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Go Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to Go Watanabe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Transplantation of rat hepatic stem-like (HSL) cells with collagen matrices.

Organ restitution using somatic stem cells is of great clinical interest. Recent advances in the field of tissue engineering have demonstrated that the use of collagen matrices as scaffolds facilitates tissue reconstruction. Here, we examine the efficacy of transplantation of HSL cells, a previously established liver epithelial cell line with a potential for differentiation, using collagen scaffolds. To this end, HSL cells were transplanted into Nagase's analbuminemic rat with spongy or gelatinous type I collagen matrices. Consequently, immunohistochemical analyses and genomic PCR experiments revealed engraftment of the transplanted cells. Furthermore, the levels of serum albumin in recipient rats were found to increase up to 2.5-fold relative to controls after transplantation. These findings suggest that HSL cells are able to differentiate into functional hepatocytes in vivo, and that biodegradable collagen matrices enhance this phenomenon by providing an appropriate microenvironment for hepatocytic repopulation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Retrospective review of lung cancer patients with pleural dissemination after limited operations combined with parietal pleurectomy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The long-term control of malignant effusion is necessary to achieve long-term survival in lung cancer patients with carcinomatous pleuritis. This report describes our results of limited operations including parietal pleurectomy (pl) on a hypothesis that the most effective target area for controlling malignant pleural effusion is the parietal pleura. METHODS: Forty-two patients with pleural dissemination with/without malignant pleural effusion were analyzed retrospectively. The operative procedures used were partial resection of the primary site with pl in 20 cases, segmentectomy with pl in 2 cases, lobectomy with pl in 19 cases, and pl only in 1 case. Postoperative adjuvant treatment was performed in 31 patients. RESULTS: Adenocarcinoma was the dominant histology, and the pathological stages were IIIB in 34 cases and IV (intrapulmonary metastasis) in 8 cases. The overall 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 30.1%, 17.2%, and 10.3%, respectively. When stratified by the TNM classification, the overall 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 56.3%, 32.1%, and 24.1%, respectively, in the T4N0M0 group and 21.1%, 7.0%, and 0%, respectively, in the T4N1-2M0 group (P = 0.0257). Among the 24 patients whose recurrent patterns could be identified, only 2 patients developed recurrent malignant effusion. CONCLUSIONS: With appropriate patient selection, the use of limited surgery combined with pl followed by intrapleural and systemic chemotherapy appears to be effective in management of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Early outcome of a randomized comparison of off-pump and on-pump multiple arterial coronary revascularization.

BACKGROUND: Previous randomized comparisons of off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) have yielded controversial results about the cardiac and neurological events and graft patency. In addition, these randomized studies were composed of CABG with a few arterial grafts. We performed a prospective randomized controlled study to compare off-pump and on-pump CABG with multiple arterial grafts. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between July, 2002, and September, 2004, 167 consecutive unselected patients referred for elective primary CABG were randomly assigned to undergo multiple arterial off-pump CABG (n=81) or on-pump CABG (n=86). The clinical outcomes and S-100 protein, neuron-specific enolase, and maximum creatine kinase-MB levels were compared. Early graft patency was examined within 3 weeks after the operation by angiography. The number of grafts performed per patient (3.5+/-1.0 for off-pump CABG and 3.6+/-0.9 for on-pump CABG) and the number of arterial grafts performed per patient (3.3+/-1.0 for off-pump CABG and 3.4+/-0.9 for on-pump CABG) were similar. Completeness of revascularization (completed grafts/planned grafts) was 98% in both procedures. There were no hospital deaths in either group. The operation time was significantly (P<0.001) shorter in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (267+/-60 minutes versus 307+/-59 minutes). The incidence of perioperative complications was similar. The frequency of no need for transfusion was higher in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (80% versus 55%, P<0.001). The S-100 protein levels at the admission into the intensive care unit were significantly (P<0.001) lower in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (0.20+/-0.11 ng/mL versus 0.34+/-0.22 ng/mL). The neuron-specific enolase levels at the intensive care unit admission were significantly (P<0.001) lower in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (10.4+/-9.0 ng/mL versus 16.9+/-6.9 ng/mL). Maximum creatine kinase-MB levels were significantly (P=0.046) lower in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (17.1+/-16.7 IU/L versus 21.5+/-10.6 IU/L). The overall early graft patency rate with or without stenosis was the same (98%) in both groups, but the rate without stenosis was slightly worse in the off-pump group (93%) than in the on-pump group (96%) (P=0.093). The stenosis-free patency rate in the right coronary area was significantly (P=0.028) worse in the off-pump CABG group (90%) than in the on-pump group (99%). CONCLUSIONS: Off-pump CABG with multiple arterial grafts was as safe as the conventional on-pump CABG, with similar completeness of revascularization and early graft patency.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Clinical significance of osteopontin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: comparison with common tumor markers.

