Suitability of Bronchoscopic Biopsy Tissue Samples for Next-Generation Sequencing.

A sufficiently large tissue sample is required to perform next-generation sequencing (NGS) with a high success rate, but the majority of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are diagnosed with small biopsy specimens. Biopsy samples were collected from 184 patients with bronchoscopically diagnosed NSCLC. The tissue surface area, tumor cell count, and tumor content rate of each biopsy sample were evaluated. The impact of the cut-off criteria for the tissue surface area (≥1 mm2) and tumor content rate (≥30%) on the success rate of the Oncomine Dx Target Test (ODxTT) was evaluated. The mean tissue surface area of the transbronchial biopsies was 1.23 ± 0.85 mm2 when small endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) was used, 2.16 ± 1.49 mm2 with large EBUS-GS, and 1.81 ± 0.75 mm2 with endobronchial biopsy (EBB). The proportion of samples with a tissue surface area of ≥1 mm2 was 48.8% for small EBUS-GS, 79.2% for large EBUS-GS, and 78.6% for EBB. Sixty-nine patients underwent ODxTT. The success rate of DNA sequencing was 84.1% and that of RNA sequencing was 92.7% over all patients. The success rate of DNA (RNA) sequencing was 57.1% (71.4%) for small EBUS-GS (n = 14), 93.4% (96.9%) for large EBUS-GS (n = 32), 62.5% (100%) for EBB (n = 8), and 100% (100%) for endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) (n = 15). Regardless of the device used, a tissue surface area of ≥ 1 mm2 is adequate for samples to be tested with NGS.

Readministration of Pembrolizumab after Treatment of Tuberculosis Activated by Initial Pembrolizumab Therapy.

Increasing the T-cell immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis with an anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody may ultimately have detrimental effects. We present the case of a patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who developed active tuberculosis (TB) after initial treatment with pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody. Pembrolizumab was resumed after completing anti-TB treatment, and no relapse of TB was observed clinically or radiologically. Checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis (CIP) is first suspected when a pulmonary shadow presents during treatment with an anti-PD-1 antibody. It is sometimes difficult to diagnose CIP using computed tomographic images alone. Careful testing, including bacterial examinations and bronchoscopic biopsy, should be performed.