Therapeutic advances in respiratory disease
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Bronchial thermoplasty is a new treatment option for patients with severe bronchial asthma who remain symptomatic despite maximal medical therapy. The aim of this interventional therapy option is the reduction of smooth muscle in the central and peripheral airways in order to reduce symptomatic bronchoconstriction via the application of heat. A full treatment with bronchial thermoplasty is divided into three bronchoscopies. ⋯ Short-term adverse effects include an increase in exacerbation rate, an increase in respiratory infections and an increase in hospitalizations. In the 5-year follow up of the studies available there was evidence of clinical and functional stability of the treated patients. Further studies are necessary to identify an asthma phenotype that responds well to this treatment.
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Ther Adv Respir Dis · Feb 2014
Comparison of outcomes following stereotactic body radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer in patients with and without pathological confirmation.
Treatment of presumed early-stage lung cancer with definitive radiation therapy in the absence of a pathologically confirmed specimen frequently occurs. However, it is not well described in the literature, and there are few North American series reporting on this patient population. We report outcomes in patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for presumed lung cancer and compare them to outcomes in patients treated with SBRT with pathologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ While biopsy confirmation remains a goal in the workup of suspected NSCLC, SBRT without pathologic confirmation may represent a safe and effective option for the treatment of presumed NSCLC among patients who cannot tolerate or refuse surgery.