Efficacy and safety of first-line afatinib in older patients with advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.

Background/aims: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of first-line afatinib treatment in older patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: This retrospective, multicenter, observational cohort study included 103 patients aged ≥ 75 years who were treated with first-line afatinib for EGFR-mutated NSCLC. The primary outcome was time-on-treatment (TOT).

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a risk factor for non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease: a population-based matched cohort study.

Background: Longitudinal studies comprehensively evaluating the direction of the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether COPD influences the development of NTM-PD even after considering various confounders by using a nationwide longitudinal cohort study.

Methods: Data from the National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort between 2002 and 2019 were analysed.

Sequential nanoparticle therapy targeting neutrophil hyperactivation to prevent neutrophil-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Pulmonary fibrosis, a major complication of severe COVID-19 and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), is driven by excessive neutrophil activation and the formation of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET).

Results: This study presents a sequential nanoparticle-based therapy combining DNase-I-loaded polydopamine nanoparticles (DNase-I@PDA NPs) with Sivelestat-encapsulated PLGA nanoparticles (Siv@PLGA NPs) to target both NETs and neutrophil elastase (NE) activity. DNase-I@PDA NPs were aerosolized to the lungs, facilitating NET clearance and reducing the fibrotic microenvironment, followed by intravenous administration of Siv@PLGA NPs to inhibit NE activity and prevent neutrophil hyperactivation.

Impact of Modifying Lazertinib Doses on Effectiveness and Safety in Patients With EGFR-Positive Advanced Lung Cancer: A Multicenter, Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Introduction: The clinical application of lazertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has extended to the treatment of EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the effects of its dose modification on its efficacy and safety have not yet been adequately established.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study aims to evaluate the clinical implications of adjusting the lazertinib dose. Patients will be categorized into two groups based on the lazertinib dose administered during the initial 12 weeks of treatment in routine clinical practice: 160 and 240 mg groups.

Factors predicting early recurrence in patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer on durvalumab consolidation after chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Durvalumab consolidation after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the present standard of care for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, some patients experience early recurrence. This study sought risk factors for early recurrence during durvalumab consolidation.

Longitudinal Analysis of Recurrence and Risk Factors of Early-Stage Resected Adenocarcinoma With Common EGFR Mutations: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study in South Korea.

Introduction: Despite curative surgery for lung cancer, 30% to 55% of patients experience recurrence or death, which highlights the importance of adjuvant treatment. Adjuvant osimertinib therapy effectively prolongs disease-free and overall survival in patients with lung cancer harboring common epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. To identify potential candidates for adjuvant osimertinib, it is crucial to understand the rates and identify risk factors of recurrence.

Pathologic complete response following salvage surgery after lazertinib treatment in advanced -mutated lung adenocarcinoma: case report and literature review.

Background: Salvage surgery following epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy is a viable treatment option for selected patients with initially unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring mutations.

Case Description: We herein describe a 63-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with a 1-week history of speech disturbance and was diagnosed with clinical stage T1cN2M1b, IVA NSCLC with an exon 21 L858R mutation. The patient underwent brain tumor resection followed by stereotactic radiosurgery and was treated with palliative lazertinib for 6 months.

Efficacy and safety of radial probe endobronchial ultrasound-guided biopsy for peripheral lung lesions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with frequent complications after transthoracic biopsy. Radial probe endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial lung biopsy (RP-EBUS-TBLB) is widely used to diagnose peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). However, the efficacy and safety of this procedure for the diagnosis of PPLs in patients with COPD remain poorly understood.

Risk Factors Associated with Misuse of Soft Mist Inhaler in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Purpose: The use of inhaled bronchodilators is the mainstay of treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although the soft mist inhaler (SMI) was developed to overcome the disadvantages of pressurized metered dose and drug powder inhalers, misuse during handling has been frequently observed in many studies. However, few studies have focused on SMI misuse among patients with COPD.

Endobronchial Ultrasound Using Guide Sheath-Guided Transbronchial Lung Biopsy in Ground-Glass Opacity Pulmonary Lesions without Fluoroscopic Guidance.

