Advances in respiratory medicine
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Transthoracic ultrasound has lately emerged as a useful diagnostic tool for respiratory physicians in the diagnosis of diverse pulmonary diseases, usually including pleural effusion and pneumothorax. However, the use of chest ultrasound may be also critical in the evaluation of chest wall diseases. Therefore, we present an interesting case of a patient with metastases of lung cancer to the rib, detected during the chest wall ultrasound examination. By representing a non-invasive, surface-imaging technique with several advantages, chest ultrasound may evolve to a valid, bed-side diagnostic tool for the diagnosis and follow up of lung cancer with metastases in the chest wall.
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Lung cancer is the most common cancer in Poland and worldwide, and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Compared to the present day, the annual number of new cases of lung cancer will have increased by approximately 50%, by 2030. The overall ratio of mortality to incidence totals 0.87 and is among the highest. The five-year survival rate in Poland has recently achieved 13.4%. In 2015, lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) was introduced to routine clinical practice in the United States following the publication of the largest randomised study, The National Lung Screening Trial. The implementation of screening programmes in Poland and the rest of Europe also seems unavoidable. Due to the differences, both in the socioeconomic considerations and healthcare funding, compared to that in the United States, the current approach comes down to the awaited results of the European randomised study, NELSON. ⋯ Primary and secondary prophylaxis are the principal ways to reduce lung cancer mortality. While smoking cessation is a task of utmost importance, it must be accompanied by an effective screening programme if the outcome of the disease is to be improved.