BACKGROUND: Mathematical predictive model is an effective method for preliminarily identifying the malignant pulmonary nodules. As the epidemiological trend of lung cancer changes, the detection rate of ground-glass-opacity (GGO) like early stage lung cancer is increasing rapidly, timely and proper clinical management can effectively improve the patients' prognosis. Our study aims to establish a novel predictive model of malignancy for non-solid pulmonary nodules, which would provide an objective evidence for invasive procedure and avoid unnecessary operation and the consequences. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the basic demographics, serum tumor markers and imaging features of 362 cases of non-solid pulmonary nodule from January 2013 to April 2018. All nodules received biopsy or surgical resection, and got pathological diagnosis. Cases were randomly divided into two groups. The modeling group was used for univariate analysis and logistic regression to determine independent risk factors and establish the predictive model. Data of the validation group was used to validate the predictive value and make a comparison with other models. RESULTS: Of the 362 cases with non-solid pulmonary nodule, 313 (86.5%) cases were diagnosed as AAH/AIS, MIA or invasive adenocarcinoma, 49 cases were diagnosed as benign lesions. Age, serum tumor markers CEA and Cyfra21-1, consolidation tumor ratio value, lobulation and calcification were identified as independent risk factors. The AUC value of the ROC curve was 0.894, the predictive sensitivity and specificity were 87.6%, 69.7%, the positive and negative predictive value were 94.8%, 46.9%. The validated predictive value is significantly better than that of the VA, Brock and GMUFH models. CONCLUSIONS Proved with high predictive sensitivity and positive predictive value, this novel model could help enable preliminarily screening of "high-risk" non-solid pulmonary nodules before biopsy or surgical excision, and minimize unnecessary invasive procedure. This model achieved preferable predictive value, might have great potential for clinical application.
Adenocarcinoma ; blood ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lung Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Models, Theoretical ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules ; blood ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To compare prostate cancer detection rates between 12 cores transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-Bx) and visually estimated multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI)-targeted prostate biopsy (MRI-visual-Bx) for patients with prostate specific antigen (PSA) level less than 10 ng/mL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 76 patients with PSA levels below 10 ng/mL underwent 3.0 Tesla mp-MRI and TRUS-Bx prospectively in 2014. In patients with abnormal lesions on mp-MRI, we performed additional MRI-visual-Bx. We compared pathologic results, including the rate of clinically significant prostate cancer cores (cancer length greater than 5 mm and/or any Gleason grade greater than 3 in the biopsy core). RESULTS: The mean PSA was 6.43 ng/mL. In total, 48 of 76 (63.2%) patients had abnormal lesions on mp-MRI, and 116 targeted biopsy cores, an average of 2.42 per patient, were taken. The overall detection rates of prostate cancer using TRUS-Bx and MRI-visual-Bx were 26/76 (34.2%) and 23/48 (47.9%), respectively. In comparing the pathologic results of TRUS-Bx and MRI-visual-Bx cores, the positive rates were 8.4% (77 of 912 cores) and 46.6% (54 of 116 cores), respectively (p<0.001). Mean cancer core lengths and mean cancer core percentages were 3.2 mm and 24.5%, respectively, in TRUS-Bx and 6.3 mm and 45.4% in MRI-visual-Bx (p<0.001). In addition, Gleason score ≥7 was noted more frequently using MRI-visual-Bx (p=0.028). The detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer was 27/77 (35.1%) and 40/54 (74.1%) for TRUS-Bx and MRI-visual-Bx, respectively (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: MRI-visual-Bx showed better performance in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer, compared to TRUS-Bx among patients with a PSA level less than 10 ng/mL.
Adenocarcinoma/blood/diagnosis/*pathology ; Aged ; Biopsy/*methods ; Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration/*methods ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Interventional/methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Prostate/diagnostic imaging/*pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/*blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms/blood/diagnosis/*pathology ; Ultrasonography, Interventional/methods

