Abstract. The present retrospective study was performed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics associated with distant metastasis from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The records of NSCLC patients with metastasis at the time of diagnosis between 1999 and 2012 were reviewed. Of the consecutive 1,542 NSCLC patients diagnosed during the study period, 729 (47.3%) patients presented with distant metastasis. Among those 729 metastatic NSCLC patients, 250 (34.3%), 234 (32.1%), 207 (28.4%), 122 (16.7%), 98 (13.4%) and 69 (9.5%) had bone, lung, brain, adrenal gland, liver and extrathoracic lymph node metastasis, respectively. In a multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model, liver and adrenal gland metastases were unfavorable prognostic factors. However, brain and bone metastases were not statistically significant prognostic factors. Using a logistic regression analysis, metastasis to the adrenal glands and the presence of pleural and̸or pericardial fluid effusion were correlated with a poor performance status. Therefore, when planning the treatment of NSCLC patients, particularly those with liver and adrenal gland metastases, we should take into consideration information regarding these unfavorable organ metastases.

Abstract. The aim of our retrospective study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features associated with distant metastasis from small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We reviewed patients diagnosed with SCLC metastasis at the time of presentation between 1999 and 2010. Among the consecutive 251 SCLC patients diagnosed, 152 (60.6%) patients had distant metastasis, of which 20.3, 18.3, 15.5, 10.0 and 6.0% of patients had liver, bone, brain, lung and adrenal gland metastasis, respectively. In a multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model, we identified that liver, bone and brain metastasis as well as the presence of pleural and/ or pericardial fluids were unfavorable prognostic factors. However, lung, adrenal gland and extrathoracic lymph node metastasis were not statistically significant prognostic factors. With regard to the treatment of SCLC patients, particularly those with liver, bone and brain metastasis or pleural and/or pericardial fluids, we should take the metastasizing organs into consideration.

The aim of this study was to examine the survival difference between non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) according to the first-line therapy. All patients with lung cancer diagnosed at our hospitals between April 1999 and March 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The definition of DM was strictly determined and included fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels. The patients were divided into 2 groups: those with DM (DM group) and those without DM (non-DM group). For each treatment type, the survival of these 2 groups was evaluated. For NSCLC patients overall, the difference in survival between the DM group and the non-DM group was not significant (p = 0.112). However, in surgically treated NSCLC patients, the difference in survival between the 2 groups was significant (p = 0.022). In chemotherapy-treated NSCLC patients, the difference in survival between the 2 groups was not significant (p = 0.942). On the other hand, for SCLC patients overall, the difference in survival between the DM group and the non-DM group was significant (p = 0.012). In chemotherapy-treated SCLC patients, the difference in survival between the 2 groups was significant (p = 0.026). The influence of DM may differ between NSCLC and SCLC patients. At the current treatment level for unresectable NSCLC, the influence of DM might not be the same for NSCLC patients treated with surgery as for SCLC patients treated with chemotherapy. Elucidation of the mechanism by which hyperglycemia influences the progression of lung cancer will improve survival in lung cancer patients with DM.

No abstract

Abstract. Partial or complete spontaneous cancer regression is a rare phenomenon, particularly in patients with lung cancer. This is the case report of a patient with lung cancer who exhibited spontaneous regression of the primary as well as metastatic lesions, without receiving any treatment. Spontaneous regression commenced within a week of obtaining pathological specimens by transbronchial and percutaneous biopsies from the primary lesion and metastatic lymph nodes of the left side of the neck. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown; however, we hypothesized that there may be an immunological association between the stimulus of the biopsies and the spontaneous regression. This patient should be closely followed up to monitor the clinical course of this unusual case.