Early detection of metastasis can be aided by circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which also show potential to predict early relapse. Due to the limited CTC numbers in peripheral blood in early stages, we investigated CTCs in pulmonary vein blood accessed during surgical resection of tumors. Pulmonary vein (PV) and peripheral vein (Pe) blood specimens from patients with lung cancer were drawn during the perioperative period and assessed for CTC burden using a microfluidic device. From 108 blood samples analyzed from 36 patients, PV had significantly higher number of CTCs compared to pre-operative Pe (p<0.0001) and intra-operative Pe (p<0.001) blood. CTC clusters with large number of CTCs were observed in 50% of patients, with PV often revealing larger clusters. Long term surveillance indicated that presence of clusters in pre-operative Pe blood predicted a trend toward poor prognosis. Gene expression analysis by RT-qPCR revealed enrichment of p53 signaling and extracellular matrix involvement in PV and Pe samples. Ki67 expression was detected in 62.5% of PV samples and 59.2% of Pe samples, with the majority (72.7%) of patients positive for Ki67 expression in PV having single CTCs as opposed to clusters. Gene ontology analysis revealed enrichment of cell migration and immune-related pathways in CTC clusters, suggesting survival advantage of clusters in circulation. Clusters display characteristics of therapeutic resistance, indicating the aggressive nature of these cells. Thus, CTCs isolated from early stages of lung cancer are predictive of poor prognosis and can be interrogated to determine biomarkers predictive of recurrence.

We employed next generation RNA sequencing analysis to reveal dysregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in lung cancer utilizing 461 lung adenocarcinomas (LUAD) and 156 normal lung tissues from 3 separate institutions. We identified 281 lncRNAs with significant differential-expression between LUAD and normal lung tissue. LINC00857, a top deregulated lncRNAs, was overexpressed in tumors and significantly associated with poor survival in LUAD. knockdown of LINC00857 with siRNAs decreased tumor cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion in vitro, as well as tumor growth in vivo. Overexpression of LINC00857 increased cancer cell proliferation, colony formation and invasion. Mechanistic analyses indicated that LINC00857 mediates tumor progression via cell cycle regulation. Our study highlights the diagnostic/prognostic potential of LINC00857 in LUAD besides delineating the functional and mechanistic aspects of its aberrant disease specific expression and potentially using as a new therapeutic target.

Whole transcriptome analyses of next generation RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data from human cancer samples reveled thousands of uncharacterized non-coding RNAs including long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). Recent studies indicated that lncRNAs are emerging as crucial regulators in cancer processes and potentially useful as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. To delineate dysregulated lncRNAs in lung cancer, we analyzed RNA-Seq data from 461 lung adenocarcinomas (LUAD) and 156 normal lung tissues. FAM83H-AS1, one of the top dysregulated lncRNAs, was found to be overexpressed in tumors relative to normal lung and significantly associated with worse patient survival in LUAD. We verified this diagnostic/prognostic potential in an independent cohort of LUAD by qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were decreased after FAM83H-AS1 knockdown using siRNAs in lung cancer cells. Flow cytometry analysis indicated the cell cycle was arrested at the G2 phase after FAM83H-AS1 knockdown. Mechanistically, we found that MET/EGFR signaling was regulated by FAM83H-AS1. Our study indicated that FAM83H-AS1 plays an important role in lung tumor progression and may be potentially used as diagnostic/prognostic marker. Further characterization of this lncRNA may provide a novel therapeutic target impacting MET/EGFR signaling.

Paraesophageal hernia has a significant effect on respiratory function, which is largely underappreciated. This study demonstrates that these repairs can be done safely and supports routine consideration for elective repair; older patients with borderline respiratory function may achieve substantial improvements in their respiratory status and quality of life.