Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease: a paradigm of diagnosis and therapeutic challenges in pulmonary hypertension.

Purpose Of Review: Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is a rare and life-threatening form of precapillary pulmonary hypertension. This review aims to outline its genetic and environmental risk factors, highlight key diagnostic challenges, and discuss current treatment options.

Recent Findings: PVOD can occur sporadically or as a hereditary autosomal recessive condition with biallelic eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 ( EIF2AK4) mutations, leading to nearly complete disease penetrance.

Expression of Membrane Targets for Therapeutics in RET-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Importance: Patients with advanced RET fusion-positive (RET+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who experience disease progression following treatment with RET inhibitors (RETis) have limited treatment options. Identifying membrane protein targets may support the assessment of novel therapies, such as antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies.

Objective: To evaluate membrane target expression in RET+ NSCLC.

AP1-mediated reprogramming of EGFR expression triggers resistance to BLU-667 and LOXO-292 in RET-rearranged tumors.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a significant global health challenge, with 2% of cases fuelled by RET rearrangements. RET inhibitors (RETi) have revolutionized treatment for these patients, but resistance remains an important clinical challenge limiting therapy effectiveness. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying resistance to RETi.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in adults with Still's disease: another pulmonary manifestation associated with HLA-DRB1*15.

Objectives: Inflammatory lung disease in Still's disease (SD) has recently been described. Among its manifestations, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare and life-threatening event, with only a few case reports published. The objective was to report the largest adult cohort of PAH occurring in the context of SD.

Anti-ALK autoantibodies in patients with ALK-positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): A monocentric experience.

Importance: Deregulation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) occurs in 3-7% of advanced NSCLC mainly because of chromosomic rearrangements at the ALK locus. Next to its oncogenic function, ALK chimeric oncoprotein is a possible antigen for human immune system. The prognostic value of natural anti-ALK immunogenicity remains poorly explored in ALK ​+ ​NSCLC.

Brief Report: Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients With Thoracic SMARCA4-Deficient Undifferentiated Tumors.

Introduction: Thoracic SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated tumors (SMARCA4-UTs) are a recently defined group of aggressive cancers in which the effectiveness of standard treatments for lung cancer is unknown.

Methods: We collected clinical, pathologic, and demographic variables from five institutions for patients whose tumors met criteria for SMARCA4-UTs (undifferentiated phenotype and loss of SMARCA4 (BRG1) by immunohistochemistry).

Results: We identified 92 patients with SMARCA4-UTs; 58 (63%) had stage IV disease at diagnosis and 16 (17%) developed recurrent or metastatic disease after initial diagnosis.

Exploring the Endothelin-1 pathway in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension microvasculopathy.

Targeted vasopeptide therapies have significantly advanced the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, due to insufficient preclinical evidence regarding the involvement of the endothelin-1 (ET-1) pathway in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) pathophysiology, the potential of ET-1 receptor antagonism in treating CTEPH remains uncertain. In this study, we investigated the role of the ET-1 pathway in CTEPH microvasculopathy using a multifaceted approach.

Pulmonary hypertension in patients carrying loss-of-function variants.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an unusual complication of X-linked disease caused by loss-of-function (LOF) variants in the filamin A () gene. Patients with LOF may also present dysmorphic facial features, aortic dilation, thrombocytopenia and periventricular nodular heterotopia (PVNH).

Methods: We reported the clinical, functional, haemodynamic and radiological characteristics of patients with LOF variants and PH from the French PH Network.

Disease Course and Treatment Outcomes in Patients With De Novo Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Exon 20 Insertion: Two Case Reports.

We report the first two cases of EGFR exon20ins SCLC, treated with amivantamab and TKIs.

Pulmonary Hypertension Induced by Right Pulmonary Artery Occlusion: Hemodynamic Consequences of Mutation.

Background: The primary genetic risk factor for heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension is the presence of monoallelic mutations in the gene. The incomplete penetrance of mutations implies that additional triggers are necessary for pulmonary arterial hypertension occurrence. Pulmonary artery stenosis directly raises pulmonary artery pressure, and the redirection of blood flow to unobstructed arteries leads to endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling.

Pulmonary vascular phenotype identified in patients with () or variants: an international multicentre study.

Background: Bone morphogenetic proteins 9 and 10 (BMP9 and BMP10), encoded by and , respectively, play a pivotal role in pulmonary vascular regulation. variants have been reported in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). However, the phenotype of and carriers remains largely unexplored.

Immunodetection of NUT Protein: Implementation, Indications, and Results in a Tertiary Reference Center.

The immunodetection of NUT protein is a reliable tool to identify NUT carcinoma, a rare and still underdiagnosed tumor entity. The technique was implemented in 2017 in our department, a tertiary reference center with a large recruitment in all tumor types, including head and neck and thoracic tumors. We evaluated its use over a 6-year period (2017-2022) to (a) describe the indications for the technique, (b) determine the number of NUT carcinomas detected and confirmed by Fluorescence in situ hybridization, and (c) describe briefly the characteristics of these tumors.

RET-MAP: An International Multicenter Study on Clinicobiologic Features and Treatment Response in Patients With Lung Cancer Harboring a RET Fusion.

Introduction: Nearly 1% to 2% of NSCLCs harbor RET fusions. Characterization of this rare population is still incomplete.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included patients with any-stage RET positive (RET+) NSCLC from 31 cancer centers.

Orai1 Inhibitors as Potential Treatments for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by progressive distal pulmonary artery (PA) obstruction, leading to right ventricular hypertrophy and failure. Exacerbated intracellular calcium (Ca) signaling contributes to abnormalities in PA smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), including aberrant proliferation, apoptosis resistance, exacerbated migration, and arterial contractility. Store-operated Ca entry is involved in Ca homeostasis in PASMCs, but its properties in PAH are unclear.

An emerging phenotype of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients carrying variants.

Background: The phenotype of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients carrying pathogenic variants remains mostly unknown.

Methods: We report the genetic analysis findings, characteristics and outcomes of patients with heritable PAH carrying variants from the French Pulmonary Hypertension Network.

Results: 20 patients and eight unaffected relatives were identified.

Complete Remission After Immunotherapy-Induced Abdominal Tuberculosis in a Patient With Advanced NSCLC Treated With Pembrolizumab: A Case Report.

The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has drastically transformed the therapeutic landscape in lung cancer. Special focus has been put on immune-related toxicity; however, infections can also seem during ICI treatment. Although rare, tuberculosis (TB) has been increasingly identified after ICIs, and it seems that the programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed death-ligand 1 pathway is directly involved in its pathophysiology.

SUR1 As a New Therapeutic Target for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Mutations in have been identified in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). encodes SUR1, a regulatory subunit of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel Kir6.2.

Pulmonary hypertension associated with busulfan.

Busulfan is widely used to treat malignant diseases, particularly for therapeutic intensification prior to an autologous stem cell graft. Numerous side effects consecutive to busulfan are described, but few descriptions of pulmonary hypertension exist, while bronchiolitis obliterans remains a rare complication. We report the clinical observations of four patients from the French Pulmonary Hypertension Registry who experienced subacute pulmonary hypertension after receiving busulfan as preparation regimen before an autologous stem cell graft for malignancies (Hodgkin's disease, Ewing's sarcoma and primary large B cell lymphoma of the brain).

Mediastinal tumours and pseudo-tumours: a comprehensive review with emphasis on multidisciplinary approach.

The diagnosis of a mediastinal mass may be challenging for clinicians, since lesions arising within the mediastinum include a variety of disease entities, frequently requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Age and sex represent important information, which need to be integrated with imaging and laboratory findings. In addition, the location of the mediastinal lesion is fundamental; indeed, we propose to illustrate mediastinal diseases based on the compartment of origin.

Therapeutic potential of melatonin and melatonergic drugs on K18-hACE2 mice infected with SARS-CoV-2.

As the COVID-19 pandemic grows, several therapeutic candidates are being tested or undergoing clinical trials. Although prophylactic vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection has been shown to be effective, no definitive treatment exists to date in the event of infection. The rapid spread of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and its variants fully warrants the continued evaluation of drug treatments for COVID-19, especially in the context of repurposing of already available and safe drugs.

Involvement of CFTR in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Introduction: A reduction in pulmonary artery relaxation is a key event in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) dysfunction in airway epithelial cells plays a central role in cystic fibrosis; CFTR is also expressed in pulmonary arteries and has been shown to control endothelium-independent relaxation.

Aim And Objectives: We aimed to delineate the role of CFTR in PAH pathogenesis through observational and interventional experiments in human tissues and animal models.