• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.74 no.2
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• pp.51-55
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• 2013

Acute eosinophilic pneumonia is a severe and rapidly progressive lung disease that can cause fatal respiratory failure. Since this disease exhibits totally different clinical features to other eosinophilic lung diseases (ELD), it is not difficult to distinguish it among other ELDs. However, this can be similar to other diseases causing acute respiratory distress syndrome or severe community-acquired pneumonia, so the diagnosis can be delayed. The cause of this disease in the majority of patients is unknown, even though some cases may be caused by smoke, other patients inhaled dust or drugs. The diagnosis is established by bronchoalveolar lavage. Treatment with corticosteroids shows a rapid and dramatic positive response without recurrence.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.2
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• pp.122-131
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• 2020

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP) one of the most common interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) is characterized by exposure to an inhaled inciting antigen that leads to a host immunologic reaction determining interstitial inflammation and architectural distortion. The underlying pathogenetic mechanisms are unclear. The absence of international shared diagnostic guidelines and the lack of a "gold-standard" test for HP combined with the presence of several clinical and radiologic overlapping features makes it particularly challenging to differentiate HP from other ILDs, also in expert contests. Radiology is playing a more crucial role in this process; recently the headcheese sign was recognized as a more specific for chronic-HP than the extensive mosaic attenuation. Several classification proposals and diagnostic models have been advanced by different groups, with no prospective validation. Therapeutic options for HP have been limited to antigen avoidance and immunosuppressant drugs over the last decades. Several questions about this condition remain unanswered and there is a need for more studies.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.102-117
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• 2019

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrosing interstitial pneumonia, which presents with a progressive worsening dyspnea, and thus a poor outcome. The members of the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases as well as the participating members of the Korea Interstitial Lung Disease Study Group drafted this clinical practice guideline for IPF management. This guideline includes a wide range of topics, including the epidemiology, pathogenesis, risk factors, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and acute exacerbation of IPF in Korea. Additionally, we suggested the PICO for the use of pirfenidone and nintendanib and for lung transplantation for the treatment of patients with IPF through a systemic literature review using experts' help in conducting a meta-analysis. We recommend this guideline to physicians, other health care professionals, and government personnel in Korea, to facilitate the treatment of patients with IPF.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.77 no.2
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• pp.60-64
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• 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that modulate target gene activity, and are aberrantly expressed in most types of cancer as well in lung cancer. A miRNA can potentially target a diverse set of mRNAs; further, it plays a critical role in lung tumorigenesis as well as affects patient outcome. Previous studies focused mainly on abnormal miRNAs expressions in lung cancer tissues. Interestingly, circulating miRNAs were identified in human plasma and serum in 2008. Since then, considerable effort has been directed to the study of circulating miRNAs as one of the biomarkers of lung cancer. miRNAs expression of tissues and blood in lung cancer patients is being analyzed by more researchers. Recently, to overcome the high false-positivity of low-dose chest computed tomography scan, miRNAs in lung cancer screening are being investigated. This article summarizes the recent researches regarding clinical applications of miRNAs in the diagnosis and management of lung cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.5-14
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• 2003

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.77 no.2
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• pp.55-59
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• 2014

The US National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality and a 6.7% decrease in all-cause mortality. The NLST is the only trial showing positive results in a high-risk population, such as in patients with old age and heavy ever smokers. Lung cancer screening using a low-dose chest computed tomography might be beneficial for the high-risk group. However, there may also be potential adverse outcomes in terms of over diagnosis, bias and cost-effectiveness. Until now, lung cancer screening remains controversial. In this review, we wish to discuss the evolution of lung cancer screening and summarize existing evidences and recommendations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4215-4221
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• 2013

