Near-infrared long lifetime upconversion nanoparticles for ultrasensitive microRNA detection via time-gated luminescence resonance energy transfer.

Upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP)-based luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) biosensing offers advantages such as wash-free detection and precise biomolecule quantification. However, its sensitivity remains limited due to continuous energy transfer in co-doped UCNPs during LRET. Here we present a time-gated LRET strategy using near-infrared (NIR) long-lived luminescent UCNP donors (L-TG-LRET), achieving an 8-fold increase in luminescence lifetime without compromising emission intensity.

Establishment of Human Lung Cancer Organoids Using Small Biopsy and Surgical Tissues.

Lung cancer is a highly diverse disease, and reliable preclinical models that accurately reflect tumor characteristics are essential for studying lung cancer biology and testing new therapies. This study aimed to establish patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) using small biopsy samples and surgical specimens to create a model system that preserves the genetic and histological features of the original tumors. PDTOs were generated from 163 lung cancer specimens, including 109 samples obtained using endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) or bronchoscopy, 52 surgical specimens, and 2 pleural fluid samples.

Radial endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) enhances diagnostic yield in pulmonary nodule biopsy.

Background: Diagnosing pulmonary lesions remains challenging despite various modalities. The PeriView Flex aspiration needle offers a promising solution to forceps biopsy limitations. This study aims to assess whether combining radial endobronchial ultrasound (rEBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) may enhance tissue acquisition for inaccessible lesions using forceps.

Evaluating diagnostic yield and accuracy as key performance metrics in pulmonary lung lesions.

Objective: A conservative definition of diagnostic yields for assessing the performance of guided bronchoscopy has been proposed, but it has yet to be validated in practice.

Methods: Patients who underwent radial endobronchial ultrasound (R-EBUS) between April 2020 and April 2023 were included in the study. Diagnostic results were classified as malignant or non-malignant based on the post-lung-biopsy pathology.

Highly Sensitive 3D-Nanoplasmonic-Based Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Multiplex Assay Chip for Liquid Biopsy.

Economical mutation detection method with high analytical and clinical sensitivity is necessary for early cancer diagnosis and screening. In this study, a novel 3D-nanoplasmonic-based multiplex mutation assay chip is developed to detect epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. This assay kit comprises a 3D-nanoplasmonic substrate immobilized with capture probes and primer-probe sets for recombinase polymerase amplification, wild-type inhibition, and fluorescence detection, enabling multiplex detection of EGFR exon 19 deletions, exon 20 insertions, and exon 21 L858R point mutations.

Integrating Plasma Cell-Free DNA Fragment End Motif and Size with Genomic Features Enables Lung Cancer Detection.

Early detection of lung cancer is important for improving patient survival rates. Liquid biopsy using whole-genome sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) offers a promising avenue for lung cancer screening, providing a potential alternative or complementary approach to current screening modalities. Here, we aimed to develop and validate an approach by integrating fragment and genomic features of cfDNA to enhance lung cancer detection accuracy across diverse populations.

Therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy for endobronchial glomus tumors: a case series.

Background: Glomus tumors (GTs) are rare, comprising only 2% of all soft tissue tumors. Pulmonary GTs are exceptionally rare, with fewer than 80 cases reported to date. Little is known about the therapeutic outcomes of rigid bronchoscopy for endobronchial GT.

Eight patients with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor treated with rigid bronchoscopy.

Background: Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) accounts for 0.04-0.7% of all lung tumors, and endobronchial IMT accounts for only 10% of all pulmonary IMTs.

Repeated rebiopsy for detection of EGFR T790M mutation in patients with advanced-stage lung adenocarcinoma: Associated factors and treatment outcomes of Osimertinib.

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the detection rate of EGFR T790M mutation by repeated rebiopsy, to identify the clinical factors related to repeated rebiopsy, and to assess survival outcomes according to the methods and numbers of repeated rebiopsies in patients with lung adenocarcinoma who received sequential osimertinib after failure of previous 1st or 2nd generation EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with advanced-stage lung adenocarcinoma who were confirmed to have EGFR T790M mutation and to have received osimertinib from January 2020 to February 2021 at Samsung Medical Center. The presence of T790M mutation was assessed based on either plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or tissue specimens.

Comparative Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis Between Primary Lung Cancers Identified as Screening Detected and Incidentally Detected Pulmonary Nodules.

Background/aim: Although the importance of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening is increasingly emphasized and implemented, many lung cancers continue to be incidentally detected during routine medical practices, and data on incidentally detected lung cancer (IDLC) remain scarce. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of IDLCs by comparing them with screening-detected lung cancers (SDLCs).

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective study, subjects with cT1 (≤3 cm) pulmonary nodules detected on baseline computed tomography (CT), later pathologically confirmed as primary lung cancer in 2015, were included.

Endobronchial valves for emphysema and persistent air-leak: 10-year experience in an Asian country.