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Primary non-ampullary duodenal adenocarcinomas (PNADAs) comprise <0.3% of gastrointestinal malignancies. The rarity of PNADA and poorly defined natural history often leads to a delayed correct diagnosis. This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical characteristics of PNADA and to identify its prognostic factors. METHODS: Data were collected by retrospectively reviewing the medical records of patients with PNADA managed at Gyeongsang National University Hospital from January 2000 to December 2014. Demographic, clinical, endoscopic, and pathological variables were investigated, and factors related to survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients with PNADA were identified, and their median age was 64.9+/-13.6 years with 16 (59.3%) being male. The majority of patients (25/27, 92.6%) were initially diagnosed during upper endoscopy with biopsies. The tumor was located on the 1st or 2nd portion of duodenum in 92.6% (25/27) of patients. At the time of diagnosis, 85.2% (23/27) had advanced diseases (stage III or IV); 48.2% (13/27) had distant metastasis. Median survival time was 12 months (1-93 months). One and 3-year survival rates were 48.1% and 33.3%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, total bilirubin > or =2 mg/dL (OR, 85.28; 95% CI, 3.77-1,938.79; p=0.005) and distant metastasis (OR, 26.74; 95% CI, 3.13-2,328.14; p=0.003) at the time of diagnosis were independent poor prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients were diagnosed at an advanced stage. Presence of distant metastasis was independent prognostic factor of PNADA together with elevated total bilirubin.
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnosis/mortality/pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bilirubin/blood ; Demography ; Duodenal Neoplasms/*diagnosis/mortality/pathology ; Female ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Primary colorectal choriocarcinoma is a rare neoplasm. Only 19 cases have been reported worldwide, most of which involved adenocarcinomas. The prognosis is usually poor, and the standard therapy for this tumor has not been established. A 61-year-old woman presented with constipation and lower abdominal discomfort. She was diagnosed with primary adenocarcinoma with focal choriocarcinomatous differentiation in the sigmoid colon and liver metastasis. Because the serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin level was not significantly elevated, and because only focal choriocarcinomatous differentiation was diagnosed, we selected the chemotherapy regimen that is used for the treatment of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma. The patient survived for 13 months after the initial diagnosis. This is the first case in Korea to assess the suppressive effects of the standard chemotherapy for colorectal adenocarcinoma against coexisting colorectal choriocarcinoma and adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use ; CA-19-9 Antigen/analysis ; Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human/blood ; Colon, Sigmoid/pathology ; Colonic Neoplasms/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Colonoscopy ; Constipation/etiology ; Female ; Fluorouracil/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use ; Liver Neoplasms/secondary ; Middle Aged ; Organoplatinum Compounds/therapeutic use ; Prognosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) is poor. The serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) level has been identified as a prognostic indicator of recurrence and reduced overall survival. The aim of this study was to identify preoperative prognostic factors and to create a prognostic model able to assess the early recurrence risk for patients with resectable PAC. METHODS: A series of 177 patients with PAC treated surgically at the St. Andrea Hospital of Rome between January 2003 and December 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were utilized to identify preoperative prognostic indicators. RESULTS: A preoperative CA 19-9 level >228 U/mL, tumor size >3.1 cm, and the presence of pathological preoperative lymph nodes statistically correlated with early recurrence. Together, these three factors predicted the possibility of an early recurrence with 90.4% accuracy. The combination of these three preoperative conditions was identified as an independent parameter for early recurrence based on multivariate analysis (p=0.0314; hazard ratio, 3.9811; 95% confidence interval, 1.1745 to 15.3245). CONCLUSIONS: PAC patient candidates for surgical resection should undergo an assessment of early recurrence risk to avoid unnecessary and ineffective resection and to identify patients for whom palliative or alternative treatment may be the treatment of choice.
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnosis/surgery ; Aged ; CA-19-9 Antigen/blood ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Models, Biological ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*diagnosis ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*diagnosis/surgery ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*blood

OBJECTIVETo explore the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with gastric cancer.

METHODS591 cases of gastric cancer pathologically diagnosed at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University in 2006 were included in this study. The clinical information including age and gender, cancer, treatment, and the first blood test information at admission were collected from the medical record room and analyzed. The patients were followed up to March 15, 2012. The survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The differences between groups were compared using Log-rank test. Cox regression was used to analyze the factors which may affect the survival of the patients. Software SPSS 13.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSIn 2006, a total of 591 patients were enrolled in this study in accordance with the inclusion criteria. By the end of the study, 538 cases were followed up. The follow-up rate was 91.0%. Among them 353 cases died of gastric cancer, 185 patients are still alive. In the whole group of 538 cases, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate was 69.9%, 47.0%, and 37.5%, respectively. In the low NLR group, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate was 76.1%, 50.1%, and 42.7%, respectively, while those of the high NLR group was 53.1%, 38.6%, and 23.4%, respectively, showing a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that the survival rate was significantly correlated with age, pathological type, TNM stage, operation, NLR and PLR (P < 0.05 for all). Multivariate analysis showed that TNM stage, operation, NLR and age of patients were independent risk factors for the prognosis of gastric cancer (P < 0.05 for all). According to the sub-site stratified analysis, TNM stage, operation and NLR were independent risk factors for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05 for all), and age, TNM stage, operation for distal gastric cancer (P < 0.05 for all). PLR was not an independent prognostic factor of survival in patients with gastric cancer.