OBJECTIVE: Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted integrin-binding glycophosphoprotein that may have a role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To evaluate the clinical significance of OPN in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), we compared plasma OPN levels with those of common tumor markers. METHODS: Preoperative plasma OPN levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 103 ESCC patients. Serum SCC antigen, Cyfra 21-1, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were also measured routinely at admission by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Plasma OPN levels ranged from 82.8 to 1,980 ng/ml. High OPN level was associated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.05), but not with tumor histology or depth of invasion. The overall survival of the patients with high OPN levels was worse than that of those with low OPN levels (p = 0.02). SCC antigen and Cyfra 21-1 levels were associated with the depth of tumor invasion, the tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, and the overall survival, but CEA was not associated with these clinicopathological factors. Combined evaluation of OPN plus Cyfra 21-1 or OPN plus SCC antigen was useful as an independent prognostic indicator. CONCLUSION: Measurement of the plasma OPN level, as well as serum SCC antigen and Cyfra 21-1, may help to predict the progression of ESCC.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Prognostic role of thymidylate synthase polymorphisms in gastric cancer patients treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the prognostic role of thymidylate synthase (TS) polymorphisms in gastric cancer patients treated with radical surgery and fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Ninety gastric cancer cases were identified among 187 patients previously enrolled in prospective case-control studies for disease susceptibility. Patients were genotyped for a G/C nucleotide change within a triple 28 bp variable number of tandem repeat sequence in the TS 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) and a 6 bp deletion in the TS 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR). According to available functional data, patients with 5'-UTR 2R/2R, 2R/3C, 3C/3C genotypes were classified as low TS producers (5'-UTRlow) and patients with 5'-UTR 3G/3G, 3G/3C, 2R/3G genotypes as high TS producers (5'UTRhigh). Patients with 3'-UTR del6/del6 and del6/ins6 genotypes were classified as low TS producers (3'-UTRlow) and patients with 3'-UTR ins6/ins6 genotype as high TS producers (3'-UTRhigh). The prognostic analysis was based on 5'-UTR/3'-UTR combined genotypes. RESULTS: Ten patients (11%) were 5'-UTRhigh/3'-UTRhigh, 36 patients were 5'-UTRhigh/3'-UTRlow, 19 patients were 5'-UTRlow/3'-UTRhigh, and 25 patients were 5'-UTRlow/3'-UTRlow. 5'-UTRlow/3'-UTRlow patients showed the best outcome and the threshold of statistical significance was achieved in the comparison of disease-free survival and overall survival with 5'-UTRhigh/3'-UTRlow patients and 5'-UTRhigh/3'-UTRhigh patients. The presence of at least one high TS expression genotype showed independent adverse prognostic role in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic role of TS polymorphisms in gastric cancer deserves further investigation because the adverse effect of high TS expression genotypes may be a relevant information to improve adjuvant chemotherapeutic strategies.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Prediction of survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma using artificial neural networks.

BACKGROUND: Accurate estimation of outcome in patients with malignant disease is an important component of the clinical decision-making process. To create a comprehensive prognostic model for esophageal carcinoma, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were applied to the analysis of a range of patient-related and tumor-related variables. METHODS: Clinical and pathologic data were collected from 418 patients with esophageal carcinoma who underwent resection with curative intent. A data base that included 199 variables was constructed. Using ANN-based sensitivity analysis, the optimal combination of variables was determined to allow creation of a survival prediction model. The accuracy (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve [AUR]) of this ANN model subsequently was compared with the accuracy of the conventional statistical technique: linear discriminant analysis (LDA). RESULTS: The optimal ANN models for predicting outcomes at 1 year and 5 years consisted of 65 variables (AUR = 0.883) and 60 variables (AUR = 0.884), respectively. These filtered, optimal data sets were significantly more accurate (P < 0.0001) than the original data set of 199 variables. The majority of ANN models demonstrated improved accuracy compared with corresponding LDA models for 1-year and 5-year survival predictions. Furthermore, ANN models based on the optimal data set were superior predictors of survival compared with a model based solely on TNM staging criteria (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: ANNs can be used to construct a highly accurate prognostic model for patients with esophageal carcinoma. Sensitivity analysis based on ANNs is a powerful tool for seeking optimal data sets.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗
PubMed2005

