Lung cancer : journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
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There is a lack of evidence in the literature regarding the impact of preoperative smoking status on pulmonary function test (PFT) results 1 year after resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Furthermore, there is disagreement in the literature regarding the impact of preoperative smoking cessation on postoperative complication rates. We performed a single-institution retrospective review of all NSCLC patients who underwent resection from April 2000 through April 2006. ⋯ Because 92 patients did not complete postoperative PFTs, we performed a stratified analysis to assess for selection bias; as compared with those who completed PFTs, baseline PFT results did not significantly differ. We found no significant differences between the 3 groups with regard the overall rate of postoperative complications or the rate of any specific postoperative complication. In conclusion, smoking cessation immediately before NSCLC resection does not significantly impact postoperative pulmonary complication rates or 1-year postoperative PFT results and therefore should not be a reason to delay surgical resection.
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Patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer have a dismal prognosis and are often relative resistant to chemotherapy. A need for markers has emerged based on tumour biology in order to predict which patients will respond to treatment. Excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) has shown potential as a predictive marker in patients with NSCLC treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Carboplatin has gained widespread use in the treatment of advanced NSCLC and its mechanisms of action are likely similar to that of cisplatin. ⋯ The literature on advanced NSCLC patients treated with carboplatin or cisplatin are dominated by small and heterogeneous patient populations and yielded different results. No firm conclusions can be drawn on carboplatin based on the current literature. Research on the development of a reliable methodology is warranted followed by validation in large, prospective, randomized trials as ERCC1 may possibly play an important role as tumour marker in tailored chemotherapy for NSCLC.
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To retrospectively compare the clinical, pathological, and thin-section CT features of persistent multiple ground-glass opacity (GGO) nodules with those of solitary GGO nodules. ⋯ Clinical, pathological, and thin-section CT features of persistent multiple GGO nodules were found to differ from those of solitary GGO nodules. Nevertheless, the two nodule types can probably be followed up and managed in a similar manner because their prognoses were found to be similar.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Design, recruitment and baseline results of the ITALUNG trial for lung cancer screening with low-dose CT.
Results of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are needed to assess the efficacy of lung cancer screening with low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) in reducing lung cancer mortality. We report design and results of enrolment and baseline screening test in the ITALUNG trial, a RCT. ⋯ Recruitment by mail of high risk subjects for a lung cancer screening RCT is feasible but not efficient. Results of the baseline screening test in the active arm of the ITALUNG trial are substantially in line with those of RCT and observational studies.
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Radiotherapy has an established role in the management of limited-disease small-cell lung cancer. However, essential questions related to the optimisation of thoracic radiotherapy remain unanswered including (i) optimal total dose, (ii) fractionation, (iii) timing and sequencing of radiation, (iv) volume of irradiation, and (v) concurrent chemotherapy combinations. The role of thoracic radiotherapy for extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer is more poorly understood but evidence suggests radiotherapy may have an important role in this setting. This review highlights the need for well-designed multi-national trials aimed at the optimisation and standardisation of radiotherapy for SCLC.