not make a break?through. The in vitro maturation rate is too low to support the preservation of germplasm resources, application in gene?modified disease models and biomedical research. Aiming to provide useful information on breakthrough in dog oocytes mat?uration, this review will summarize the effect of different age and reproductive stage,different morphology and size of the oo?cytes and lipid droplet on the in vitro maturation of dog oocytes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEThe new edition of the TNM staging for lung and pleural tumours has been finished, which put weight on the extent of primary tumor as one of the important prognosises. But little study has performed on the primary tumor extent < or = 2 cm. The aim of this study is to explore the prognosis of patients with tumor extent < or = 2 cm in stage I of non-small cell lung cancer, which helps us to choose the best treatment for these patients.

METHODSRetrospective study on the clinical response and survival time of whom underwent complete surgical resection and diagnosed as T1a of stage I NSCLC from 1998 to 2004 was analyzed. Data was analyzed by SPSS 17.0 software.

RESULTSOverall survival rate was 80.8%. By the study, age (P = 0.241), gender (P = 0.175), history of smoking (P = 0.845), pathologic type ( P =0.265), and systematic mediastinal lymphadenectomy (SML )(P = 0.918) or not, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy or not ( P = 0.616) and visceral pleural invasion (P = 0.827) were not the prognosises of these patients. Only the tumor differentiation such as poorly differentiated was the important prognosis ( P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIn the tumor extent < or = 2 cm of stage I non-small cell lung cancer, the visceral pleural invasion maybe not influence the patients survival. The tumor differentiation is one of the important prognostic factors.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; mortality ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDSome of the locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) need different trachea-bronchoplasty operative styles in order to make the widest possible to resect the tumor and remain normal pulmonary function. The aim of this study is to explore the surgical problem during trachea-bronchoplasty operation.

METHODSThere were 2206 patients with NSCLC underwent surgical treatment from January 2003 to June 2005 in this hospital. Of the 2206 cases, 100 patients accepted the trachea-bronchoplasty, whose clinic data were analyzed. There were 42 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 23 adenosquamous carcinoma, 11 adenocarcinoma, 5 mucoepidermoid carcinoma, 4 adeoid cystic carcinoma, 3 carcinoid and 12 undetermined. Thirty-four cases were in stage IB, 23 in stage IIB, 23 in stage IIIA and 20 in stage IIIB. There were 42 cases of right upper sleeve lobectomy, 1 right lower sleeve lobectomy, 24 left upper sleeve lobectomy, 4 left lower sleeve lobectomy, 8 sleeve bilobectomy, 17 carinal reconstruction, 4 sleeve lobectomy plus pulmonary artery angioplasty.

RESULTSComplete resection (R0) of the cancer was performed in 97 patients and uncomplete resection (margin positive, R1) was performed in 3 patients. Postoperative complication happened in 5 cases (the occurrence rate was 5%): Pneumonia in 2 cases, pleura cavity infection in 1 case, broncho-pleura fistula in 1 case, alveoli-pleura fistula in 1 case. One patient died of pulmonary infection, the operative mortality was 1%. The postoperative inpatient time was from 4 days to 27 days, with median of 11 days.

CONCLUSIONSTrachea-bronchoplasty is suitable for some patients of the locally advanced NSCLC and consistent to the tumor surgical treatment principle. A satisfactory cure effect can be obtained for undergoing such operative style. The key point of successful operation is the operating skill to manage trachea, bronchi and pulmonary vessels.

BACKGROUNDEndostar™ (rh-endostatin, YH-16) is a new recombinant human endostatin developed by Medgenn Bioengineering Co. Ltd., Yantai, Shandong, P.R.China. Pre-clinical study indicated that YH-16 could inhibit tumor endothelial cell proliferation, angiogenesis and tumor growth. Phase I and phase II studies revealed that YH-16 was effective as single agent with good tolerance in clinical use.The current study was to compare the response rate , median ti me to progression (TTP) ,clinical benefit andsafety in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) , who were treated with YH-16 plus vi-norelbine and cisplatin (NP) or placebo plus NP.

METHODSFour hundred and ninety-three histologically or cy-tologically confirmed stage IIIB and IV NSCLC patients , withlife expectancy > 3 months and ECOG perform-ance status 0-2 , were enrolledin a randomized ,double-blind ,placebo-controlled , multicenter trial ,either trialgroup : NP plus YH-16 (vinorelbine 25 mg/m² on day 1 and day 5 ,cisplatin 30mg/m² on days 2 to 4 , YH-167.5mg/m² on days 1 to 14) or control group : NP plus placebo (vinorelbine 25 mg/m² on day 1 and day 5 ,cis-platin 30 mg/m² on days 2 to 4 ,0.9% sodium-chloride 3 .75 ml on days 1 to 14) every 3 weeks for 2-6 cycles .The trial endpoints included response rate ,clinical benefit rate ,time to progression,quality of life and safety .