CONCLUSIONNLR may be an independent prognostic factor of gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Blood Platelets ; Female ; Hematologic Tests ; methods ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutrophils ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVE: Thrombocytosis is an adverse prognostic factor in many types of cancer. We investigated if pre-treatment increased platelet counts provide prognostic information specifically in patients with stage III and IV serous ovarian cancer which is the most common clinical presentation of ovarian cancer. METHODS: Platelet number on diagnosis of stage III and IV serous ovarian adenocarcinoma was evaluated in 91 patients for whom there were complete follow-up data on progression and survival. Survival and progression free survival of patients with normal platelet counts (150-350 x10(9)/L) was compared with that of patients with thrombocytosis (>350x10(9)/L) by chi2 and logrank tests. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 66 years-old. From the 91 patients, 52 (57.1%) had normal platelet counts (median, 273x10(9)/L; range, 153-350) at diagnosis of their disease and 39 patients (42.9%) had thrombocytosis (median, 463x10(9)/L; range, 354-631). In the group of patients with normal platelet counts, 24 of the 52 patients had died with a median survival of 43 months (range, 3-100). In the group of patients with thrombocytosis, 24 of the 39 patients had died with a median survival of 23 months (range, 4-79). In the entire group of 91 patients there was a statistically significant difference of the overall survival and progression-free survival between the two groups (logrank test P=0.02 and P=0.007, respectively). CONCLUSION: In this retrospective analysis of stage III and IV ovarian cancer patients, thrombocytosis at the time of diagnosis had prognostic value regarding overall survival and progression-free survival.
Adenocarcinoma ; Blood Platelets ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Platelet Count ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombocytosis*

OBJECTIVETo detect serum content of cofilin protein in patients with lung cancer and investigate its clinical value.

METHODSThe serum content of cofilin protein was detected in 30 cases of lung cancer and 30 healthy control subjects using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTSThe mean serum content of cofilin protein was 0.485∓0.465 ng/ml in patients with lung cancer and 0.203∓0.102 ng/ml in the control subjects, showing a significant difference between them (P<0.05). The content of cofilin protein in patients with stage III and IV lung cancer 0.744∓0.584 ng/ml, significantly higher than that in stage II patients (0.257∓0.126 ng/ml).

CONCLUSIONSerum cofilin protein is elevated in patients with lung cancer, especially in cases in advanced stages, suggesting its relation with lung cancer staging.

Actin Depolymerizing Factors ; blood ; Adenocarcinoma ; blood ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; blood ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging

OBJECTIVETo assess the application value of diagnostic transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients with persistently abnormal serum PSA levels.

METHODSWe performed TURP for 71 BPH patients with the PSA level > 4 microg/L, and analyzed the Gleason scores and prognosis of the cases pathologically confirmed as prostate cancer (PCa). We conducted follow-up visits to all the patients, obtained the PSA levels and International Prostate Symptom scores (IPSS) at 6 and 12 months after TURP, analyzed their changes and assessed the value of TURP in the diagnosis and treatment of BPH with serum PSA abnormality.

RESULTSAmong the 40 patients with negative prostate biopsy and persistent serum PSA abnormality, 2 cases were diagnosed as Gleason score 6 prostatic adenocarcinoma by TURP biopsy, and 1 case as Gleason score 6 PCa by repeated biopsy. All the 3 patients underwent radical prostatectomies and were well recovered during the follow-up visits. Of the 31 patients who had refused biopsy, 9 cases were confirmed by postoperative pathology as Gleason score 7 -9 PCa, 1 treated by radical prostatectomy and the other 8 by endocrine therapy. Another 59 cases were pathologically diagnosed as BPH, of which, the serum PSA level was restored to normal in 56 and significantly reduced in the other 3, and IPSS was remarkably increased in 53 and improved in the other 6 following urethral soundings.

CONCLUSIONDiagnostic TURP can increase the early diagnosis rate of PCa, improve lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and help to normalize the serum PSA level. Therefore, it can be chosen for those with persistent serum PSA abnormality, LUTS and negative prostate biopsy.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnosis ; Biopsy ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; diagnosis ; Male ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; diagnosis ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate

PURPOSE: To investigate the use of pretreatment carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as prognostic factors to determine survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of the medical records of patients who were diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and received surgery, chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy was performed. Factors, including CA 19-9 and CEA, associated with the survival of pancreatic cancer patients were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients with the median age of 65 years were included (n=187). Elevated serum CA 19-9 levels and CEA levels were observed in 75.4% and 39% of patients at diagnosis, respectively. CEA was correlated with tumor stages (p=0.005), but CA 19-9 was not. CA 19-9 and CEA were elevated in 69.0% and 33.3% of patients with resectable pancreatic cancer, and elevated in 72.9% and 47.2% of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, respectively. The median overall survival of the normal serum CEA group was longer than that of the elevated serum CEA group (16.3 months vs. 10.2 months, p=0.004). However, the median overall survival of the normal serum CA 19-9 group was not different from that of the elevated serum CA 19-9 group (12.4 months vs. 13.5 months, p=0.969). The independent factors associated with overall survival were advanced pancreatic cancer [harzard ratio (HR) 4.33, p=0.001] and elevated serum CEA level (HR 1.52, p=0.032). CONCLUSION: Patients with elevated serum CEA level at diagnosis demonstrated poor overall survival. Pretreatment CEA level may predict the prognosis of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma/blood/*diagnosis ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate/*blood ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen/*blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/blood/*diagnosis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis