Clinical medicine (London, England)
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Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer death globally. Delayed diagnosis is a major contributing factor to poor outcomes and remains a key challenge to overcome. ⋯ Lung cancer treatment continues to develop with new surgical techniques, radiotherapy options and more drugs being licensed as part of standard treatment. We provide an overview of the core lung cancer diagnostic steps, recognition and management of acute presentations as well as the latest treatment options.
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Patients and public have sought mortality risk information throughout the pandemic, but their needs may not be served by current risk prediction tools. Our mixed methods study involved: (1) systematic review of published risk tools for prognosis, (2) provision and patient testing of new mortality risk estimates for people with high-risk conditions and (3) iterative patient and public involvement and engagement with qualitative analysis. ⋯ Informed by patient feedback, we provide such information in 'five clicks' (https://covid19-phenomics.org/OurRiskCoV.html), as context for decision making and discussions with health professionals and family members. Further development requires curation and regular updating of NHS data and wider patient and public engagement.
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Reactive axillary lymph nodes (ALN) may occur post-COVID-19 vaccination. This may be confused with malignant nodal metastases on oncological imaging. We aimed to determine the reactive ALN incidence and duration on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography - computed tomography (18F-FDG PET-CT), and its relationship with gender, age and vaccine type. ⋯ Physicians' awareness of COVID-19 vaccine-related reactive ALN on 18F-FDG PET-CT is important to avoid inappropriate upstaging of cancers.
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The UK uses the 2-week-wait (2WW) pathway for rapid access to cancer services. It is unclear whether this is effective for brain cancer. ⋯ The 2WW pathway is not effective in the diagnosis of brain cancer. Resources are better directed towards clinical research and treatment trials. Headache remains the most common reason for referral although it is not yet a reliable indicator of brain cancer.