Purposes: Lung cancer is prevalent worldwide and improvements in timely and effective diagnosis are need. Pentraxin-3 as a novel serum marker for lung cancer (LC) has not been validated in large cohort studies. The aim of the study was to assess its clinical value in diagnosis and prognosis. Methods: We analyzed serum PTX-3 levels in a total of 1,605 patients with LC, benign lung diseases and healthy controls, as well as 493 non-lung cancer patients including 12 different types of cancers. Preoperative and postoperative data were further assessed in patients undergoing LC resection. The diagnostic performance of PTX-3 for LC and early-stage LC was assessed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) by comparing with serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1). Results: Levels of PTX-3 in serum were significantly higher in patients with LC than all controls. ROC curves showed the optimum diagnostic cutoff was 8.03ng/mL (AUC 0.823, [95%CI 0.789-0.856], sensitivity 72.8%, and specificity 77.3% in the test cohort; 0.802, [95%CI 0.762-0.843], sensitivity 69.7%, and specificity 76.4% in the validate cohort). Similar diagnostic performance of PTX-3 was observed for early-stage LC. PTX-3 decreased following surgical resection of LC and increased with tumor recurrence. Significantly elevated PTX-3 levels were also seen in patients with non-lung cancers. Conclusions: The present data revealed that PTX-3 was significantly increased in both tissue and serum samples in LC patients. PTX-3 is a valuable biomarker for LC and improved identification of patients with LC and early-stage LC from those with non-malignant lung diseases.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2014

Occupational long-term exposure to inorganic dusts may cause a variety of lung diseases such as pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Diagnosis of pneumoconiosis and COPD, however, is currently dependent on radiological findings and pulmonary test, which are both late diagnostic tools. Therefore, there is a need to identify novel biomarkers in pneumoconiosis and COPD. Hence, in this current study we investigated the serum concentrations of YKL-40, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) as biomarkers for pneumoconiosis and COPD in 161 retired male workers exposed to inorganic dusts. The serum concentration of YKL-40 was significantly increased with age, pneumoconiosis, and airflow limitation. The serum concentration of IL-6 was significantly higher in airflow limitation. These results suggest that serum concentration of YKL-40 is associated with age, pneumoconiosis, and airflow limitation. Also, serum concentration of IL-6 is associated with airflow limitation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.87 no.3
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• pp.398-408
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• 2024

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most dangerous cancers and tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. Many studies have confirmed the connection between lung cancer and tuberculosis, and also the microRNAs (miRNAs) that play a major role in the development of these two diseases. This study aims to use different databases to find effective miRNAs and their role in different genes in lung and tuberculosis diseases. It also aims to determine the role of miR-34a and miR-182 in lung cancer and tuberculosis. Methods: Using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, the influential miRNA databases were studied in the two diseases. Finally, considering bioinformatics results and literature studies, two miR-34a and miR-182 were selected. The role of these miRNAs and their target genes was carefully evaluated using bioinformatics. The expression of miRNAs in the plasma of patients with lung cancer and tuberculosis and healthy individuals was investigated. Results: According to the GEO database, miR-34a and miR-182 are miRNAs that affect tuberculosis and lung cancer. By checking the miRBase, miRcode, DIANA, miRDB, galaxy, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases, the role of these miRNAs on genes and different molecular pathways and their effect on these miRNAs were mentioned. The results of the present study showed that the expression of miR-34a and miR-182 was lower than that of healthy people. The p-value for miR-182 was <0.0001 and for miR-34a was 0.3380. Conclusion: Reducing the expression pattern of these miRNAs indicates their role in lung cancer and tuberculosis occurrence. Therefore, these miRNAs can be used as a biomarker for prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment methods.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.82 no.4
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• pp.277-284
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• 2019

Idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) is one of the varieties of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. Diagnosis of idiopathic NSIP can be done via multidisciplinary approach in which the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings were discussed together and exclude other causes. Clinical manifestations include subacute or chronic dyspnea and cough that last an average of 6 months, most of which occur in non-smoking, middle-aged women. The common findings in thoracic high-resolution computed tomography in NSIP are bilateral reticular opacities, traction bronchiectasis, reduced volume of the lobes, and ground-glass opacity in the lower lungs. These lesions can involve diffuse bilateral lungs or subpleural area. Unlike usual interstitial pneumonia, honeycombing is sparse or absent. Pathology shows diffuse interstitial inflammation and fibrosis which are temporally homogeneous, namely NSIP pattern. Idiopathic NSIP is usually treated with steroid only or combination with immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, and mycophenolate mofetil. Prognosis of idiopathic NSIP is better than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Many studies have reported a 5-year survival rate of more than 70%.