Significance of detecting the levels of miR-29a, survivin and interferon gamma release assay in patients with lung cancer and tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: When lung cancer is combined with concurrent tuberculosis (TB), it increases the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment, leading to missed and/or misdiagnosed cases. OBJECTIVES: To provide reference markers for the clinical diagnosis of patients with lung cancer complicated by active pulmonary TB (APT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The concentration of survivin in diseased tissue, and miR-29a and IGRAs interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in serum were evaluated in 25 patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) complicated by APT, 32 patients with NSCLC and 30 patients with APT. RESULTS: The expression of miR-29a in serum of patients with APT was higher than in patients with NSCLC complicated by APT (least significant difference (LSD)-t = 4.724, p < 0.001), and the NSCLC group (LSD-t = 6.619, p < 0.001). Furthermore, patients with NSCLC complicated by APT had higher miR-29a concentration than the NSCLC group. The rate of positive survivin expression in NSCLC (χ2 = 23.418, p < 0.001) and NSCLC combined with APT group (χ2 = 17.160, p < 0.001) was significantly higher than in patients with APT. The concentration of IFN-γ in serum of the NSCLC complicated by APT group (LSD-t = 2.912, p = 0.004) and the APT group (LSD-t = 4.452, p < 0.001) was higher than in the NSCLC group. The level of IFN-γ in serum of the NSCLC complicated by APT group were higher than in the APT group, but there was no statistical difference. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of MiR-29a, Survivin and IFN-γ was helpful for differential diagnosis of lung cancer and tuberculosis.

Comparison of the Detection Rates of Different Diagnostic Methods for Primary Peripheral Lung Cancer.

Objective: The present study aims to compare the detection rates of different diagnostic methods for primary peripheral lung cancer (PPLC). Methods: The detection rate and patient information were collected from a total of 359 cases of PPLC or a suspected diagnosis of lung cancer; among these, 186 cases were simultaneously treated with fibreoptic bronchoscopy, brush inspection and flush inspection, and 173 cases underwent a computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous lung biopsy (PNB). The positive detection rates of the different methods were compared. Results: In the detection of peripheral lesions (diameter of <5 cm), the CT-PNB had the significantly highest detection rate, followed by the combined basic method (fibreoptic bronchoscopy + brushing + flushing). The independent use of the three basic sampling methods showed a significantly lower detection rate compared with the combined use. Conclusion: In the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer, the CT-PNB had the best detection rate; hence, it could be used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of such lesions.