Prognostic significance of fascin overexpression in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Fascin, an actin bundling protein, induces membrane protrusions and increased cell motility in various transformed cells. The expression of fascin in epithelial neoplasms has been described only recently, and the role of fascin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is still unknown. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Paraffin sections of 200 patients with ESCC were immunohistochemically investigated. The expression levels of fascin mRNA in 20 ESCC tissues were compared with that in corresponding normal esophageal epithelium by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR. We also examined fascin protein expression in 33 ESCC cell lines. The role of fascin in cell motility and invasiveness in ESCC cells was assessed by the vector-based small interfering RNA. RESULTS: In immunohistochemical study, the intensity of fascin expression was usually increased in the tumor compared with that in normal epithelium. Fascin overexpression was significantly associated with a poor prognosis (immunoreactive rate, P = 0.033; immunoreactive intensity, P = 0.031). The fascin immunoreactive rate was associated with extent of the tumor (P = 0.002) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis showed that fascin expression intensity was an independent prognostic factor, but the immunoreactive rate was not. In addition, up-regulation of fascin mRNA was found in 60% (12 of 20) of patients. In vitro study revealed that all 33 ESCC cell lines expressed fascin protein at a certain level. KYSE170, one of the fascin-overexpressed cells, decreased its motile and invasive properties after down-regulation of fascin expression. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that fascin overexpression may play an important role in the progression of ESCC.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The clinical significance of Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK expression in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK (Aurora-A) encodes a Serine/Threonine kinase associated with chromosomal distribution, and its up-regulation induces chromosomal instability thereby leading to aneuploidy and cell transformation in several types of cancer. In this study, we investigated the role of Aurora-A in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The expression levels of Aurora-A mRNA were compared in 33 ESCC tissues with that in corresponding normal esophageal epithelium by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and the distribution patterns and expression levels of Aurora-A protein were immunohistochemically investigated in the ESCC tumors of 142 patients. The results were then separately compared with the clinicopathologic findings of the patients, and the expression of Aurora-A was examined in nine ESCC cell lines and a normal esophageal epithelial cell line using Western blot analysis. RESULTS: The up-regulation of Aurora-A mRNA was found in 30% (10 of 33) of the tumors by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and protein up-regulation was found in 53% (75 of 142) of the patients by immunohistochemistry. mRNA and protein up-regulation of Aurora-A were correlated with distant lymph node metastasis (P = 0.05 and P = 0.04, respectively), and patients with Aurora-A mRNA or protein up-regulation had a poorer prognosis (P = 0.003 and P = 0.0009, respectively). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that up-regulation of the Aurora-A protein was an independent prognostic factor. In addition, Aurora-A expression in all ESCC cell lines was higher than that in a normal esophageal epithelial cell line. CONCLUSIONS: The up-regulation of Aurora-A expression may reflect the malignant behavior of ESCC and may prove useful information as a prognostic factor for ESCC patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Near-infrared spectroscopy for assessment of tissue oxygen saturation of transplanted jejunal autografts in cervical esophageal reconstruction.

PURPOSE: Checking bowel viability is difficult but important during surgery for ischemic bowel disease or jejunal autotransplantation. We investigated the effectiveness of two-wavelength near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to quantify tissue oxygen saturation (StO(2)), which can affect bowel viability during reconstruction of the cervical esophagus using a free jejunal graft. METHODS: Free jejunal autotransplantation was performed after resection of the hypopharynx, larynx, and cervical esophagus in 12 pigs. The arterial blood flow and StO(2) of the graft were measured before harvesting the graft and after reperfusion. We analyzed the measurement site of the graft and the anastomotic method as possible factors influencing StO(2). We also examined the relationship between the blood flow and StO(2) of the autograft. RESULTS: The StO(2) at the distal site of the graft was significantly lower than that at the midpoint of the graft (P < 0.05). There was a correlation between the blood flow of the graft artery, measured by the transonic volume flowmeter, and the StO(2) of the graft, measured by NIRS. CONCLUSIONS: Tissue oxygen saturation of the free jejunal graft can be safely and reliably measured with two-wavelength NIRS. Therefore, NIRS is a promising new method for evaluating the viability of the gastrointestinal tract.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Effective 6-hour preservation in non-heart-beating donor canine lungs with topical cooling: assessment from histopathological aspects.

