William K Evans, Jennifer Stiff, Kelly J Woltman, Yee C Ung, Sue Su-Myat, Phongsack Manivong, Kyle Tsang, Narges Nazen-Rad, Aryn Gatto, Ashley Tyrrell, Rebecca Anas, Gail Darling, Carol Sawka
{"title":"How equitable is access to treatment for lung cancer patients? A population-based review of treatment practices in Ontario.","authors":"William K Evans, Jennifer Stiff, Kelly J Woltman, Yee C Ung, Sue Su-Myat, Phongsack Manivong, Kyle Tsang, Narges Nazen-Rad, Aryn Gatto, Ashley Tyrrell, Rebecca Anas, Gail Darling, Carol Sawka","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2017-0013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Guideline concordance is one of the metrics used by the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario and Cancer Care Ontario to assess the quality of cancer care and to drive quality improvement.</p><p><strong>Materials & methods: </strong>The rates for lung cancer surgical resection and concordance with the Cancer Care Ontario postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) guideline were assessed by health region during two time periods (2010-2011 and 2012-2013) according to five equity measures (age, sex, neighborhood income, location of residence and size of immigrant population).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the patients with stage I/II NSCLC, 52.2% to 63.0% underwent surgical resection in the province of Ontario, Canada; for patients with stage IIIA disease, the rate was 26.4%. The probability of a surgical resection decreased substantially with age; only 26.9% of those with potentially resectable (stage I-IIIA) disease over 80 years underwent surgery. The use of postoperative AC increased modestly over the time of the study but the rate of use varied widely by health region (34.6 to 84.6%). Patients in rural areas were as likely to receive AC as urban dwellers; however, older aged patients (≥65 years) and those from the lowest income neighborhoods were significantly less likely to receive AC.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Surgical rates and the use of AC vary by health region in Ontario and by age and level of neighborhood income despite universal access in a publicly funded health care system. The reasons for this variance are unclear but warrant further study.Presented in part at the 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer, Sydney, Australia, 27-30 October 2013.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2017-0013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36853476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lung Cancer ManagementPub Date : 2017-12-01Epub Date: 2018-06-22DOI: 10.2217/lmt-2018-0004
Hirva Mamdani, Shadia I Jalal
{"title":"Spotlight on the treatment of <i>ALK</i>-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer.","authors":"Hirva Mamdani, Shadia I Jalal","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2018-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2018-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, both worldwide and in the USA. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 85% of all lung cancer cases. At the turn of 21st century, platinum based cytotoxic chemotherapy was shown to offer modest survival benefit in metastatic NSCLC and remained the only viable treatment option for a long time. Over the past decade, the therapeutic landscape of NSCLC has expanded dramatically owing to the discovery of various driver mutations. Several molecularly targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors are now a part of the therapeutic armamentarium against this genetically complex disease. ALK gene encodes for a member of insulin receptor superfamily transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase [1]. In 2007, chromosomal rearrangement involving ALK gene on chromosome 2 and EML4 gene on chromosome 5 was first found to have potent transforming activity in NSCLC. Subsequently, preclinical studies suggested that this fusion gene might be the driver mutation and potentially be a therapeutic target of NSCLC [2]. Approximately, 3– 7% of patients with NSCLC harbor the EML4–ALK gene rearrangement, which is mutually exclusive with EGFR and KRAS mutations. ALK gene rearrangements are more common in younger patients with adenocarcinoma histology and those with minimal or no smoking history. There are reports of ALK gene rearrangement in patients with squamous cell and small-cell lung cancer; however, its clinical significance and potential as a therapeutic target in these histologic subtypes remain unknown. The testing modalities for ALK rearrangement in NSCLC include immunohistochemistry (IHC), FISH, and PCR; with the former two being the most commonly utilized modalities. However, there is a variable rate of discordance in response to ALK inhibition in IHC-negative but FISH-positive tumors, and therefore both IHC and FISH are currently recommended for ALK testing. Crizotinib, originally developed as a c-MET inhibitor, is the first-in-class ALK inhibitor to show activity in ALKrearranged NSCLC. In addition, it is also active in ROS1-rearranged lung cancer. Crizotinib received accelerated US FDA approval in 2011 based on a Phase I trial showing objective response rate (ORR) of 60% with a median progression free survival (PFS) of 9.7 months and 12-month overall survival of 74.8% in patients with ALK-rearranged NSCLC [3]. Subsequently, two randomized Phase III trials comparing crizotinib with standard chemotherapy in second line and first-line settings confirmed significantly higher response rates and longer PFS with crizotinib. No statistically significant overall survival difference was observed in either of these trials, largely accounted for by significant crossover between the two arms [4,5]. Despite the striking results with this first ALK inhibitor, the success in personalized therapy was fraught with several challenges. First, the majority of patients develop resistance to crizotinib w","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2018-0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36853479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lung Cancer ManagementPub Date : 2017-12-01Epub Date: 2018-01-05DOI: 10.2217/lmt-2017-0018
Lucia Anna Muscarella, Antonio Rossi
{"title":"<i>NRG1</i>: a cinderella fusion in lung cancer?","authors":"Lucia Anna Muscarella, Antonio Rossi","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2017-0018","url":null,"abstract":"Since NRG1 fusions act through the activation of the ERBB receptor, blocking the activity of the NRG1–ERBB–PI3K–AKT pathway might be the best strategy for the treatment of NRG1 -fused tumors.","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2017-0018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36853478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Severe intestinal ischemia during chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer.","authors":"Barbara Legius, Kristiaan Nackaerts","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2017-0016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thromboembolic events (TEEs) are frequent in cancer patients, especially venous thrombosis. Arterial thrombosis is less frequent. Chemotherapy increases the risk of these TEEs. Although TEEs are often reported, intestinal ischemia is a rare complication in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy. Here we describe a rare case of a patient with small cell lung cancer, who developed intestinal ischemia during treatment with cisplatin-etoposide chemotherapy. Shock and multiple organ failure developed and an urgent laparotomy with total colectomy was necessary. This case and review of the literature show that overall arterial TEEs are not as infrequent and may rarely manifest as intestinal ischemia. A cardiovascular assessment before the start of anticancer therapy is therefore imperative for cancer patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2017-0016","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36854076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Conor O'Shea, Kashif Ali Khan, Josef Tugwell, Pádraig Cantillon-Murphy, Marcus P Kennedy
{"title":"Loss of flexion during bronchoscopy: a physical experiment and case study of commercially available systems.","authors":"Conor O'Shea, Kashif Ali Khan, Josef Tugwell, Pádraig Cantillon-Murphy, Marcus P Kennedy","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2017-0012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During routine endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) procedures, especially with biopsy of lymph nodes in or around the left upper lobe, frequent reports have noted the loss of ultrasound image and needle angulation leading to an inability to biopsy nodes visualised by EBUS. The aim of this research was to investigate and compare this loss of angulation with commercially available scopes. Bench-top experiments and a clinical case study demonstrated the varying loss of scope angulation, flexibility and manoeuvrability with different scopes and biopsy instruments leading to procedural implications. Improvements in both the EBUS scope and needle characteristics are required to overcome this limitation which has implications in bronchoscope navigation and the diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2017-0012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36854078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Valentina Bertaglia, Stefania Vallone, Maria Vittoria Pacchiana, Silvia Novello
{"title":"Advanced squamous lung cancer: therapeutic options, future directions, unmet needs and results of a monocentric survey.","authors":"Valentina Bertaglia, Stefania Vallone, Maria Vittoria Pacchiana, Silvia Novello","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0011","DOIUrl":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in worldwide, and NSCLC represents around 85% of all lung cancers. Squamous cell lung cancer (SqCLC) is the second most common subtype and it is challenging to treat. New options have been discovered but progresses are still limited for the lack of 'druggable' mutations. Specific resources for SqCLC are limited and this condition affects treatment and outcomes. This paper describes available and emerging therapeutic options and resources that may help patients to face their disease. We have also performed a monocentric survey collecting information about smoking habit and sense of guilty and analyzed the possibility for patients to find helpful sources for their disease. The results suggest that more materials focused on SqCLC are still needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2017-0011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36854079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lung Cancer ManagementPub Date : 2017-12-01Epub Date: 2018-06-22DOI: 10.2217/lmt-2017-0019
Joel Mason, Benjamin Blyth, Michael P MacManus, Olga A Martin
