Uğur Gönüllü

Melanoma pulmonar maligno: ¿es fácil determinar su origen?

El melanoma maligno que afecta al sistema respiratorio tiene un origen casi siempre metastasico y los tumores primarios verdaderos son muy frecuentes. En la bibliografia se han publicado aproximadamente 28 casos. Son necesarios estudios clinicos y anatomopatologicos detallados para considerar que el pulmon es la localizacion primaria del tumor. En este articulo se presenta el caso de un varon de 67 anos de edad con un melanoma pulmonar maligno primario en el lobulo inferior derecho. Tambien se realiza una revision de la bibliografia.

Serum Endothelial Monocyte-Activating Polypeptide–II: A Novel Biomarker in Patients with Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND Endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide-II (EMAP-II) is a proinflammatory cytokine with antiangiogenic properties. Serum EMAP-II levels have not been investigated previously in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between serum EMAP-II levels and clinicopathologic features, including prognosis, in patients with NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS We measured serum EMAP-II levels in 30 healthy control subjects and 48 patients with untreated NSCLC by enzyme linkedimmunosorbent assay. RESULTS Patients with NSCLC had significantly higher serum EMAP-II levels than did the control group (492 pg/mL +/- 1126 pg/mL vs. 266 pg/mL +/- 1013 pg/mL; P = .015). No significant association was found between serum EMAP-II levels and various clinicopathologic features (age, smoking history, performance status, histopathology, tumor stage, lymph node stage, or distant metastasis). Median survival time was 10.13 months (range, 2-53.8 months). The high-EMAP-II (>or= 100 pg/mL) group had a shorter survival compared with the low-EMAP-II (< 100 pg/mL) group (P = .023), and the serum EMAP-II level was still an important predictor of survival in a multivariate analysis, along with disease stage. CONCLUSION Our results showed that serum EMAP-II levels are significantly higher in patients with NSCLC than in healthy subjects and suggest it is of potential prognostic value.