RESULTSOf 486 assessable patients , overall response rate was 35.4% in trial group and 19.5% in controlgroup (P=0 .0003) . The median TTP was 6 .3 months and 3 .6 months for trial group and control group respectively (P < 0 .001) . The clinical benefit rate was 73 .3 %in trial group and 64.0% in control group (P=0 .035) .In untreated patients of trial group and control group ,the response rate was 40 .0% and 23.9%(P=0 .003) ,the clinical benefit rate was 76 .5 % and 65 .0 % (P=0 .023) ,the median TTP was 6 .6 and 3 .7months (P=0 .0000) ,respectively .In pretreated patients of trial group and control group ,the response ratewas 23.9% and 8.5%(P=0 .034) ,the clinical benefit rate was 65.2% and 61.7%(P=0 .68) ,the median TTP was 5 .7 and 3 .2 months (P=0 .0002) ,respectively . The relief rate of clinical symptoms in trial groupwas higher than that of those in control group ,but no significance existed (P > 0 .05) . The score of quality oflife in trial group was significantly higher than that in control group (P=0 .0155) after treatment . There were no significant differences in incidence of hematologic and non-hematologic toxicity , moderate and severe sideeffects betweentrial group and control group .

CONCLUSIONSThe addition of YH-16 to NP regimen results in significantly and clinically meaningful improvement in response rate , median time to tumor progression,and clinical benefit rate compared with NP alone in advanced NSCLC patients . YH-16 in combination with chemotherapy shows a synergic activity and a favorable toxic profile in advanced cancer patients .

Objective To evaluate the reliability of video-assisted mini-thoracectomy(VAMT) for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with pulmonary peripheral nodules.Methods A total of 55 patients with pulmonary peripheral nodules(1 case of multiple nodules and 54 cases of solitary nodule) underwent VAMT.The surgery included wedge resection in 23 patients and lobectomy with lymph node dissection in 32 patients(The lobectomy was performed by using conventional combined with thoracoscopic instruments.A self-made lymph node clamp was applied for lymph node dissection).Results The operation was successfully accomplished under thoracoscopy in all the 55 patients.The operation time was 35~180 min(mean,109 min) and the intraoperative blood loss was 50~400 ml(mean,122 ml).No blood transfusion was required.Postoperative complications included air leakage in 1 patient(discharge on the 32 postoperative day) and delayed wound healing in 1 patient(discharge on the 19 postoperative day).The length of postoperative hospital stay of the other 53 patients was 4~11 days(mean,8.3 days).Final pathological diagnosis showed 15 cases of benign lesions,38 cases of primary lung carcinoma,1 case of atypical adenomatous hyperplasia,and 1 case of metastatic lung cancer.The benign lesions were cured by wedge resection.Anatomic lobectomy with lymph node dissection was performed in 32 patients with primary lung cancer.Of other 6 patients with terminal lung cancer,4 patients were conservatively treated because of an extensive dissemination and 2 patients received a palliative wedge resection because of poor pulmonary functions.Conclusions Video-assisted mini-thoracectomy is helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary peripheral nodules.Its long-term effects for clinical early-stage lung cancer need further follow-up investigations.

Purpose:To evaluate the clinical effects and indications of surgical treatment of non small lung cancer invading the left atrium and great vessels and trachea carina. Methods:From August 1998 to Auguest 2003, we performed operations on patients with non-small lung cancer invading the left atrium in 3 cases, invading the descending aorta in 1 case, invading trachea carina in 3 cases; all the patients have been examined to exclude distant metastasis, including nuclear bone scan to exclude bone metastasis; there were 2 cases of left pneumonectomy and one of right pneumonectomy invading the left atrium, there were 3 cases of right sleeve pneumonectomy invading the trachea carina. For the cases invading the descending aorta, we performed the operation with atrium-aorta bypass, Pathology examination: all of the cases were squamous lung cancer, staging of T 4N 0M 0 for 6 cases,T 4N 2M o for 1 case. Results:No complication, follow up: 6 cases survived more than 1 year,1 case survived more than 9 months;4 cases were alive for more than 3 years, 1 case invading the atrium died in 30 months because of brain metastasis,1 case invading the carina died in 15 months because of pulmonary infection. Conclusions:For localized advanced non-small lung cancer invading the aorta and invading the carina and the atrium, if we selected the patient correctly and with a good surgical technique with complete radical resection of the tumor ,we can acquire good results.

