CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen), which belongs to the acidic glycoproteins, is primarily produced during the fetal period. Following this stage, low levels of CEA are considered physiological, while elevated concentrations are associated with a range of both benign and malignant pathologies. The liver plays a key role in CEA metabolism. The most common material used to determine CEA concentrations by various techniques is blood, and measuring CEA in peritoneal fluid holds clinical value. CEA has been found to contribute to carcinogenesis, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Therefore, its serum concentration is widely used in oncology for prognosis, disease monitoring, and recurrence detection, despite its limited sensitivity and specificity, which prevent it from serving as a standalone diagnostic tool. Elevated serum CEA levels are linked to worse outcomes in lung, liver, breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. Imaging and multi-marker panels that include CEA enhance diagnostic accuracy, but its role remains context-dependent and varies by cancer type. CEA levels in peritoneal fluid have been explored as a potential marker for detecting malignancy and predicting recurrence, particularly in gastric, gynecological, and colorectal cancers. Peritoneal fluid CEA has also been proven useful in differentiating the etiology of ascites. While cytology remains the standard for the detection of tumor cells in body fluids, its limited sensitivity provides a strong rationale for incorporating peritoneal fluid CEA measurements as a complementary diagnostic tool, potentially alongside other markers. Additionally, the lack of standardized measurement techniques and cut-off values underlines the methodological challenges that still need to be addressed in future research for both serum and peritoneal CEA levels.

Background. Thoracic endometriosis is thought to be the most common form of endometriosis occurring outside of the pelvis. We aimed to characterize thoracic symptoms of endometriosis in a population of patients not necessarily suffering from catamenial pneumothorax, which is most commonly identified as a symptom of thoracic endometriosis. Material and methods. We used a web-based survey addressed to users of two Polish endometriosis patient advocate organizations. The factor that qualified patients for the study was the presence of symptoms in the chest related to the menstrual cycle. Results. A total of 92 respondents were questioned. In this group, 96% (88/92) of patients were previously diagnosed with pelvic endometriosis, 20% (18/92) with thoracic endometriosis, and 18% (17/92) with diaphragmatic endometriosis. The percentage of patients diagnosed with both thoracic and diaphragmatic endometriosis was 15% (14/92). Ninety-eight percent of patients suffered from pain. The four most common symptoms reported by patients were chest pain, dyspnea, cough, and stunned limb, occurring in 96%, 67%, 52%, and 33%, respectively. The feeling of a stunned, weakened limb occurs in older women at 38.4 vs. 35.5 years of age (p = 0.021). There is a trend that women who suffer pain (36.7 vs. 31.3 years of age p = 0.053) and hemoptysis (41.0 vs. 36.2 years of age p = 0.059) are older than women without these symptoms. We identified two unique symptoms of thoracic endometriosis—pouring liquid sensation (13%) and popping sensation (12%)—which can be related to a small amount of gas and fluid in the pleural cavity. Conclusions. Patients who have endometriosis suffer from a constellation of thoracic symptoms related to menses.

Background: Perioperative therapies have altered curative-intent treatment for resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nonetheless, radical resection (R0) still remains one of the most vital determinants of the final clinical outcome. This study evaluates the definition of radical resection across perioperative NSCLC trials in the context of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) guidelines. Methods: A scoping review in accordance with PRISMA-ScR 2018 guidelines was conducted to identify suitable clinical trial protocols. PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for trials published between 2020 and 2025, focusing on studies with full protocols in English that included surgical treatment of NSCLC. Surgical radicality and lymphadenectomy definitions provided in the protocols were extracted and evaluated for adherence to NCCN and IASLC guidelines. Each component was assigned a value of ‘1’ if the criterion was met and ‘0’ if it was not. These binary scores were subsequently used to assess the overall compliance with the guidelines. Results: Out of 563 records initially identified, 47 were ultimately included. Only 15% of studies fully met the radical resection criteria according to both the NCCN and IASLC guidelines. As for lymphadenectomy, 30% of studies adhered to the NCCN guidelines, while 15% followed the IASLC guidelines. Conclusions: These findings highlight the persistent lack of a clear and uniform definition of radical resection in NSCLC amongst trial protocols. Such heterogeneity pose difficulty in interpretability and comparability of clinical data. It is of utmost importance to reinforce a trend toward standardization, for the sake of both patients and physicians.

Thoracic endometriosis syndrome (TES) is the most common extrapelvic manifestation of endometriosis, yet its classification, diagnosis, and treatment remain debated. Thoracic endometriosis syndrome has recently been proposed to be categorized into 3 types: pleural, bronchopulmonary, and diaphragmatic. Our study aims to propose a 3-step approach - computed tomography (CT) imaging, careful intraoperative assessment, and targeted pathology - to enhance the diagnostic process and optimize the management of TES-related pneumothorax. We retrospectively analyzed 3 cases of recurrent right-sided catamenial pneumothorax in female patients with a history of pelvic endometriosis, managed surgically at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk, between 2021 and 2024. All included patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), with comprehensive preoperative CT imaging, intraoperative lesion mapping, and postoperative histopathological examination, improving diagnostic accuracy in TES, with a possible impact on therapeutic results. Chest CT is essential for detecting bullous lesions, aiding in intraoperative identification and surgical treatment. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), assessing estrogen receptor (ER) and CD10 for stromal identification, improves pathological accuracy. This study underlines the diagnostic value of integrating imaging, intraoperative assessment, and targeted histopathology, as well as clear communication between surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists to ensure accurate diagnosis and an improved therapeutic process for patients in clinical practice.