Long-term follow-up after first-line bronchoscopic therapy in patients with bronchial carcinoids.

Background: Carcinoid of the lung is considered to be a low-grade malignancy. A subgroup presents as an endobronchial tumour. Surgical resection is considered the standard approach because of its metastatic potential and the possibility of an iceberg phenomenon for the endobronchial subgroup.

Can quantifying free-circulating DNA in plasma be used to identify subjects with high-grade pre-invasive endobronchial lesions?

Increased concentrations of free-circulating plasma DNA (cpDNA) are observed in patients with invasive cancer, including lung cancer. Whether cpDNA levels are elevated in subjects with high-grade pre-invasive lesions of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) and whether its detection may be of value for identifying subjects at the highest risk of developing lung SqCC is currently unknown. The present study assessed cpDNA levels in subjects with high- and low-grade pre-invasive squamous endobronchial lesions relative to patients with clinically overt lung SqCC and healthy controls using real-time quantitative PCR methodology.

Primary lung cancer after treatment of head and neck cancer without lymph node metastasis: is there a role for autofluorescence bronchoscopy?

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the 5th most common cancer worldwide. As good locoregional tumor control can be achieved with current treatment strategies, patients who develop second primary tumors from field cancerization have poorer prognosis.

Objectives: To determine if autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AF) played a role in the detection of second primary lung cancer (SPLC), and impact of SPLC on survival of patients with HNC and no cervical lymph node metastasis (N0).

Surgical treatment for octogenarians with lung cancer: results from a population-based series of 124 patients.

Introduction: With the increasing life span in the Western world, the number of octogenarians with resectable, localized non-small cell lung cancer is increasing. Previous reports on the outcome of surgery for lung cancer in octogenarians were mainly derived from single institutions. In contrast, this study presents results for all hospitals in a region of 3 million inhabitants.

Dual digital video-autofluorescence imaging for detection of pre-neoplastic lesions.

Aim: The incorporation of autofluorescence (AF) to white light bronchoscopy has led to improved sensitivity for the detection of pre-neoplastic lesions in the airways. However, AF has difficulty distinguishing benign epithelial changes such as bronchitis, previous biopsy, and airway fibrosis from pre-invasive lesions, which necessitates extensive biopsy. This frequently results in longer procedural time and need for additional sedation that may compromise patient safety, increase the risk of bronchospasm, and bleeding from multiple endobronchial biopsies.

Initial bronchoscopic treatment for patients with intraluminal bronchial carcinoids.

Objective: Carcinoid of the lung is considered low-grade malignancy, and less invasive treatment may therefore be considered. We analyzed the long-term outcome of initial bronchoscopic treatment in patients with intraluminal bronchial carcinoids.

Methods: Initial bronchoscopic treatment was applied to improve presurgical condition, to obtain tissue samples for proper histologic classification, and to enable less extensive parenchymal resection.

Cost-effectiveness of early intervention: comparison between intraluminal bronchoscopic treatment and surgical resection for T1N0 lung cancer patients.

Background: For patients with early-stage lung cancer (ESLC) and severe comorbidities, the cost-effectiveness of early intervention may be reduced by screening and treatment-related morbidity and mortality in addition to the risk for non-cancer-related deaths.

Objectives: The use of bronchoscopic treatment (BT) for centrally located ESLC as minimally invasive technique has raised questions whether this approach will be more cost-effective than standard surgical resection in the above-mentioned cohort of patients.

Methods: The cost-effectiveness of BT of 32 medically inoperable patients with intraluminal tumor has been compared to a matched control group of surgically treated stage IA cancer patients.