• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.1
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• pp.29-41
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• 2018

Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although progress in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been made over the past decade, the 5-year survival rate in patients with lung cancer remains only 10%-20%. Obviously, new therapeutic options are required for patients with advanced NSCLC and unmet medical needs. Cancer immunotherapy is an evolving treatment modality that uses a patient's own immune systems to fight cancer. Theoretically, cancer immunotherapy can result in long-term cancer remission and may not cause the same side effects as chemotherapy and radiation. Immunooncology has become an important focus of basic research as well as clinical trials for the treatment of NSCLC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most promising approach for cancer immunotherapy and they have become the standard of care for patients with advanced NSCLC. This review summarizes basic tumor immunology and the relevant clinical data on immunotherapeutic approaches, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.117-121
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• 2011

Objectives: We report one patient with pleural effusion and effusion-related symptoms in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) successfully treated with Gunreyngtang-gagambang. Methods: Gunreyngtang-gagambang was administered at 30 minutes after mealtime, three times a day, for two months. Except for herbal medicine, the patient did not take any treatment including pharmaceutical or non pharmaceutical for effusion. Result: Two months later, the symptoms and the pleural effusion had disappeared from chest X-ray. Conclusion: Gunreyngtang-gagambang was effective for treatment of malignant pleural effusion due to small cell lung cancer.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2022

Objective: To report the improvements with Korean medicine-based integrative cancer therapies on adverse effects of adjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Method: There were two patients complained cough, rhinorrhea, numbness, general weakness, nausea and dyspepsia after chemotherapy. They got treated centered on Korean medicine including herbal medicine, acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, hand and foot bath. They were also treated Western immunotherapies like Thymosin at regular intervals. The symptoms were measured by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 for Palliative Care(EORTC QLQ C-15 PAL) and their subjective assessments. Results: Their chief complaints were relieved and their quality of life scores was improved even though they have been receiving chemotherapy continuously. Conclusion: These cases revealed a possibility that Korean medicine-based integrative cancer therapies could improve some symptoms after chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.33-41
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• 2019

Objectives : The purpose of this case report is to examine clinical application of Traditional Korean medicine including aconitum ciliare decaisne pharmacopuncture for cancer pain caused by bone metastasis of non small cell lung cancer. Methods : The patient diagnosed as non small cell lung cancer was treated with pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, electroacupuncture and herbal medicine. We used NRS(Numeric rating scale) and ECOG PS(Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status) to observe the effect of the treatment. Results : After the treatment, NRS of cancer pain and ECOG PS score decreased. Also, the frequency of using rapid-onset opioids decreased. Conclusions : This study suggests Traditional Korean medicine treatment including aconitum ciliare decaisne pharmacopuncture is effective in cancer pain control caused by metastasis to bone with multiple organs with non small cell lung cancer.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.78-84
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• 2017

A 73-year-old non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient admitted due to cough, sputum, and dyspnea, aggravated a week ago. She was diagnosed as pneumonia based on the assessment of inflammation markers, chest X-ray and sputum culture. Computed tomography (CT) scan was conducted to exclude malignant tumor metastasis. At the initiation of treatment, considering underlying disease and inflammation marker level, herbal medicine and antibiotics were concurrently used and antibiotics had been discontinued after 10days. Using the monotherapy of herbal medicine in the next 6 days, chest X-ray showed remarkably decreased infiltration in right middle lung and right lower lung. This case represented additional improvement of chest X-ray when treated only with herb medicine after termination of antibiotic therapy and demonstrated the possibility of applying herbal medicine in patients with limited use of antibiotics.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2022

Background: The expression of calcium signaling pathway molecules is altered in various carcinomas, which are related to the proliferation and altered characteristics of cancer cells. However, changes in calcium signaling in anti-cancer drug-resistant cells (bearing a T790M mutation in epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR]) remain unclear. Methods: Afatinib-mediated changes in the level of store-operated Ca²⁺ entry (SOCE)-related proteins and intracellular Ca²⁺ level in non-small cell lung cancer cells with T790M mutation in the EGFR gene were analyzed using western blot and ratiometric assays, respectively. Afatinib-mediated autophagic flux was evaluated by measuring the cleavage of LC3B-II. Flow cytometry and cell proliferation assays were conducted to assess cell apoptosis and proliferation. Results: The levels of SOCE-mediating proteins (ORAI calcium release-activated calcium modulator 1 [ORAI1], stromal interaction molecule 1 [STIM1], and sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ ATPase [SERCA2]) decreased after afatinib treatment in non-small cell lung cancer cells, whereas the levels of SOCE-related proteins did not change in gefitinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells (PC-9/GR; bearing a T790M mutation in EGFR). Notably, the expression level of SOCE-related proteins in PC-9/GR cells was reduced also responding to afatinib in the absence of extracellular Ca²⁺. Moreover, extracellular Ca²⁺ influx through the SOCE was significantly reduced in PC-9 cells pre-treated with afatinib than in the control group. Additionally, afatinib was found to decrease the level of SOCE-related proteins through autophagic degradation, and the proliferation of PC-9GR cells was significantly inhibited by a lack of extracellular Ca²⁺. Conclusion: Extracellular Ca²⁺ plays important role in afatinib-mediated autophagic degradation of SOCE-related proteins in cells with T790M mutation in the EGFR gene and extracellular Ca²⁺ is essential for determining anti-cancer drug efficacy.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.481-485
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• 2004

