The Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Different Age Patients with Lung Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Cancer is closely related to age, and the incidence of cancer increases with age. However, there are few studies on the relationship between age and clinical characteristics of lung cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected all the consecutive lung cancer cases from 2012 to 2017 in our hospital and divided them into 6 groups according to their ages: ≤40 y/o, 41~50 y/o, 51~60 y/o, 61~70 y/o, 71~80 y/o and >80 y/o. The clinical characteristics and prognosis of these patients were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 1143 cases diagnosed in our hospital from 2012 to 2017. There were more non-smokers (p<0.01), stage IV (p<0.01) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion (p<0.01) patients but less stage I patients in ≤40 y/o group compared with other age groups. It seemed that older patients were more likely had co-exist driver gene mutations (p=0.04). There was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) among these 6 age groups. However, the age may be an independent prognostic factor compared with the patients in ≤40 y/o group, the patients in >80 y/o group were associated with a higher mortality risk, while the patients in other groups had the similar mortality risk. CONCLUSION: There are some differences in clinical characteristics and prognosis among different age groups. The reasons behind the phenomenon are largely unclear. The age should be taken into account when we develop clinical trials.

A comparative study on etoposide combined with lobaplatin or cisplatin in the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of etoposide combined with lobaplatin or cisplatin in the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). METHODS: A total of 98 extensive-stage SCLC patients treated at the Oncology Department from March 2015 to March 2017 were enrolled and divided into etoposide + lobaplatin group (EL group, n=49) and etoposide + cisplatin group (EP group, n=49) using a random number table. The clinical data of all patients were collected, and the short-term effective rate, changes in the levels of serum tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1) and neurone specific enolase (NSE) before and after chemotherapy and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Moreover, the patients were followed up, and the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were recorded. RESULTS: In EL group and EP group, the level of serum NSE significantly declined after treatment compared with that before treatment, but the levels of serum CEA and CYFRA21-1 were not significantly decreased after chemotherapy compared with those before chemotherapy. The incidence rate of leukopenia, erythropenia and thrombocytopenia was 71.4%, 44.9% and 40.8%, respectively, in EL group, and 85.7%, 30.6% and 24.5%, respectively, in EP group, and the degree I-II decline was more common in both groups. The proportion of gastrointestinal reactions was 14.3% and 59.2%, respectively, in EL group and EP group, with significant difference between the two groups. During follow-up, the 1-year OS was 59.2% (29/49) and 51.9% (25/49), respectively, and the 2-year OS was 26.5% (13/49) and 20.4% (10/49), respectively, in EL group and EP group. The survival curves of were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test showed no statistically significant differences in the OS and PFS between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The short-term efficacy of EL and EP regimens is equivalent in the first-line treatment of extensive-stage SCLC, both OS and PFS are similar, and the adverse reactions can be tolerated. The EL regimen produced mild gastrointestinal reactions, and is worthy of clinical popularization.

[MiR-373-3p Promotes Invasion and Metastasis of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and metastasis is the major cause of death in lung cancer patients. MiR-373 is closely associated with invasion and metastasis in other tumor cells. This study explored the expression of miR-373-3p in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its effect on the invasive and metastatic capabilities of lung adenocarcinoma cells, as well as their mechanisms of action. METHODS: The expression of miR-373-3p in NSCLC tissues and lung adenocarcinoma cell lines was detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The roles of miR-373-3p in regulating lung adenocarcinoma cell invasion and metastatic properties were analyzed with miR-373-3p mimic/inhibitor-transfected cells via Transwell chamber assay. Matrix metalloproteinase MMP-9 and MMP-14 protein levels were detected by Western blot in lung cancer cells after transfection. RESULTS: MiR-373-3p was upregulated in 51 NSCLC tissues and 5 NSCLC cell lines. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies showed that overexpression of miR-373-3p promoted H1299 cell migration and invasion, which resulted in upregulation of MMP-9 and MMP-14. By contrast, miR-373-3p knockdown inhibited these processes in A549 cells and downregulated the expression of MMP-9 and MMP-14. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that miR-373-3p participated in the invasion and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma cells, partly by upregulation of MMP-9 and MMP-14.