No abstract

This retrospective study indicates that immunostaining for ERCC1 may be useful for predicting survival in NSCLC patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin and docetaxel, and can provide information critical for planning personalized chemotherapy.

Abstract. Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) is considered to be one of the risk factors for lung cancer (LC). However, therapeutic options for patients with LC complicated by IIP are not well established. In this study, we investigated the feasibility and efficacy of chemotherapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) complicated by IIP (NSCLC-IIP). We retrospectively analyzed 22 NSCLC-IIP patients who received chemotherapy. To determine how IIP affected the clinical outcomes in NSCLC, they were compared with 276 NSCLC patients without IIP, who were treated with chemotherapy alone. The response rate (partial response + stable disease) was 72.3% (17/22), whereas the incidence of acute exacerbation (AE) was 13.6% (3/22) in NSCLC-IIP patients treated with chemotherapy. NSCLC-IIP patients had significantly shorter survival compared with NSCLC patients without IIP (P<0.001) following chemotherapy, although the response rates to chemotherapy were not significantly different between the two groups. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that, in NSCLC patients receiving chemotherapy, IIP was a significantly unfavorable factor for progression-free and overall survival. Despite similar response rates to chemotherapy, NSCLC-IIP patients showed poorer prognosis than NSCLC patients without IIP, possibly due to the natural course of IIP. Chemotherapy may be a feasible option for NSCLC-IIP, if the risks of adverse effects are acceptable.

No abstract

The present study examined the relationship of work duration or physical symptoms to the mental health of visual display terminal (VDT) workers in Japan. The mental health status of 2,327 VDT users at an administrative office was investigated using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Subjects were asked about their age, sex, hours of daily VDT use, rest and breaks during VDT work, eyestrain, and musculoskeletal pain. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations with mental health status (GHQ-12 scores). The mean age of subjects was 39.5 yr (SD=10.3). Among all subjects, 36.7% could rest during VDT work and 66.9% received breaks during VDT work. The proportion of subjects who reported eyestrain and musculoskeletal pain were 19.6% and 25.7%, respectively. Eighteen percent of subjects were classified into a GHQ-12 high score group. Logistic regression analysis showed that age less than 40 yr, not receiving breaks during VDT work, and the presence of eyestrain and musculoskeletal pain were significantly associated with poor mental health status (high GHQ-12 scores). Using a VDT for more than 5 h/d and being female were also marginally associated with high GHQ scores (p<0.1). In conclusion, the management of physical health as well as work duration is important for good mental health status among VDT users.