Background: Endobronchial valve (EBV) therapy, a validated method for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) in severe emphysema, has been explored for persistent air-leak (PAL) management. However, its effectiveness and safety in the Asian population require further real-world evaluation. In this study, we assessed the outcomes of treatment with EBV within this demographic.

Features which discriminate between tuberculosis and haematologic malignancy as the cause of pleural effusions with high adenosine deaminase.

Background: Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy (TBP). However, pleural effusions with high ADA can also be caused by other diseases, particularly hematologic malignant pleural effusion (hMPE). This study aimed to investigate the features that could differentiate TBP and hMPE in patients with pleural effusion ADA ≥ 40 IU/L.

Clinical Effect of Endosonography on Overall Survival in Patients with Radiological N1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: It is unclear whether performing endosonography first in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with radiological N1 (rN1) has any advantages over surgery without nodal staging. We aimed to compare surgery without endosonography to performing endosonography first in rN1 on the overall survival (OS) of patients with NSCLC.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients with rN1 NSCLC between 2013 and 2019.

Clinical Course of Patients With Mediastinal Lymph Node Tuberculosis and Risk Factors for Paradoxical Responses.

Background: Paradoxical responses (PR) occur more frequently in lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB) than in pulmonary tuberculosis and present difficulties in differential diagnosis of drug resistance, new infection, poor patient compliance, and adverse drug reactions. Although diagnosis of mediastinal LNTB has become much easier with the development of endosonography, limited information is available. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical course of mediastinal LNTB and the risk factors associated with PR.

3D plasmonic hexaplex paper sensor for label-free human saliva sensing and machine learning-assisted early-stage lung cancer screening.

A label-free detection method for noninvasive biofluids enables rapid on-site disease screening and early-stage cancer diagnosis by analyzing metabolic alterations. Herein, we develop three-dimensional plasmonic hexaplex nanostructures coated on a paper substrate (3D-PHP). This flexible and highly absorptive 3D-PHP sensor is integrated with commercial saliva collection tube to create an efficient on-site sensing platform for lung cancer screening via surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurement of human saliva.

Clinical Factors for Successful Removal of Airway Silicone Stents in Patients With Post-Tuberculosis Tracheobronchial Stenosis.

Background: After relieving stenosis with an airway silicone stent in post-tuberculosis bronchial stenosis (PTTS), stent removal is attempted if it is determined that airway patency can be maintained even after stent removal. However, the factors affecting airway stent removal are not well known. We investigate the factors that enable the successful removal of airway silicone stents in patients with PTTS.

Advances in methylation analysis of liquid biopsy in early cancer detection of colorectal and lung cancer.

Methylation patterns in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) have emerged as a promising genomic feature for detecting the presence of cancer and determining its origin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme digestion followed by sequencing (MRE-Seq) using cfDNA, and to investigate the cancer signal origin (CSO) of the cancer using a deep neural network (DNN) analyses for liquid biopsy of colorectal and lung cancer. We developed a selective MRE-Seq method with DNN learning-based prediction model using demethylated-sequence-depth patterns from 63,266 CpG sites using SacII enzyme digestion.

Longitudinal Monitoring of Circulating Tumor DNA From Plasma in Patients With Curative Resected Stages I to IIIA EGFR-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Introduction: For patients with early stage EGFR-mutant-positive (EGFR-M+) NSCLC, curative surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is considered the standard of care. This study evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of longitudinal monitoring of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a valuable biomarker for early detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) and provides identification of the group at high risk for recurrence in resected stages I to IIIA EGFR-M+ NSCLC.

Methods: Between August 2015 and October 2017, a total of 278 patients with curative resected, stages I to IIIA (American Joint Committee on Cancer seventh version) common EGFR-M+ NSCLC were analyzed.

Diagnostic Performance of Endosonography to Detect Mediastinal Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients with Radiological N1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Guidelines recommend that non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with suspected hilar lymph node (LN) metastases should undergo invasive mediastinal LN staging prior to surgical treatment via endosonography. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of endosonography for detecting occult mediastinal metastases (OMM) and determined the factors associated with OMM in NSCLC patients with radiological N1.

Materials And Methods: Patients with confirmed primary NSCLC with radiological N1 who underwent endosonography for nodal staging assessment from January 2013 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.

Trends and an Online Survey on the Use of Rigid Bronchoscopy in Korea.

Background: Although almost all interventional pulmonologists agree that rigid bronchoscopy is irreplaceable in the field of interventional pulmonology, less is known about the types of diseases that the procedure is used for and what difficulties the operators face during the procedure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate what diseases rigid bronchoscopy is used for, whether it is widely used, and what challenges the operators face in Korea.

Methods: We enrolled 14 hospitals in this retrospective cohort of patients who underwent rigid bronchoscopy between 2003 and 2020.