{"title":"Treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer and circulating tumor cells.","authors":"Joel Mason, Benjamin Blyth, Michael P MacManus, Olga A Martin","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0019","DOIUrl":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surgery is the main curative therapy for patients with localized non-small-cell lung cancer while radiotherapy (RT), alone or with concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy, remains the primary curative modality for locoregionally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. The risk of distant metastasis is high after curative-intent treatment, largely attributable to the presence of undetected micrometastases, but which could also be related to treatment-related increases in circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CTC mobilization by RT or systemic therapies might either reflect efficient tumor destruction with improved prognosis, or might promote metastasis and thus represent a potential therapeutic target. RT may induce prometastatic biological alterations in CTC at the cellular level, which are detectable by 'liquid biopsies', though their rarity represents a major challenge. Improved methods of isolation and <i>ex vivo</i> propagation will be essential for the future of CTC research.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6310303/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36853480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lung Cancer ManagementPub Date : 2017-11-01Epub Date: 2017-10-26DOI: 10.2217/lmt-2017-0010
Sean Warsch, Mohammad Jahanzeb
{"title":"Patient with typical carcinoid initially diagnosed as high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma.","authors":"Sean Warsch, Mohammad Jahanzeb","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0010","DOIUrl":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We report the case of a patient initially diagnosed with a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma, which 5 years later was determined to have a low-grade typical carcinoid. The patient received radiotherapy and numerous chemotherapy regimens for treatment of a high-grade metastatic mixed large and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, without a significant response to any treatment. Subsequent imaging revealed widely metastatic disease and computed tomography-guided biopsy demonstrated a carcinoid tumor with no necrosis. The patient was started on temozolomide + capecitabine, long-acting octreotide and denosumab, with everolimus planned upon disease progression. Findings from this case study highlight the importance of accurate histopathologic classification of thoracic neuroendocrine tumors at diagnosis, to avoid the unnecessary administration of aggressive chemotherapy to patients with low-grade tumors.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/38/ba/lmt-06-41.PMC6310322.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36854074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lung Cancer ManagementPub Date : 2017-11-01Epub Date: 2017-11-17DOI: 10.2217/lmt-2016-0018
Paraskevi Boura, Dimitra Grapsa, Stylianos Loukides, Maria Angelidou, Konstantina Tsakanika, Nikolaos Syrigos, Ioannis Gkiozos
{"title":"The prognostic value of serum and bronchoalveolar lavage levels of adiponectin in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.","authors":"Paraskevi Boura, Dimitra Grapsa, Stylianos Loukides, Maria Angelidou, Konstantina Tsakanika, Nikolaos Syrigos, Ioannis Gkiozos","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2016-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2016-0018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>We aimed to explore the prognostic implications of adiponectin (APN) levels in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of patients with advanced NSCLC.</p><p><strong>Materials & methods: </strong>29 newly diagnosed patients with stage IV NSCLC were prospectively enrolled. Baseline serum and BAL levels of APN were assayed by ELISA and correlated with various clinicopathological parameters, including overall survival.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>No statistically significant correlations were observed between the serum or BAL levels of APN and the clinicopathological parameters evaluated. The only prognostic factor identified, both by univariate and multivariate survival analyses, was performance status.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results of our cohort failed to reveal any prognostic significance of serum and BAL levels of APN in stage IV NSCLC.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2016-0018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36853477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lung Cancer ManagementPub Date : 2017-11-01Epub Date: 2017-11-17DOI: 10.2217/lmt-2017-0004
Thomas Newsom-Davis
{"title":"The route to diagnosis: emergency presentation of lung cancer.","authors":"Thomas Newsom-Davis","doi":"10.2217/lmt-2017-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt-2017-0004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A significant proportion of lung cancer patients are first diagnosed as part of an emergency presentation (EP) to acute medical services. This route to diagnosis is a strong negative predictor of survival, and is associated with age, deprivation and medical co-morbidities. Patients are less likely to receive anticancer treatment than those diagnosed through elective routes. The causes of EP of cancer are complex. When it is unavoidable, prompt input from specialist lung cancer services is needed. Preventing EP of lung cancer involves streamlined diagnostic pathways, public health campaigns about symptoms, decision-support tools for general practitioners, improved communication and access for primary and secondary care, and focus on vague symptoms. Reducing EP of lung cancer is important when improving outcomes and patient experience.</p>","PeriodicalId":43551,"journal":{"name":"Lung Cancer Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2217/lmt-2017-0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36854075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}