PURPOSE: This study assesses the possibility of preserving and transplanting non-heart-beating donor (NHBD) lungs under topical cooling for 6 h. METHODS: The donor dogs were killed and heparinized after cardiac arrest. After 10 min of cardiac massage, the bilateral lungs were deflated. In group 1 (n = 6), the recipient dogs were transplanted and the lungs preserved at 4 degrees C for 6 h. In group 2 (n = 2), the recipients received lungs preserved at room temperature for 4 h. In both groups the right main bronchus, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary vein were clamped and ventilated to examine the lung function. RESULTS: The mean total ischemic time before reperfusion was 7 h 48 min (group 1) and 5 h 55 min (group 2). All dogs in group 1 survived with excellent hemodynamics and gas exchange function. Both dogs in group 2 revealed congestion immediately after reperfusion, and consequently died. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that it is possible to use NHBD lungs for clinical lung transplantation if topical cooling can be initiated soon after irreversible cardiac arrest. Topical cooling of NHBD lungs allows at least 6 h for preparation before transplantation.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2005

Intramyocardial foreign body: sewing needle with the uncommon clinical feature of constrictive pericarditis.

A rare case of intracardiac injury with a sewing needle causing constrictive pericarditis is reported. A 72-year-old woman was admitted with edema of the face and legs. A chest radiogram showed a needle-shaped metallic image overlying the cardiac silhouette. Computed tomography revealed the needle was located in the left ventricular myocardium, and also showed a thickened pericardium. Surgical removal of the needle and pericardectomy were performed simultaneously.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Off-pump CABG with synchronized arterial flow ensuring system.

PURPOSE: We developed a synchronized, arterial-flow, ensuring system to perform coronary anastomoses safely without any ischemia-related event. DESCRIPTION: Arterial blood is removed from the femoral artery. The resulting blood passes a switching valve and is pumped out to a syringe pump. This pump controller provides pulsatile arterial blood flow synchronized with the diastolic phase on an electrocardiogram. The arterial blood is perfused to the coronary artery through a fine flexible cannula during anastomosis. EVALUATION: From February 1999, 524 consecutive patients were operated on using the synchronized arterial flow ensuring system. Mean duration for each anastomosis was 7.6 +/- 3.3 minutes (range, 4 to 20 min). There were no intraoperative fatal arrhythmias, ventricular arrhythmias, or short-run or hemodynamic deterioration during anastomoses. No hospital death was observed, and postoperative myocardial infarction occurred in 2 patients (0.4%). Postoperative angiography showed a 98.1% patency rate. CONCLUSIONS: The early clinical and angiographical results for off-pump CABG with the synchronized arterial flow ensuring system were excellent without mortality. We believe that off-pump CABG can be more safely performed using the synchronized arterial flow ensuring system based on our favorable results.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

A strategy for determining which thoracic esophageal cancer patients should undergo cervical lymph node dissection.

BACKGROUND: There is controversy about performing cervical lymph node dissections in all middle and lower thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether intraoperative examination of thoracic paratracheal lymph node by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was worthwhile for selecting patients for cervical lymph node dissection. METHODS: Under informed consent, 30 middle and lower thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients were examined for thoracic paratracheal lymph node metastasis intraoperatively by hematoxylin-eosin staining and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for messenger RNA encoding squamous cell carcinoma antigen. When thoracic paratracheal lymph node metastasis was found, cervical lymph node dissection was performed. If the patients had no thoracic paratracheal lymph node metastasis, a randomized study for selection of cervical lymph node dissection was performed. RESULTS: Eleven of 30 patients with middle or lower third thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma had thoracic paratracheal lymph node metastasis. Five of these 11 patients had cervical lymph node metastasis. Nineteen patients who had no metastasis in the thoracic paratracheal lymph nodes were enrolled in a randomized study. Eight of the 19 patients received cervical lymph node dissection and they were found not to have cervical lymph node metastasis. The other 11 patients did not receive cervical lymph node dissection, and there was no cervical lymph node recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The intraoperative diagnosis of metastasis in the thoracic paratracheal lymph node may be used as an indicator for cervical lymph node dissection in middle and lower thoracic esophageal cancer patients.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed2005

Free pericardial fat pads can act as sealant for preventing alveolar air leaks.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the safety and efficacy of a method using free pericardial fat pads as a sealant to prevent intraoperative and postoperative alveolar air leaks. DESCRIPTION: Animal experiments were performed. After pulmonary parenchymal defects were created in 4 dogs, the alveolar air leaks were sealed with free pericardial fat pads. Clinical application was applied in 23 patients who underwent pulmonary resection, air leaks with stream of bubbles, or worse, were sealed with free pericardial fat pads. EVALUATION: All dogs survived for 1 month without complications. At sacrifice, all treated lungs had expanded adequately and the implanted fats remained on the lung surface. Histologic examination showed that the excised edge of the lung was closed with granulation. The clinical outcome showed the mean duration of air leaks, chest drain, and postoperative hospitalization were 2.3 +/- 3.1 days, 4.3 +/- 3.2 days, and 11.1 +/- 3.7 days, respectively. Recurrent air leaks were not observed after removal of the chest tube. No adverse effects were observed after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The use of free pericardial fat pads was able to successfully prevent alveolar air leaks.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2005

Formation of rat hepatocyte spheroids on agarose.

