Percutaneous needle aspiration or biopsy (PCNA or PCNB) is an established diagnostic technique that has a high diagnostic yield. However, its role in the diagnosis of nodular ground-glass opacities (nGGOs) is controversial, and the necessity of preoperative histologic confirmation by PCNA or PCNB in nGGOs has not been well addressed. We here evaluated the rates of malignancy and surgery-related complications, and the cost benefits of resecting nGGOs without prior tissue diagnosis when those nGGOs were highly suspected for malignancy based on their size, radiologic characteristics, and clinical courses. Patients who underwent surgical resection of nGGOs without preoperative tissue diagnosis from January 2009 to October 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Among 356 nGGOs of 324 patients, 330 (92.7%) nGGOs were resected without prior histologic confirmation. The rate of malignancy was 95.2% (314/330). In the multivariate analysis, larger size was found to be an independent predictor of malignancy (odds ratio, 1.086; 95% confidence interval, 1.001-1.178, p =0.047). A total of 324 (98.2%) nGGOs were resected by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), and the rate of surgery-related complications was 6.7% (22/330). All 16 nGGOs diagnosed as benign nodules were resected by VATS, and only one patient experienced postoperative complications (prolonged air leak). Direct surgical resection without tissue diagnosis significantly reduced the total costs, hospital stay, and waiting time to surgery. With careful selection of nGGOs that are highly suspicious for malignancy, surgical resection of nGGOs without tissue diagnosis is recommended as it reduces costs and hospital stay.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with a suitable photosensitizer molecule is a promising anticancer treatment. We evaluated two chlorin molecules as potential photosensitizers, methyl pyropheophorbide a (MPPa) and N-methoxyl purpurinimide (NMPi), against A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro as well as in A549 tumor-bearing mice in vivo. Cell viability, microscopy, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analyses were performed for the in vitro studies. MPPa and NMPi showed high phototoxicity in vitro, which was dependent on the concentration of the photosensitizers as well as the light irradiation time. In the animal study, tumor volume change, tumor surface alterations, and hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferse-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining analyses were performed and compared between small (tumor volume of 50 mm³) size of initial tumors. MPPa and NMPi showed high anticancer efficacy against small-size tumors, indicating that early treatment with PDT is effective. Especially, repeated two times PDT with NMPi allowed almost complete eradication against small-size tumors. However, MPPa and NMPi were not effective against large-size tumors. In conclusion, the two chlorin derivatives, MPPa and NMPi, show good anticancer efficacy as promising photosensitizers for PDT in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, their activity in vivo was significantly dependent on the initial tumor size in mice, which confirms the importance of early cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVES Some non-small-cell lung cancer patients have preserved pulmonary function after surgery. Compared with open thoracotomy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is widely performed and preserves pulmonary function. Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer have an extremely poor prognosis without surgery. Clinicians should therefore decide which patients can safely tolerate lung resection. This study aimed to identify factors associated with preserving pulmonary function after VATS in non-small-cell lung cancer patients. METHODS Three hundred and fifty-one patients with non-small-cell lung cancer underwent VATS and preoperative and 12-month postoperative pulmonary function tests. Patients with and patients without preserved forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) and diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide were compared. RESULTS The FEV₁ was preserved after VATS in 142 (40.5%) patients. In multivariable analysis, this group was significantly associated with VATS sublobar resection (P < 0.001) and resection at the right upper lobe or right middle lobe (vs right lower lobe, P = 0.048; vs left upper lobe, P = 0.003; vs left lower lobe, P = 0.015). Diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide was preserved in 129 (36.8%) patients. Multivariable analysis showed that VATS sublobar resection (P < .001), lower baseline diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (P < 0.001) and right upper lobe or right middle lobe resection (vs right lower lobe, P = 0.0014; vs left upper lobe, P = 0.029, vs left lower lobe, P = 0.014) were significantly associated with preserved diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide. CONCLUSIONS For preserving pulmonary function after non-small-cell lung cancer surgery, VATS sublobar resection was superior to VATS lobectomy, and surgery on the right upper lobe or right middle lobe was superior to that at other sites.