Background and Purpose:Lung cancer is the most malignant tumour in the world.Its incidence is growing and NSCLC is predominent(80%) in lung cancer.Most patients with lung cancer were diagnosed in late stages.The tumour could be shrunk by neoadjuvant chemotherapy when the case with stage Ⅲ NSCLC was considered not possible for radical operated neoadjuvant chemotherapy may lead to the following,operation could be improved,micrometastasis could be annihilated and survival could be extended.Objective of this paper was to analyse the prognostic factors for survival in patients treated by surgery and chemotherapy for NSCLC.Methods:98 cases of neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with surgery for NSCLC,stageⅠ~Ⅲ,were collected retrospectively in our hospital from 1995 to 1997.35 cases were stageⅠ.21 cases were stage Ⅱ.42 cases were stage Ⅲ.83 cases had 1 cycle of chemotherapy pre-operatively.15 cases had 2 cycles chemotherapy pre-operatively.Regimes of chemotherapy were MVP,MOP and MAP et al.Response rate(RR) of chemotherapy was:45 cases had partial response(PR) and 53 cases were stable disease(SD).Operative mode was lobectomy and pneumectomy with lymph nodes dissection.Pathologic type was squamous,adeno,adeno-squamous and others.All the patients were treated by chemotherapy for two or three cycles after surgery except for the patients in stageⅠin 1996~1997.After being followed-up for more than 5 years,data were examined using life table,KaplanMeier method,Log Rank statistic and Cox-mantel test.The possible factors affecting survival were tested with univariate and multivariate analysis.Results:The median followed-up time of 98 cases for NSCLC was 41.2 months.36 cases were alive.62 cases were dead.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rate of 98 cases for NSCLC was 88.78%、49.63% and 18.46%.The 5-year survival rates of stageⅠ、ⅡandⅢ were 33.23%、20.26% and 5.52% respectively(P=0.0002).The 5-year survival rates of N_(0)、N_(1)、N_(2) were 35.49%、19.08% and 4.90% respectively(P=0.0004).In the 98 cases of NSCLC,better prognosis was correlated with earlier stage.The prognosis was better if the period from last chemotherapy before operation to operation was no more than 1 month. The prognosis of lobectomy,lung hila activity,thorax lymph nodes negativity and squamous cancer was better.The prognosis was poorer if the tumor had invaded big vessels,viscera,chest wall,pericardium and quantity bleeding during≥400ml.The prognosis was better if the tumor was fibrotic.The prognosis of 2 cycles of chemotherapy pre-operatively might be better than 1 cycle.The prognosis of tumor necrosis was poorer and the prognosis of chemotherapy post-operatively was better.Conclusions:The main prognostic factors affecting survival in patients treated by surgery and chemotherapy for NSCLC was stage,the period from last chemotherapy before operation to operation,operation mode,lung hila activity,thorax lymph nodes,site of tumor invasion,bleeding quantity,pathologic type,tumor fibrosis and necrotis,cycles chemotherapy pro-operation and chemotherapy post-operation.

Background and purpose:VATS lobectomy has gained popularity for lung cancer around the world.Complete anatomic resections and node dissections are routinely being performed at many centers under VATS,but some thoracic surgeons are concerned regarding the safety,benefit and radical resection of this operative method.Our study is to evaluate the reliability and feasibility of pulmonary resection by video-assisted mini-thoractomy(VAMT) for patients with lung cancer.Methods:72 patients with lung cancer received either lobectomy and systemic lymph node dissection by video-assisted mini-thoracotomy(VAMT group;n=32) or conventional thoracotomy(conventional group;n=40),lobectomy was performed by conventional or thoracoscopic instruments,specific lymph node clamps were applied for lymph node dissection.Results:VAMT was successfully performed without significant postoperative complication and blood transfusion.No significant differences were observed in the two groups with respect to the length of operation and the total groups of dissected lymph nodes.This study showed that VAMT is a minimally invasive surgery without impairing of the outcome and needed less operative blood loss and shorter postoperative hospitalization compared to conventional thoracotomy.Conclusions:Major pulmonary resection by video-assisted minithoractomy for patients with lung cancer is safe,reliable and less invasive,it is consistant with the surgical standard of lung cancer.Its long-term benefit needs to be clarified after further follow-up.

Purpose:To investigate the effects of chemotherapy on the patient's operation for lung cancer.Methods:One hundred patients were randomized into two groups. ①Preoperative chemotherapy group, the patients accepted chemotherapy first, then underwent operation, 59 cases;②postoperative chemotherapy group, the patients accepted the chemotherapy after operation, 41 cases. Most of the patients accepted the MVP chemotherapy regimen (1-6 course). All patients underwent operation of lobectomy or pneumonectomy. During the operation, the change of thorax structure was observed. Some indexes, which include operation time, blood loss during operation and postoperative drainage volume of first day, were recorded. The data were analysed with SPSS software.Results:①It is indicated that preoperative chemotherapy induce thoracic tissue fibrosis, which include pleura, the tissue around tumor and lymph nodes. The tissue fibrosis of pulmonary artery was most notable, which increase the risk and difficulty of operation .The serious grade of tissue fibrossis was related to the courses of chemotherapy. ②The operation time of preoperative chemotherapy group was longer than that of postoperative chemotherapy group ( P 0 05).④There was no significant difference in postoperative drainage volume in the two groups.Conclusions:①Chemotherapy increases the patients′ operation risks for lung cancer;②Fibrosis is an underlying risk factor for blood loss, it is necessary to pay more attention to careful hemostasia during the operation. ③To decrease the risks of postoperative complication, sufficient interval after chemotherapy, preoperative preparation and proper management after operation are the key factors.