Regional Collaboration and Trends in Clinical Management of Thyroid Cancer.

Objective: This study examines the trends in the management of thyroid cancer and clinical outcomes in the Southwestern region of The Netherlands from 2010 to 2021, where a regional collaborative network has been implemented in January 2016.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: This study encompasses all patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer of any subtype between January 2010 and June 2021 in 10 collaborating hospitals in the Southwestern region of The Netherlands.

Multimodal prehabilitation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing anatomical resection: protocol of a non-randomised feasibility study.

Background: The preoperative period can be used to enhance a patient's functional capacity with multimodal prehabilitation and consequently improve and fasten postoperative recovery. Especially, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) surgical patients may benefit from this intervention, since the affected and resected organ is an essential part of the cardiorespiratory fitness. Drafting a prehabilitation programme is challenging, since many disciplines are involved, and time between diagnosis of NSCLC and surgery is limited.

Establishing a Multicenter Network for Patients With Thyroid Nodules and Cancer: Effects on Referral Patterns.

Objective: To perform a qualitative evaluation of the Thyroid Network, with a quantitative analysis of second opinion referrals for patients in the southwestern part of the Netherlands who have thyroid nodules and cancer.

Methods: This prospective observational study registered all patients with thyroid nodules and cancer who were referred to the academic hospital from 2 years before and 4 years after the foundation of the Thyroid Network. We implemented biweekly regional multidisciplinary tumor boards using video conference and a regional patient care pathway for patients with thyroid nodules and cancer.

Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign Symptomatic Thyroid Nodules in the Netherlands: Successful Introduction of a Minimally Invasive Treatment Option Improving Quality of Life.

Purpose: To determine whether adoption of radiofrequency (RF) ablation in patients with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules (SBTNs) in a Dutch regional thyroid network resulted in clinical success and improvement in health-related and thyroid-related quality of life (QoL).

Materials And Methods: The eligibility criteria for RF ablation were as follows: (a) nodule size between 2.0 and 5.

Implementing an enhanced recovery after thoracic surgery programme in the Netherlands: a qualitative study investigating facilitators and barriers for implementation.

Objectives: This study aims to elucidate determinants for succesful implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Thoracic Surgery (ERATS) protocol for perioperative care for surgical lung cancer patients in the Netherlands.

Setting: Lung cancer operations are performed in both academic and regional hospitals, either by cardiothoracic or general thoracic surgeons. Limiting the impact of these operations by optimising and standardising perioperative care with the ERATS protocol is thought to enable reduction in length of stay, complications and costs.

Wide Variation in Perioperative Care in Anatomical Lung Resections in the Netherlands: A National Survey.

This study aimed to describe perioperative care after anatomical lung resection in the Netherlands, before publication of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery/European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ERAS/ESTS) guidelines in 2019. An online survey was sent to all 43 Dutch lung surgical centers in December 2017, addressing topics in the 4 phases of perioperative care (preoperative, admission, perioperative, postoperative). Respondents were requested to report care that would be delivered to a standardized patient without perioperative complications.

Variation in length of stay after minimally invasive lung resection: a reflection of perioperative care routines?

Objectives: Good perioperative care is aimed at rapid recovery, without complications or readmissions. Length of stay (LOS) is influenced not only by perioperative care routines but also by patient factors, tumour factors, treatment characteristics and complications. The present study examines variation in LOS between hospitals after minimally invasive lung resections for both complicated and uncomplicated patients to assess whether LOS is a hospital characteristic influenced by local perioperative routines or other factors.

Variation in length of hospital stay after lung cancer surgery in the Netherlands.

Objectives: Length of stay (LOS) in the hospital after lung cancer surgery is influenced by patient characteristics, tumour characteristics, surgical technique and perioperative care. Our objective was to determine whether there were variation in LOS between hospitals that could not be accounted for by these known parameters. Residual variation in LOS would suggest important differences in perioperative care protocols and discharge criteria.

The relationship between volume or surgeon specialty and outcome in the surgical treatment of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Whether improvement of quality of surgical cancer care can be achieved by centralizing care in high-volume specialized centers is a subject of ongoing debate. We have conducted a meta-analysis of the literature on the effect of procedural volume or surgeon specialty on outcome of lung resections for cancer.

Methods: A systematic search of articles published between January 1, 1990 and January 20, 2011 on the effects of surgeon specialty and hospital or surgeon volume of lung resections on mortality and survival was conducted.

Local treatment of pulmonary metastases: from open resection to minimally invasive approach? Less morbidity, comparable local control.

Background: The level of evidence for efficacy of local treatment of pulmonary metastases is low; therefore, complication rates should be minimized. Minimally invasive techniques may have the potential to reduce morbidity but potentially lead to more local and/or ipsilateral recurrences. The objective of this study was to evaluate the introduction of a new treatment strategy incorporating the increased use of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), weighing complications against recurrence rates.

Local progression after radiofrequency ablation for pulmonary metastases.

Background: Local treatment for pulmonary metastases is considered to be a reasonable treatment option in patients with oligometastatic disease. Percutaneous radio frequency ablation (RFA) has been reported as an alternative to surgery. Results of RFA for local control of pulmonary metastases were evaluated.