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Objective: We previously reported that 22% of lung cancer patients experienced a Grade 2 or 3 elevation in creatinine after chemotherapy containing cisplatin. We conducted a Phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of short hydration. Methods: The major eligibility criteria included patients with lung cancer for whom a !75 mg/m 2 cisplatin-based regimen was indicated and adequate organ function. Cisplatin was administered with pre-and post-hydration containing 10 mEq of potassium chloride in 500 ml of fluid over a 60-min period. Immediately before the administration of cisplatin, mannitol (20%, 200 ml) was administered as forced diuresis over 30 min. And magnesium sulfate (8 mEq) was added to pre-hydration. Results: Forty-four patients were enrolled between April and December 2011. The patients included 29 men and 15 women with a median (range) age of 64 (42-74) years. Twenty patients received cisplatin and pemetrexed as their most frequent regimen and 38 patients received three to four cycles of chemotherapy. The median (range) duration and volume of the chemotherapies were 4.0 (3.3 -6.8) h and 1600 (1550 -2050) ml, respectively. Of the 44 patients, 43 (97.8%) completed the cisplatin-based chemotherapy without Grade 2 or higher renal dysfunction. The only patient who had Grade 2 elevation in creatinine (maximum value 1.7 mg/dl) had prompt improvement in creatinine levels and completed four cycles of chemotherapy. Conclusions: The short hydration is safe without severe renal toxicities in regimens containing cisplatin (!75 mg/m 2 ) for patients with lung cancer.

Recent clinical trials have revealed that accurate histologic typing of non-small cell lung cancer is essential. Until now, squamous cell carcinoma (SQC) and adenocarcinoma (ADC) markers have not been thoroughly analyzed for pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). We analyzed the expression of 8 markers [p63, cytokeratin (CK) 5/6, SOX2, CK7, desmocollin 3, thyroid transcription factor-1 (8G7G3/1 and SPT24), and napsin A] in 224 NECs. SOX2 (76.2%) had the greatest expression for NECs. CK5/6 (1.4%), desmocollin 3 (0.5%), and napsin A (0%) were expressed less or not at all in NECs. Although our investigated markers have been reported useful for differentiating between SQC and ADC, some of them were also present in a portion of pulmonary NECs. In our study, CK5/6 and desmocollin 3 were highly specific markers for SQC, and napsin A was highly specific for ADC. These markers are recommended for diagnosis of poorly differentiated non-small cell lung cancer.

Abstract. The incidences of infusion site adverse events in chemotherapy regimens, including anthracyclines with either fosaprepitant or aprepitant as the anti-emetic, were not highlighted in the randomized trial comparing aprepitant and fosaprepitant. The present retrospective analysis was performed in breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-containing chemotherapy, a combination of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide with or without 5-fluorouracil as the adjuvant or neoadjuvant, at the outpatient infusion center of St. Marianna University Hospital (Kawasaki, Japan). Infusion site adverse events were retrospectively compared between the 3 months prior to and three months following switching from 3 day oral administration of aprepitant to intravenous infusion of fosaprepitant. A total of 62 patients were included in the aprepitant group and 38 in the fosaprepitant group. Of these patients, 26 (42%) in the aprepitant group and 36 patients (96%) in the fosaprepitant group experienced any grade of infusion site adverse events at least once (P<0.001). As an anti-emetic treatment for chemotherapy using anthracyclines, fosaprepitant may be associated with a higher risk of infusion site adverse events compared with aprepitant.

Histologic distinction among non-small cell lung carcinomas, particularly between squamous cell carcinoma (SQC) and adenocarcinoma (ADC), has become more important. Recently, a p40 antibody was suggested to be a highly specific marker for SQC. We evaluated p40 expression and compared it with the expression of other SQC markers in 580 primary lung carcinomas, including 158 SQCs, 156 ADCs, 50 carcinoid tomors, 107 large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, 68 small cell lung carcinomas, and 41 malignant mesotheliomas. Detailed histologic distributions of p40-positive cases were as follows: 153 (96.8%) of 158 SQCs, 7 (4.6%) of 152 ADCs, 0 (0%) of 50 carcinoid tomors, 4 (3.6%) of 107 large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, 1 (1.5%) of 68 small cell lung carcinomas, and 1 (2.4%) of 41 mesotheliomas. p40 staining yields high sensitivity as well as high specificity for distinguishing SQC from ADC, neuroendocrine carcinomas, and malignant mesothelioma.