SMARCA4 regulates SMARCAD1 expression for toleration of replication stress in non-small cell lung cancer
Sawangsri P, Limsirichaikul S, Takeuchi T, et al. Fujita Med J. 2026;12(1):40–49.
Summary. In SMARCA4-depleted non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, SAMRCAD1 messenger ribonucleic acid and SMARCAD1 protein levels were upregulated. SMARCA4 was found to bind to the transcriptional regulatory region of SMARCAD1; binding was reduced in the presence of replication stress. Immunofluorescent analysis showed that SMARCAD1 foci colocalized with RPA in SMARCA4-depleted cells, indicating that SMARCAD1 accumulates at stalled replication forks in these cells. Either SMARCA4 or SMARCAD1 were required for cell survival, according to clonogenic analysis.
* PMID: 41641123, PMCID: PMC12865287
Comprehensive clinical characteristics and outcomes of stage IV EGFR-mutant NSCLC based on PD-L1 expression
Lee JW, Jin X, Bogdan S, Abou-Alfa A, et al. Cancer Treat Res Commun. 2026;46:101109.
Summary. Among 101 patients with stage IV EGFR-mutant NSCLC treated with first-line osimertinib, 52 had programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) negativity and 11 had PD-L1 positivity. Overall, the response rate (RR) was 85.2%; RR was higher in the PD-L1-negative cohort vs the PD-L1-positive cohort (92.3% vs 77.6%); odds of response were significantly lower in the PD-L1-positive cohort (odds ratio [OR]: 0.29; P=0.046). When controlling for TP53 mutation status, PD-L1 positivity was not significantly associated with worse RR (OR: 0.31; P=0.063). Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were numerically shorter in the PD-L1-positive cohort compared to the PD-L1-negative cohort (15.4 and 31.4 months vs 22.7 and 38.8 months, respectively).
* PMID: 41576524
Platelet indices as prognostic biomarkers in lung cancer: a meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study
Yuan M, Chen H, Liu Z, et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2026;105(6):e47550.
Summary. Data from 62 studies were analyzed to determine the prognostic role of platelet indices in lung cancer. Increased platelet count was significantly associated with poor prognosis in NSCLC (P=0.001). Elevated plateletcrit was significantly associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer (P=0.001), while mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width showed no associations with prognosis. Mendelian randomization analysis showed a causal effect of increased platelet count on lung cancer risk in East Asian populations (OR: 1.33; P<0.001), while elevated platelet distribution width was associated with lung cancer risk in European populations (OR: 1.06; P=0.02).
* PMID: 41650072, PMCID: PMC12885724
Prognostic value of preoperative ctDNA and pathological venous invasion for recurrence in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer
Murase Y, Koba H, Kimura H, et al. Lung Cancer. 2026;213:108818.
Summary. Among 88 patients with resectable EGFR-mutant NSCLC, preoperative circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) was detected in 26.1% of patients, and ctDNA positivity was linked to higher pathologic stage (≥IB; P=0.0040). Additionally, 39.8% of patients had pathological venous invasion. Compared to ctDNA-negative patients, ctDNA-positive patients had a significantly reduced 60-month disease-free survival (DFS) rate (84.1% vs 54.1%) and OS rate (95.9% vs 65.1%). Multivariate analysis showed that venous invasion was an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio [HR]: 8.73; P=0.0068), whereas ctDNA positivity trended toward significance (HR: 2.6; P=0.096). Sixty-month DFS rate was significantly decreased in patients with venous invasion and ctDNA positivity compared to those with either venous invasion or ctDNA positivity (HR: 3.61; P=0.023).
* PMID: 41546895
Thoracoscopic segmentectomy within an enhanced recovery pathway improves days alive and out of hospital compared with lobectomy
Huang L, Kehlet H, Petersen RH. Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2026;41(2):ivag043.
Summary. In this retrospective analysis, researchers compared days alive and out of hospital within the first 90 days (DAOH90) among patients with NSCLC who underwent lobectomy (n=591) vs segmentectomy with enhanced recovery after surgery (n=129). Median DAOH90 was 86 days in the lobectomy group compared to 87 days in the segmentectomy group (P=0.049). Rates of air leak >1 day, pain, and pneumonia were lower in the segmentectomy group (38.3%, 13.3%, 13.3%, respectively) compared to the lobectomy group (40.0%, 23.3%, 18.3%, respectively). According to multivariable analysis, lobectomy (vs segmentectomy) was associated with greater risk of shorter DAOH90 (OR: 1.44).
* PMID: 41649451, PMCID: PMC12906232
The association of right atrium and sinoatrial node irradiation with atrial fibrillation and radiation-induced heart disease in non-small cell lung cancer
Sander Graven-Nielsen C, Jakobsen Kragh A, Froberg Brøndum R, et al. Acta Oncol. 2026;65:66–74.
Summary. In a cohort of 273 patients with NSCLC treated with radiotherapy (RT), the prevalence of pre-RT atrial fibrillation was 9.5%; the post-RT incidence of de novo atrial fibrillation (DNAF) was 12.8%. At 12 months, the probability of DNAF was 9.3% and probability of de novo heart disease (DNHD) was 11%. Factors associated with increased risk of both DNAF and DNHD included mean heart dose, right atrium (RA) mean dose, percent of heart receiving >40Gy, sinoatrial node maximum dose (Dmax), and RA Dmax. DNHD was also associated with percent of heart receiving >25Gy.
* PMID: 41645869, PMCID: PMC12887752
Antibiotic exposure impairs the efficacy of first-line chemoimmunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer through the regulation of gut microbiome and bile acid metabolism
Xu H, Yu J, Xia L, et al. Precis Clin Med. 2026;9(1):pbag001.
Summary. Comparing outcomes among chemoimmunotherapy (CIT)-treated patients with NSCLC with (n=86) and without (n=301) antibiotic exposure within 30 days of the first cycle of CIT, researchers found that overall RR was lower in antibiotics group (53.5% vs 65.1%; P=0.049). PFS and OS were significantly shorter in the antibiotics group (7.6 and 18.4 months, respectively) vs the nonantibiotics group (13.0 and 32.0 months, respectively; both P<0.001). Antibiotic exposure was associated with reduced PFS (HR: 1.55; P=0.009) and OS (HR: 2.17; P<0.001), according to multivariate analysis. In a murine model, antibiotic exposure led to decreased gut microbiota diversity compared to controls. Deoxycholic acid levels were significantly decreased in fecal samples in both human and mouse antibiotic groups, compared to nonantibiotic groups.
* PMID: 41647440, PMCID: PMC12868978
Real-world evidence on diagnostic pathways and biopsy optimization for PD-L1 and molecular profiling in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a four-year cohort analysis
Rodrigues LV, Oliveira J, Duarte J, et al. J Bras Pneumol. 2026;51(6):e20250188.
Summary. Among 205 patients with stage IV NSCLC, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) was the most frequently utilized diagnostic procedure (27.3%), followed by endoscopic transesophageal ultrasound using the echobronchoscope (EUS-B; 24.4%) and ultrasound-guided transthoracic biopsies (TTB; 19.5%). Surgical biopsies were performed in 7.8% of patients. Median time from evaluation to first diagnostic procedure was longer for surgical biopsies (24.5 days) and TTP (20.5 days) compared to EBUS (8 days) and EUS-B (5 days). Time to systemic therapy initiation was significantly shorter with EBUS and EUS-B compared to TTB and surgical biopsies (P=0.011). Diagnostic delay of ≥10 days was significantly associated with increased mortality risk (HR: 1.66; P=0.016).
* PMID: 41637367