Objectives: Cancer patients have worse outcomes from the COVID-19 infection and greater need for ventilator support and elevated mortality rates than the general population. However, previous artificial intelligence (AI) studies focused on patients without cancer to develop diagnosis and severity prediction models. Little is known about how the AI models perform in cancer patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a recently approved breakthrough treatment that has become a new paradigm in treatment of recurrent or refractory B-cell lymphomas and pediatric or adult acute lymphoid leukemia. CAR T cells are a type of cellular immunotherapy that artificially enhances T cells to boost eradication of malignancy through activation of the native immune system. The CAR construct is a synthetically created functional cell receptor grafted onto previously harvested patient T cells, which bind to preselected tumor-associated antigens and thereby activate host immune signaling cascades to attack tumor cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Radiotherapy might augment systemic antitumoral responses to immunotherapy. In the PEMBRO-RT (phase 2) and MDACC (phase 1/2) trials, patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer were randomly allocated immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) with or without radiotherapy. When the trials were analysed individually, a potential benefit was noted in the combination treatment arm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrdering the appropriate diagnostic imaging for occupational lung disease requires a firm understanding of the relationship between occupational exposure and expected lower respiratory track manifestation. Where particular inorganic dust exposures typically lead to nodular and interstitial lung disease, other occupational exposures may lead to isolated small airway obstruction. Certain workplace exposures, like asbestos, increase the risk of malignancy, but also produce pulmonary findings that mimic malignancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Radiol
November 2019
The immunocompromised patient with an acute respiratory illness (ARI) may present with fever, chills, weight loss, cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain. The number of immunocompromised patients continues to rise with medical advances including solid organ and stem cell transplantation, chemotherapy, and immunomodulatory therapy, along with the continued presence of human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Given the myriad of pathogens that can infect immunocompromised individuals, identifying the specific organism or organisms causing the lung disease can be elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Radiol
May 2019
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. The major risk factor for lung cancer is personal tobacco smoking, particularly for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and squamous cell lung cancers, but other significant risk factors include exposure to secondhand smoke, environmental radon, occupational exposures, and air pollution. Education and socioeconomic status affect both incidence and outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Radiol
November 2018
Chronic dyspnea may result from a variety of disorders of cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, neuromuscular, systemic, and psychogenic etiology. This article discusses guidelines for the initial imaging of six variants for chronic dyspnea of noncardiovascular origin: (1) Chronic dyspnea of unclear etiology; (2) Chronic dyspnea with suspected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; (3) Chronic dyspnea with suspected central airways disease; (4) Chronic dyspnea with suspected interstitial lung disease; (5) Chronic dyspnea with suspected disease of the pleura or chest wall; and (6) Chronic dyspnea with suspected diaphragm dysfunction. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Radiol
November 2018
Acute respiratory illness, defined as cough, sputum production, chest pain, and/or dyspnea (with or without fever), is a major public health issue, accounting for millions of doctor office and emergency department visits every year. While most cases are due to self-limited viral infections, a significant number of cases are due to more serious respiratory infections where delay in diagnosis can lead to morbidity and mortality. Imaging plays a key role in the initial diagnosis and management of acute respiratory illness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence and mortality from lung cancer is decreasing in the US due to decades of public education and tobacco control policies, but are increasing elsewhere in the world related to the commencement of the tobacco epidemic in various countries and populations in the developing world. Individual cigarette smoking is by far the most common risk factor for lung carcinoma; other risks include passive smoke inhalation, residential radon, occupational exposures, infection and genetic susceptibility. The predominant disease burden currently falls on minority populations and socioeconomically disadvantaged people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDual-energy CT (DECT) is an emerging technology that has potential to enhance diagnostic performance and radiologists' confidence in the evaluation of thoracic malignancies. DECT clinical applications include characterization of solitary pulmonary nodule, lung masses and mediastinal tumors. DECT-derived iodine uptake quantification may assist in characterization of tumor differentiation and gene expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Precision radiation therapy such as stereotactic body radiation therapy and limited resection are being used more frequently to treat intrathoracic malignancies. Effective local control requires precise radiation target delineation or complete resection. Lung biopsy tracts (LBT) on computed tomography (CT) scans after the use of tract sealants can mimic malignant tract seeding (MTS) and it is unclear whether these LBTs should be included in the calculated tumor volume or resected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe identification of genetic mutations known as oncogenic driver mutations that lead to the growth and survival of cancer cells has been an important advance in the field of oncology. Treatment in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has transitioned from a more general approach to a more personalized approach based on genetic mutations of the cancer itself. Common mutations detected in patients with advanced NSCLC include mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemin Ultrasound CT MR