The hepatocyte spheroid formation on the Primariatrade mark dish (PM) occurred as a result of cell migration, adhesion, and shape changes. On the other hand, hepatocytes plated on 1.5% agarose-coated dishes did not attach to the dishes. The formation of spheroids on the agarose-coated dishes was significantly more rapid than that on the PM ones. The PA/plasmin system plays an important role in the process of hepatocyte spheroid formation on PM dishes, and thus the spheroid formation on PM is inhibited by plasmin inhibitors. Nevertheless, these inhibitors did not show any effect on the spheroid formation on agarose-coated dishes. PA activities could be detected in the conditioned medium harvested from the cells cultured on PM dishes, but not in that from those cultured on the agarose-coated dishes. In summary, we have established a novel method to form hepatocyte spheroids by using agarose-coated dishes, in which some mechanism(s) independent of the PA/plasmin system is involved in their formation. The differentiated hepatocyte-specific functions of the spheroids formed on the agarose-coated dishes were expressed to a quite lesser degree than those formed on the PM ones, suggesting that the processes involved in spheroid formation are important for the expression of spheroid functions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Prognostic significance of dysadherin expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of dysadherin and E-cadherin and to investigate their clinical significance as prognostic factors in non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: Non-small cell lung cancer specimens were obtained from 131 patients undergoing clinically indicated operations at the Department of General and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Kanazawa University Hospital, between 1995 and 1997. All patients had undergone curative resection of the primary tumor, including systematic lymph node dissection. The avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method was used for immunostaining of dysadherin and E-cadherin. RESULTS: Among the 131 lung cancer specimens, 46 (35.1%) tumors were positively stained with dysadherin. Preserved membranous E-cadherin staining was present in 45.8% (60/131) of cases. In this analysis dysadherin expression was not correlated with E-cadherin expression (P = .1333), but a significant association was observed between dysadherin expression and survival time. The overall survival of patients with dysadherin-positive tumors was significantly worse than that of those with dysadherin-negative tumors (P = .0059). Patients with reduced E-cadherin immunopositivity survived significantly shorter than those with preserved E-cadherin immunopositivity (P = .0406). The overall survival of patients with positive dysadherin and reduced E-cadherin expression was significantly worse than that of patients with negative dysadherin and preserved E-cadherin expression (P = .0002). Multivariate analysis revealed the independent prognostic value of dysadherin positivity, reduced E-cadherin expression, and lymph node metastasis on overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Dysadherin expression is an independent prognostic factor of survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and combined immunohistochemical analysis of dysadherin and E-cadherin expression might provide further prognostic information.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Fluorescence bronchoscopy for selection of surgical procedure in patients with early staged endobronchial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: It is sometimes difficult to determine the extent of resection in patients with endobronchial carcinoma because preoperative white-light bronchoscopic (WLB) examination is not sensitive enough to examine the extent fully. Light-Induced Fluorescence Endoscopy (LIFE) is recognized as a useful modality for the diagnosis of early staged bronchial carcinoma, but there have been no reports of its significance in surgical treatment. We have studied the influence of LIFE upon the selection of surgical procedures or other treatments in patients with endobronchial carcinoma preoperatively. METHODS: Conventional WLB and LIFE were performed within 7 days of operation. Biopsy specimens were taken from the marginal regions of the areas that were suspicious for malignancy on LIFE examination and WLB. We decided the resection line before operation and kept the resected central margin 1 cm apart from the area revealed as suspicious by LIFE. RESULTS: From January 1999 to March 2003, 75 patients underwent LIFE. LIFE was performed to decide the surgical procedures for 12 patients (16.0%). Surgical therapy was performed in 8 (66.7%). LIFE findings dramatically changed the surgical procedures for 3 patients, lobectomy changed to sleeve lobectomy in 2 and laser therapy to segmentectomy in 1. LIFE revealed larger abnormal areas of bronchial cancer compared to WLB in 7 (58.3%). Conversely, WLB overestimated the extent of abnormal area in 1 (8.3%). WLB revealed the same cancer area as LIFE in 4. In all patients, the resected bronchial margins were cancer free intraoperatively and postoperatively. CONCLUSION: LIFE can be more sensitive than WLB and be more beneficial for judging the extent of neoplastic bronchial changes for some patients. LIFE may be a useful modality for the preoperative selection of surgical procedures, especially whether sleeve resection is needed or not, for some centrally located superficial endobronchial carcinoma.

Aged↗