Diagnostic Value of Imaging Combined With Tumor Markers in Early Detection of Lung Cancer

Objective: The objective of this research is to explore the diagnostic value of imaging plus tumor markers in the early detection of lung cancer.Methods: Sixty patients with lung cancer treated in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2019 were selected as group A. They were matched with 60 patients with benign lung disease as group B and 60 healthy subjects examined in our hospital as group C. The carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), CYFRA21-1, and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were assessed, and the diagnostic value of tumor markers plus imaging in lung cancer diagnosis was explored.Results: The CEA, CYFRA21-1, and NSE in group A were evidently superior to those in groups B and C, and those in group B were superior to those in group C (all P < 0.001). CEA had the highest sensitivity (56.7%), and NSE had the highest specificity (93.3%). The tumor markers plus imaging had the highest sensitivity for different types of lung cancer, and the sensitivity to early lung cancer (90%) was superior to other diagnostic methods (P < 0.05).Conclusion: The tumor markers plus imaging is of great significance in early lung cancer diagnosis and provides a reference for judging the pathological classification.

Melatonin enhances radiofrequency-induced NK antitumor immunity, causing cancer metabolism reprogramming and inhibition of multiple pulmonary tumor development

Surgery is the common treatment for early lung cancer with multiple pulmonary nodules, but it is often accompanied by the problem of significant malignancy of other nodules in non-therapeutic areas. In this study, we found that a combined treatment of local radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and melatonin (MLT) greatly improved clinical outcomes for early lung cancer patients with multiple pulmonary nodules by minimizing lung function injury and reducing the probability of malignant transformation or enlargement of nodules in non-ablated areas. Mechanically, as demonstrated in an associated mouse lung tumor model, RFA not only effectively remove treated tumors but also stimulate antitumor immunity, which could inhibit tumor growth in non-ablated areas. MLT enhanced RFA-stimulated NK activity and exerted synergistic antitumor effects with RFA. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses of residual tumor tissues revealed enhanced oxidative phosphorylation and reduced acidification as well as hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment, which suggests reprogrammed tumor metabolism after combined treatment with RFA and MLT. Analysis of residual tumor further revealed the depressed activity of MAPK, NF-kappa B, Wnt, and Hedgehog pathways and upregulated P53 pathway in tumors, which was in line with the inhibited tumor growth. Combined RFA and MLT treatment also reversed the Warburg effect and decreased tumor malignancy. These findings thus demonstrated that combined treatment of RFA and MLT effectively inhibited the malignancy of non-ablated nodules and provided an innovative non-invasive strategy for treating early lung tumors with multiple pulmonary nodules. Trial registration: www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2100042695, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=120931.

Early Lung Carcinogenesis and Tumor Microenvironment Observed by Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis

Background: Ground-glass nodules (GGNs) are radiologically defined pulmonary nodules characterized by preserved bronchial and vascular structures in the lung window on chest computed tomography. Lung adenocarcinoma present in the form of persistent GGN is a good model for studying early lung carcinogenesis. We sought to decipher the transcriptome of early lung cancer and its tumor microenvironment from nonsmokers.Methods: Eleven surgical specimens from 6 patients with persistent pure or part-solid GGNs and no smoking or long-term nonsmoking history were obtained and studied by single-cell RNA sequencing analysis.Results: Early lung cancer cells showed enrichment of genes related to small vesicle processing and surfactant homeostasis compared to normal lung epithelial cells, suggesting that the surfactant-related pathway is strongly involved in early lung carcinogenesis. Even in this early stage of lung carcinogenesis, the tumor immune microenvironment was disrupted, with myeloid-derived suppressor cells showing activation of tumor-promoting cytokine pathways, making the tumor microenvironment more permissive for tumor progression and promoting infiltration of regulatory T cells and depletion of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (TCs) and γδ TCs. Although mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) B cells (BCs) and follicular BCs are present in small proportions, they showed increased infiltration in tumor tissues compared to adjacent normal lung tissues. Overexpression of hypoxia-related genes and active suppression of normal angiogenesis were observed in cancer-associated fibroblasts.Conclusions: Changes in the tumor microenvironment that begin very early in lung cancer create an environment prone to immune evasion, suggesting that regulation of such changes is a strategy for inhibiting cancer growth.

Identifying Lung Cancer Patients Suitable for Segmentectomy: A Brief Review

Background: In 1995, a clinical randomized controlled study (RCT) conducted by the Lung Cancer Study Group (LCSG) pointed out that the lobectomy was the gold standard for treating early lung cancer. However, with the development of technology, the results of several retrospective studies have shown that the efficacy of pulmonary segmentectomy is equivalent to that of lobectomy. Currently, it is still controversial whether segmental resection or lobectomy should be performed for early lung cancer. Thus, we aim to summarize the indications of segmentectomy.Methods: To conduct the review, previous researches involving indications of segmentectomy were collected from the literature using Pubmed. These articles were published and accepted in English in the medical literature from 2013 to 2020. We have focused on segmentectomy and its indications.Results: A total of 176 articles were retrieved from the Pubmed database, of which 31 articles included indications for segmentectomy. We summarized the relevant content, and the potential and prospect of segmentectomy for the treatment of lung cancer were emphasized.Conclusions: These findings have a number of important implications for future practice. Pulmonary segmentectomy is a very vital surgical procedure for select patients with lung cancer, which provides a novel approach for the treatment of lung cancer and the survival of lung cancer patients.