These results confirm the reported high immunogenicity of NY-ESO-1 and suggest that a smoking-induced chronic inflammatory state might potentiate the development of NY-ESO-1-specific immune responses. Moreover, smoking might contribute to the expression of other cancer/testis antigens such as MAGE-A4 at early stages of NSCLC development.

The aim of the study was to evaluate type of surgery, long-term survival and factors influencing outcome of pulmonary carcinoid tumors. We reviewed our database of 137 patients surgically treated for typical or atypical carcinoid tumors at our department between 1998 and 2013. There were 95 (69%) patients with typical carcinoid (87 N0, 6 N1, 2 N2) and 42 (31%) with atypical carcinoid (26 N0, 8 N1, 8 N2). Patients with atypical carcinoid were older than those with typical carcinoid (median age of 57±8.1 and 50.5±15.8 years, respectively, p<0.00001). The resection performed consisted of 6 (4.4%) pneumonectomies, 110 (80.1%) lobectomies and bilobectomies, 15 (11%) sleeve lobectomies, 2 (1.5%) resections of main bronchus and 4 (3%) wedge resections. Overall 5- and 10-year survival rates for different tumors were as follows: typical carcinoid: 97.2% and 89.9%, respectively; atypical carcinoid 71.1% and 62.2%, respectively. Statistical analyses indicated that histology (typical carcinoid, p<0.00001), age (less than 45 years, p=0.004) and nodal status (N0, p=0.0002) were significant prognostic factors for better prognosis. Histological sub-type and nodal involvement appear as the most important factors influencing the prognosis. Systemic lymphadenectomy is recommended and should always be performed.

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1). The quality of pathology reports was assessed, with tumor size, diagnosis, and invasion mentioned in 80% of cases, while resection status and staging were assessed in 52% and 31% of cases, respectively. The initial diagnosis was consistent with that of the review in 60% of cases. Minor discrepancies-regarding thymoma subtype-were observed in 20% of cases. Three patients had normal thymus according to the reference center, whereas thymoma B1 or B2 had been diagnosed locally, including one patient with severe myasthenia gravis. Three patients had implications for treatment due to the major differences in pathohistological diagnoses. Conclusion: Implementing structured pathology reports may help to decrease discrepancies in the diagnosis of thymic malignancies. The development of expert networks is an opportunity in this setting.

The authors' experience with the surgical repair of thoracic deformities in 45 adult patients is reported. The most frequent deformity was pectus excavatum (n = 42), the asymmetric form of which was observed in 59 % of our patients. The patients were treated by means of a modified Ravitch method, with the retrosternal introduction of a Jensen strut. The strut was left in place for one year and then was removed via a small incision. With the exception of two cases of postoperative pneumothorax, no other postoperative complications were seen and no patient died. In the follow-up 1 year after removal of the Jensen strut, no recurrent deformities were observed in 36 patients. On the basis of these results, we consider the described technique as the method of choice in the treatment of congenital thoracic deformities in adult patients.