The Role and Significance of Biomarker for Plasma G-CSF in Patients with Primary Lung Cancer / 결핵및호흡기질환

BACKGROUND: Biomarkers for cancer have several potential clinical uses, including the following: early cancer detection, monitoring for recurrence prognostication, and risk stratification. However, no biomarker has been shown to have adequate sensitivity and specificity. Many investigators have tried to validate biomarkers for the early detection and recurrence of lung cancer. To evaluate plasma G-CSF as such a biomarker, protein levels were measured and were found to correlate with the clinicopathological features of primary lung tumors. METHODS: Between December 2006 and May 2008, 100 patients with histologically-validated primary lung cancer were enrolled into this study. To serve as controls, 127 healthy volunteers were enrolled into this study. Plasma G-CSF levels were measured in lung cancer patients using the sandwich ELISA system (R & D inc.) prior to treatment. RESULTS: The mean plasma G-CSF levels were 12.2+/-0.3 pg/mL and 46.0+/-3.8 pg/mL (mean+/-SE) in the normal and in the cancer groups, respectively. In addition, plasma G-CSF levels were higher in patients with early lung cancer than in healthy volunteers (p<.001). Plasma G-CSF levels were higher in patients who were under 65 years old or smokers. Within the cancer group, plasma G-CSF levels were higher in patients with non small cell lung cancer than in patients with small cell lung cancer (p<.05). Overall, plasma G-CSF levels were shown to increase dependent upon the type of lung cancer diagnsosed. In the order from highest to lowest, the levels of plasma G-CSF tended to decrease in the following order: large cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Plasma G-CSF levels tended to be higher in patients with advanced TNM stage than in localized TNM stage (I, II

The Clinical and Histopathologic Features according to Loss of LKB1 Protein Expression on Primary Lung Cancer / 결핵및호흡기질환

BACKGROUND: LKB1(STK11) is a serine/threonine kinase that functions as a tumor growth suppressor. The functions of LKB1 in lung cancer are not completely understood. This study evaluated the relationship between LKB1 protein expression and the clinicopathological features in lung cancer tissues. METHODS: The expression of LKB1 was studied in paraffin-embedded tumor blocks, which were obtained from 77 patients who had undergone surgery at Wonkwang University Hospital. The expression of the LKB1 protein was considered positive if the staining intensity in the tumor tissue adjacent to the normal airway epithelium was >30%. RESULTS: The LKB1 expression was positive in 31 (40%) of samples. Loss of LKB1 expression was significantly associated with being male, smoking history, and squamous cell carcinoma. In the peripheral sites, the loss of LKB1 expression was strongly associated with a smoking history. A loss of LKB1 expression was more frequently associated with progression according to TNM staging, particularly more than T2, N progression. CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between the loss of the LKB1 protein and gender, smoking history, and histological type in primary lung cancer. Although LKB1 expression was not found to be a significant prognostic factor, further studies with a larger cohort of patient's lung cancer tissue samples will be needed to confirm this.

Chronic Arterial Occlusion by Hypercoagulable State 2 cases report (Antiphospholipid syndrome and Polycythemia vera)

Hypercoagulable states (HS) are well recognized as a cause of arterial and venous thromboembolism. These coditions are usually associated with abnormalities in natural anticoagulants, the fibrolytic system, or platelet aggregation. Primary arterial thrombosis is unusual in the young population. Hypercoagulable states are usually acquired, but they may be congenital. The congenital states occur in response to deficiency of protein C, protein S, AT-III. And the acquired states occur in response to disease, in response to tissue injury, or in response to therapy. But in this country, we have no any data of prevalence ratio of HS, which developed symptome of arterial occlusion, cases of bypass and theapeutic modality. We experienced two cases of acquired HS that is antiphospholipid syndrome and polycythemia. Based on our experience with this patients and a review of the literature on the previously reported. And we suggest that there will be made for the purpose of studying non-atherosclerotic lower extremity occlusion registry which developed in our country through the small study group.