Diagnosing ground-glass opacity (GGO) pulmonary lesions poses challenges. This study evaluates the utility of radial probe endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial lung biopsy (RP-EBUS-TBLB) in diagnosing GGO pulmonary lesions. A total of 1651 RP-EBUS procedures were performed during the study period.

Spirometric Interpretation and Clinical Relevance According to Different Reference Equations.

Background: Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI)-2012 reference equation is currently suggested for interpretation of spirometry results and a new local reference equation has been developed in South Korea. However, lung function profiles according to the different reference equations and their clinical relevance have not been identified in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.

Methods: Our cross-sectional study evaluated Choi's, Korean National Health and National Examination Survey (KNHANES)-VI, and GLI-2012 reference equations.

Clinical implications of wheezing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Studies on the prevalence of wheezing in both the asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) and non-ACO groups, as well as the clinical characteristics of wheezing patients in each group, are rare. We examined the prevalence of wheezing in ACO patients and non-ACO patients, respectively. In addition, we aimed to determine clinical characteristics of patients with wheezing compared to those without wheezing in the ACO and non-ACO groups.

Content preserving image translation with texture co-occurrence and spatial self-similarity for texture debiasing and domain adaptation.

Models trained on datasets with texture bias usually perform poorly on out-of-distribution samples since biased representations are embedded into the model. Recently, various image translation and debiasing methods have attempted to disentangle texture biased representations for downstream tasks, but accurately discarding biased features without altering other relevant information is still challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel framework that leverages image translation to generate additional training images using the content of a source image and the texture of a target image with a different bias property to explicitly mitigate texture bias when training a model on a target task.

Brain FDG PET for visualizing the relation between impaired lung function and cognitive decline in lung cancer: a preliminary study.

Objective: Impaired lung function is associated with an increased risk for cognitive decline. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET is a well-known neurodegenerative biomarker for dementia. We investigated the association between lung and brain function using FDG PET in patients with lung cancer.

Low diffusion capacity predicts poor prognosis in extensive stage small cell lung cancer: a single-center analysis of 10 years.

Background: Poor pulmonary function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with poorer overall survival (OS) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Few studies have investigated the association between pulmonary function and OS in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. We compared the clinical characteristics of extensive disease SCLC (ED-SCLC) with or without moderately impaired diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco) and investigated the factors associated with survival in ED-SCLC patients.

Assessment of Inhaler Satisfaction and Determinants of High Satisfaction Among Korean COPD Patients.

Background: The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend considering patient preference when choosing an inhaler device. However, few studies have assessed both inhaler satisfaction and factors associated with high inhaler satisfaction. Therefore, we assessed inhaler satisfaction and determinants of high satisfaction in Korean COPD patients.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided re-biopsy of non-small cell lung cancer with acquired resistance after EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment.

Background: Few studies assessed the use of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided re-biopsy for detecting the T790M mutation after epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) failure.

Methods: A total of 2996 EBUS procedures were performed during the study period (January 2019-June 2022). In total, 44 consecutive patients who underwent EBUS-guided re-biopsy (56 procedures) for detecting the T790M mutation were analyzed.

Cleavage-Responsive Biofactory T Cells Suppress Infectious Diseases-Associated Hypercytokinemia.

Severe infectious diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can induce hypercytokinemia and multiple organ failure. In spite of the growing demand for peptide therapeutics against infectious diseases, current small molecule-based strategies still require frequent administration due to limited half-life and enzymatic digestion in blood. To overcome this challenge, a strategy to continuously express multi-level therapeutic peptide drugs on the surface of immune cells, is established.

Nanodiamond as a Cytokine Sponge in Infectious Diseases.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a systemic inflammatory response resulting in overexpression of cytokines in serum and tissues, which leads to multiple-organ failure. Due to rapid aggravation of symptoms, timely intervention is paramount; however, current therapies are limited in their capacity to address CRS. Here, we find that the intravenous injection of highly purified detonation-synthesized nanodiamonds (DND) can act as a therapeutic agent for treating CRS by adsorbing inflammatory cytokines.