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A 40-year-old woman with lymphangiomatosis also had an intrathoracic lymphangioma infection. Since the age of 8 years, the patient had undergone repeated abdominal and mediastinal cyst surgeries and had received a diagnosis of lymphangiomatosis. At this time, she showed a high fever of 38.5°C. Cultures of both blood and fluid aspirated from the cyst were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Chest CT imaging revealed an enlarged right-sided mediastinal cystic lymphangioma with new septa in it. A chest tube was inserted into the cyst to remove effusion. The patient was then started with the antibacterial drug cefazolin at 3 g/d. But effective drainage was difficult because of the high viscosity of the effusion and septa working as barriers. We removed these components with endoscopic surgical instruments and via a pulsed-lavage system under general anesthesia. Postoperative CT images showed reexpanded lung structure and reduced cyst size. The patient has taken a favorable course for 2 years.

Squamous cell papillomas are the most common benign tumors of the larynx (1). A solitary bronchial squamous cell papilloma (BSCP) was first reported in 1954 (2). BSCP is a benign tumor originating from squamous cell epithelium cells, and it accounts for 0.38% of all lung tumors (3). There are two primary clinical features of bronchial papillomas. First, BSCP has a tendency to spread to multiple sites within the bronchial tree.

The expression levels of thymidine phosphorylase (TP), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), thymidylate synthase (TS) and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT) may predict the clinical efficacy of 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in patients with cancer. We herein investigated the differences in the mRNA levels of these enzymes in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and evaluated their prognostic value for NSCLC treated by surgical resection. The intratumoral mRNA levels of TP, DPD, TS, and OPRT were quantified in 66 patients with pathological stage I and II NSCLC (adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma) following complete resection according to the Danenberg Tumor Profile method. The TP level was the only significant prognostic factor for disease-specific survival (DSS) following complete resection; the mean TP mRNA level differed significantly between the high and low mRNA expression groups. The DSS at 5 years was significantly higher in the low TP mRNA compared with that in the high TP mRNA expression group (83.4 vs. 58.6%, respectively; P=0.005). A Cox proportional hazards model revealed that pathological stage, sex, and TP expression were independent prognostic factors for DSS in patients with stage I and II NSCLC following complete resection. Thus, TP level may be used to monitor treatment efficacy and predict the outcome of NSCLC patients.

A 65-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of an abnormal shadow in the left lung field of chest roentgenogram. A chest computed tomography scan revealed an ill-defined nodule in the superior lingular segment of left lung and a calcified nodule in the left pulmonary apex region. A diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma in the left lingular was made by transbronchial cytology and the left upper lobectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. Pathological diagnosis was primary lung adenocarcinoma in the superior lingular segment of left lung (pT1aN0M0, stage I A) and hamartoma in the left pulmonary apex region. It was considered to be important to discriminate a hamartoma from a metastasic lesion in order to conduct correct treatment.

The patient, a 65-year-old woman, visited at her local doctor's office with the chief complaint of pharyngeal pain. After being administered antibacterial drugs, hyperthermia persisted and the pharyngeal pain became exacerbated. She was referred to our hospital and diagnosed as a retropharyngeal abscess and descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM). She was urgently hospitalized and surgery was performed. The mediastinal pleura was incised with thoracoscopic guidance and curettage, irrigation, and drainage were performed. Additional drainage was determined to be necessary based on findings from subsequent chest computed tomography and a prolonged inflammatory reaction. Therefore, on hospital day 7, 2nd surgery were performed, and tracheotomy was additionally performed with curettage of the neck abscess. The patient was taken off mechanical ventilation on hospital day 18, and discharged on hospital day 55.

Background Myelolipoma is an uncommon tumor comprising adipose tissue and normal hematopoietic cells and mainly occurs in the adrenal cortex. Mediastinal myelolipoma is very rare; we report a case of posterior mediastinal myelolipoma that required surgical resection. Case Presentation A 56-year-old male was diagnosed with a posterior mediastinal tumor by computed tomography. The tumor was originally noted in 2005, and during follow-up in March 2014, it was found to have increased in size. During consultation at our hospital, on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we considered the possibility that the tumor was malignant. Consequently, we resected the tumor by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The histopathological findings revealed that the tumor had undergone intrathoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis. However, after considering the patient’s background and histopathological findings, we diagnosed the tumor as a thoracic extra-adrenal myelolipoma. Conclusions Pathological analysis was instrumental in clarifying the diagnosis. We recommend surgery as a treatment option for posterior mediastinal tumors.

A 73-year-old woman complained of right chest discomfort. Chest X-ray during the follow-up for rheumatoid arthritis showed a mediastinal tumor. Chest computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a 65-mm tumor in the right anterior mediastinum. A blood test showed high serum levels of CYFRA 21-1(29.8 ng/ml), white blood cells( WBC 10,800/µl), and C-reactive protein(CRP 16.1 mg/dl). Subsequently, inflammatory reactions improved, and the thymic tumor was resected. Histopathologically, the tumor was a type B2 thymoma with extensive coagulative necrosis. After resection, the serum CYFRA 21-1 level returned to the normal range.

Background: Pulmonary metastases of thymomas are relatively rare. We report on two patients who underwent surgery for resection of pulmonary metastases. Methods and results: One patient was a 74-year-old man. A chest CT scan showed a mediastinal mass and a hilar nodule in the left lung. The patient underwent surgical resection of both of these lesions. The histological diagnosis was type A thymoma with intrapulmonary metastasis, classified as stage IVb. He did not receive any adjuvant therapy following the operation because the resection was complete. There has been no evidence of recurrence in four years. The other patient was a 68-year-old man with myasthenia gravis. At the age of 61 years, he underwent extended thymectomy with combined resection of the surrounding involved structures. The histological diagnosis was type B3 thymoma, stage III. Adjuvant radiation (40 Gy) was administered postoperatively; however, a pulmonary nodule occurred seven years following the initial operation (patient age, 68 years). He subsequently underwent right lower lobectomy and a diagnosis of intrapulmonary metastasis of thymoma was made. There has been no evidence of recurrence in two years. Conclusions: Long-term follow-up is important to detect recurrence in any cases of thymoma. Lung metastases should be operated upon if they appear to be completely resectable and this can achieve long-term survival.

Bronchogenic cysts arise from abnormal budding of the ventral diverticulum of the foregut or tracheobronchial tree during embryogenesis, are the most common cystic masses in the mediastinum, and are generally asymptomatic. A spontaneous regression in a mediastinal bronchogenic cyst (MBC) with pneumonia is rare. A 30-year-old male had a tumor shadow in the middle mediastinum. When he visited our hospital, he had a mild fever with coughing and sputum. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed a decrease in the tumor size and the existence of right pneumonia. MBC may be involved in the etiology of pneumonia; therefore, bronchogenic cysts need to be resected as soon as possible.