Lung cancer has become a leading cause of cancer death in Korea. Accurate staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is essential to the ability to offer a patient the most effective available treatment and the best estimate of prognosis. PET with F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is indicated for the nodal staging of NSCLC and detection of distant metastases. Use of PET for mediastinal staging should not be relied on as a sole staging modality, and positive findings should be confirmed by mediastinoscopy. FDG PET avoids futile surgery by a more accurate selection of patients, especially by the detection of unexpected distant metastases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4765-4768
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• 2013

Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate the levels of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF in serum of patients with non- small cell lung cancer, for assessing their possible diagnostic and prognostic roles. Methods: We enrolled 48 patients newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and 40 healthy controls. TNF- ${\alpha}$, IL-6 and IL-8 levels were measured in the serum of all the subjects with specific radioimmunoassay kits, while EGF was analyzed by sandwich enzyme immunoassay techniques. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed between lung cancer patients and the control group regarding the values of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF in serum. Moreover, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-8 and VEGF levels were higher in patients with advanced stages compared to early stages. In addition, higher serum levels of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF were found in smokers than in non-smokers, both in patients and controls. Conclusion: Serum levels of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF were all elevated in lung cancer patients, suggesting that inflammatory cytokines could be jointly used as a screening tool. Though TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-8 and VEGF levels were related to advanced disease, long-term survival studies of NSCLC patients should be performed to confirm whether they can act as biomarkers of advanced disease. In addition, smoking would be an important contributor to the processes of inflammation and lung cancer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.415-423
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• 2017

Background: Recently, many surgeons have chosen sublobar resection for the curative treatment of lung tumors with ground-glass opacity, which is a hallmark of lepidic lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oncological results of sublobar resection for non-lepidic lung cancer in comparison with lobectomy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 328 patients with clinical N0 non-small cell lung cancer sized ${\leq}2cm$ who underwent curative surgical resection from January 2009 to December 2014. The patients were classified on the basis of their lesions into non-lepidic and lepidic groups. The survival rates following lobectomy and sublobar resection were compared within each of these 2 groups. Results: The non-lepidic group contained a total of 191 patients. The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was not significantly different between patients who received sublobar resection or lobectomy in the non-lepidic group (80.1% vs. 79.2%, p=0.822) or in the lepidic group (100% vs. 97.4%, p=0.283). Multivariate analysis indicated that only lymphatic invasion was a significant risk factor for recurrence in the non-lepidic group. Sublobar resection was not a risk factor for recurrence in the non-lepidic group. Conclusion: The oncological outcomes of sublobar resection and lobectomy in small-sized non-small cell lung cancer did not significantly differ according to histological type.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9557-9565
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• 2014

MiRNAs are endogenous, single stranded ~22-nucleotide non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) which are transcribed by RNA polymerase II and mediate negative post-transcriptional gene regulation through binding to 3'untranslated regions (UTR), possibly open reading frames (ORFs) or 5'UTRs of target mRNAs. MiRNAs are involved in the normal physiology of eukaryotic cells, so dysregulation may be associated with diseases like cancer, and neurodegenerative, heart and other disorders. Among all cancers, lung cancer, with high incidence and mortality worldwide, is classified into two main groups: non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. Recent promising studies suggest that gene expression profiles and miRNA signatures could be a useful step in a noninvasive, low-cost and repeatable screening process of lung cancer. Similarly, every stage of lung development during fetal life is associated with specific miRNAs. Since lung development and lung cancer phenomena share the same physiological, biological and molecular processes like cell proliferation, development and shared mRNA or expression regulation pathways, and according to data adopted from various studies, they may have partially shared miRNA signature. Thus, focusing on lung cancer in relation to lung development in miRNA studies might provide clues for lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis.