The effects of heavy metals on cancer risk have been widely studied in recent decades, but there is limited data on the effects of these elements on cancer survival. In this research, we examined whether blood concentrations of the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead were associated with the overall survival of lung cancer patients. The study group consisted of 336 patients with lung cancer who were prospectively observed. Blood concentrations of heavy metals were measured to study the relationship between their levels and overall survival using Cox proportional hazards analysis. The hazard ratio of death from all causes was 0.99 (p = 0.94) for arsenic, 1.37 (p = 0.15) for cadmium, 1.55 (p = 0.04) for mercury, and 1.18 (p = 0.47) for lead in patients from the lowest concentration quartile, compared with those in the highest quartile. Among the patients with stage IA disease, this relationship was statistically significant (HR = 7.36; p < 0.01) for cadmium levels in the highest quartile (>1.97–7.77 µg/L) compared to quartile I (0.23–0.57 µg/L, reference). This study revealed that low blood cadmium levels <1.47 µg/L are probably associated with improved overall survival in treated patients with stage IA disease.

Lung cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) represents 85% of all cases. Accumulating evidence highlights the outstanding role of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) in regulating the tumorigenesis process by modulating crucial signaling pathways. Micro RNA (miRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) are either up- or downregulated in lung cancer patients and can promote or suppress the progression of the disease. These molecules interact with messenger RNA (mRNA) and with each other to regulate gene expression and stimulate proto-oncogenes or silence tumor suppressors. NcRNAs provide a new strategy to diagnose or treat lung cancer patients and multiple molecules have already been identified as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence on the roles of miRNA, lncRNA and circRNA in NSCLC biology and present their clinical potential.

TEA (thoracic epidural analgesia) is considered a basic method of analgesia used in thoracic surgeries. PVB (paravertebral block) is an alternative method. The thesis compares effectiveness of both methods in postoperative analgesia with particular focus on assessment of the postoperative pain management quality. The study involved 2 groups of patients, each consisting of 30 patients undergoing posterolateral thoracotomy. The study group involved patients anesthetized applying PVB method, while the control group involved patients anesthetized with TEA. Hemodynamic and respiratory parameters as well as severity of pain assessed using NRS (numeric rating scale) during the first 3 days after the surgery, number of days of hospitalization, and the need to use additional pain relievers were taken into account in both groups. Evaluation of postoperative pain management quality was performed applying Clinical Quality Indicators in Postoperative Pain Management. No statistical significance was demonstrated between the groups in respect of hemodynamic and respiratory parameters values, the need to use additional pain relievers and the number of days of hospitalization. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in respect of general assessment of pain management quality, except for the assessment of the lowest level of pain within the last 24 h of measurement. This result in TEA group was statistically significantly lower than the one in PVB group (p = 0.019). In the assessment of postoperative pain management quality both analyzed methods are statistically significantly different only in the category of “lowest level of pain within the last 24 hours of measurement”, to the benefit of TEA group. No statistically significant difference has been observed between the two study groups with respect to the remaining parameters. KB-0012/71/15. Date of registration 22 June 2015.

Uterine leiomyomas may occasionally spread to the lungs forming nodular lesions detectable on chest X-ray. This condition known as benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) usually occurs in females with a history of hysterectomy or myomectomy. We present three cases of BML demonstrating the diagnostic process and treatment approaches. Two patients presented with the more common multiple-nodule variant while the other had a single mass, but all were symptom-free. The age of presented patients at diagnosis of BML ranged from 46–53. The first patient was diagnosed with BML at the age of 50, and 12 years prior to the diagnosis, underwent a supracervical hysterectomy. The second patient had a myomectomy at 36, and BML was diagnosed 17 years later at the age of 53. The third patient had a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at the age of 46, with lung lesions present before the hysterectomy. Immunohistochemical studies of postoperative materials showed positive staining of spindle cells with antibodies against desmin and smooth muscle actin, as well as estrogen and progesterone receptors. The final histopathological diagnoses were pulmonary BML. All patients are stable and symptom-free: two at two years follow-up and one at six months follow-up

Human echinococcosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the larvae of the tapeworm species Echinococcus. The liver is the most common location for a primary echinococcosis. However, the parasite may bypass or spread from the liver to the lungs, causing primary or secondary pulmonary echinococcosis, respectively. Pulmonary echinococcosis is a clinically challenging condition in which anthelminthic regiments are important, but surgery has the central role in removing the cysts and preventing recurrences. Surgical treatment may involve cystotomy, enucleation, capitonnage, or atypical resections, which occasionally are in combination with hepatic procedures. The utilization of modern devices is greatly underdescribed in surgery for thoracic infections, even though these facilitate much of the work. Therefore, this article aims to describe pulmonary echinococcosis and the role of modern surgical devices in the treatment process. Furthermore, we report surgical treatment of three different cases of pulmonary echinococcosis. Surgeries of uncomplicated and ruptured hepatic or pulmonary cysts are described. Simple small pulmonary echinococcal lesions can be excised by endostaplers both for diagnostic and curative reasons. Larger cysts can be removed by energy devices unless large bronchial air leaks occur. Complicated cysts require treatment by more extensive techniques. Inexperienced surgeons should not abstain but should carefully decide preoperatively how to proceed.