June 2018
Surgical resection offers the best hope of cure for patients with operable early-stage lung cancer. Wedge resection, segmentectomy, lobectomy, or pneumonectomy may be performed depending on the size and location of the tumor. Radiologists must be familiar with the types of surgical resection utilized in the treatment of lung carcinoma and with their normal and abnormal postsurgical appearance on imaging studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe treatment strategy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has evolved from empirical chemotherapy to a personalized approach based on histology and molecular markers of primary tumors. Targeted therapies are directed at the products of oncogenic driver mutations. Immunotherapy facilitates the recognition of cancer as foreign by the host immune system, stimulates the immune system, and alleviates the inhibition that allows the growth and spread of cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe chest radiograph is one of the most commonly used imaging studies and is the modality of choice for initial evaluation of many common clinical scenarios. Over the last two decades, chest computed tomography has been increasingly used for a wide variety of indications, including respiratory illnesses, trauma, oncologic staging, and more recently lung cancer screening. Diagnostic radiologists should be familiar with the common causes of missed lung cancers on imaging studies in order to avoid detection and interpretation errors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe number of screening-detected lung nodules is expected to increase as low-dose computed tomography screening is implemented nationally. Standardized guidelines for image acquisition, interpretation, and screen-detected nodule workup are essential to ensure a high standard of medical care and that lung cancer screening is implemented safely and cost effectively. In this article, we review the current guidelines for pulmonary nodule management in the lung cancer screening setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. To formulate effective treatment strategies and optimize patient outcomes, accurate staging is essential. Lung cancer staging has traditionally relied on a TNM staging system, for which the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has recently proposed changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemin Ultrasound CT MR
December 2017
Pulmonary and pleural metastases are routinely identified on thoracic computed tomography. Pulmonary metastases are the most common pulmonary neoplasms and commonly originate from primary malignancies of the lung, breast, colon, pancreas, stomach, skin (ie, melanoma), head and neck, and kidney. Metastatic disease to the lungs may occur via 3 routes of spread: hematogenous, lymphatic, and endobronchial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is usually diagnosed when it is not amenable to curative surgery or radiation. Many of these patients are candidates for systemic therapy. Median survival is only approximately 10 months, and, accordingly, treatment in advanced NSCLC is evolving toward a more personalized approach with the identification of genetic abnormalities based on biomarkers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn patients with early-stage lung cancer, surgical resection is the treatment of choice. Knowledge of the expected postsurgical changes and awareness of the temporal evolution of these findings as well as potential complications are important in avoiding misinterpretation. We review the surgical techniques used for lung cancer resection, expected postoperative radiologic manifestations, as well as potential early and late postoperative complications in order to improve diagnostic interpretation and optimize patient management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality and is responsible for more deaths than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined. Most patients are diagnosed with advanced disease at the time of presentation, and treatment options have traditionally included surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation. However, significant advances in the molecular characterization of lung cancer have led to the creation of effective immunotherapies that assist in the recognition of cancer as foreign by the host immune system, stimulate the immune system, and relieve the inhibition that allows tumor growth and spread.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThymic epithelial neoplasms are rare malignancies that arise from the thymus and include thymoma, thymic carcinoma, and thymic neuroendocrine tumors. At least 15 different stage classifications have been proposed for thymic epithelial neoplasms and used to varying degrees in clinical practice, many of which have been constructed from small groups of patients. Traditionally, the Masaoka and Masaoka-Koga staging systems have been the schemes most commonly employed, and the latter has been recommended for use by the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonary tuberculosis remains a major cause of disease worldwide and an important public health hazard in the United States. The imaging evaluation depends to a large degree on clinical symptoms and whether active disease is suspected or a subject is at high risk for developing active disease. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDivision of the mediastinum into specific compartments is beneficial for a number of reasons, including generation of a focused differential diagnosis for mediastinal masses identified on imaging examinations, assistance in planning for biopsies and surgical procedures, and facilitation of communication between clinicians in a multidisciplinary setting. Several classification schemes for the mediastinum have been created and used to varying degrees in clinical practice. Most radiology classifications have been based on arbitrary landmarks outlined on the lateral chest radiograph.
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