Importance: Patients with lung cancer have poor physical functioning and quality of life. Despite promising outcomes for those who undertake exercise programs, implementation into practice of previously tested hospital-based programs is rare.
Objective: To evaluate a home-based exercise and self-management program for patients after lung resection.
Background: Lung cancer in Australia contributes 9% of all new cancer diagnoses and is the leading cause of cancer death and burden. Clinical practice guidelines provide evidence-based treatment recommendations for best practice management. We aimed to determine the extent of delivery of guideline-concordant treatment (GCT) and to identify modifiable variables influencing receipt of GCT and survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTissue-resident memory T (T) cells provide immune defense against local infection and can inhibit cancer progression. However, it is unclear to what extent chronic inflammation impacts T activation and whether T cells existing in tissues before tumor onset influence cancer evolution in humans. We performed deep profiling of healthy lungs and lung cancers in never-smokers (NSs) and ever-smokers (ESs), finding evidence of enhanced immunosurveillance by cells with a T-like phenotype in ES lungs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Surgical approach is the most effective treatment for primary spontaneous pneumothorax. The two most widely adopted surgical methods are mechanical abrasion and apical pleurectomy, in addition to bullectomy. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine which technique is superior in treating primary spontaneous pneumothorax.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAzygos vein injuries are rare consequences of blunt trauma. When there is high drainage output from a right-sided intercostal catheter, an azygos injury must be considered in the differential diagnosis. We report the case of a 38-year-old male patient involved in a fall from a height during a motorcycle accident.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an established modality for percutaneous ablation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in medically inoperable patients but is underutilized clinically due to side effects. We have developed a novel, completely endobronchial RFA catheter with an externally cooled electrode.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to establish the safety and feasibility of bronchoscopic RFA using a novel, externally cooled catheter for ablation of peripheral NSCLC.
Introduction: Exercise is important in the postoperative management of lung cancer, yet no strong evidence exists for delivery of home-based programmes. Our feasibility (phase I) study established feasibility of a home-based exercise and self-management programme (the programme) delivered postoperatively. This efficacy (phase II) study aims to determine whether the programme, compared with usual care, is effective in improving physical function (primary outcome) in patients after lung cancer surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with approximately 1.6 million cancer related deaths each year. Prognosis is best in patients with early stage disease, though even then five-year survival is only 55% in some groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many extrapulmonary neoplasms metastasize to the lungs. We conducted a retrospective review of all patients who underwent pulmonary metastasectomy for oligometastatic disease at two centres in order to determine long-term outcomes.
Methods: The study institutions' thoracic surgery databases were searched for all patients who underwent pulmonary metastasectomy from 2000 to 2017.
Background: Pulmonary carcinoids are rare neoplasms, accounting for approximately 1%-2% of all lung malignancies. A retrospective analysis was undertaken of all patients who underwent surgical resection of pulmonary carcinoid tumours across multiple institutions in Melbourne, Australia.
Methods: From May 2000 through April 2020, 241 patients who underwent surgical resection of pulmonary carcinoid tumours were retrospectively reviewed.
Introduction: Individuals diagnosed with acute lymphoid and myeloid malignancies are at significant risk of invasive fungal and bacterial infections secondary to their marked immunocompromised states with a significant high risk of mortality. The role of metabolic imaging with 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) has been increasingly recognized in optimizing the diagnosis of invasive infection, monitoring the response to therapy and guiding the duration of antimicrobial therapy or need to escalate to surgical intervention.
Methods: Two distinct cases of pulmonary co-infection of rare fungal and bacterial pathogens are explored in severely immunocompromised individuals where FDG PET/CT aided both patients to make a full recovery and transition to HCT.
Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare cause of thoracic malignancy, and the prognosis may depend on the extent of surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. Complete resection has low rates of local recurrence but is complicated by the involvement of central airways. Adjuvant radiotherapy is frequently recommended but unproven.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clinical audit may improve practice in cancer service provision. The UK National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) collects data for all new cases of thoracic cancers.
Aim: To collect similar data for our Victorian patients from six hospitals within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and associated Western and Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service.
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a multisystem phakomatosis. The intrathoracic manifestations of NF1 are protean. We describe a rare case of a plexiform neurofibroma infiltrating the mediastinum and lungs with multiple endobronchial neurofibromata.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBronchial carcinoids are uncommon pulmonary tumours, and the gold standard management is surgical resection. Their management is often complicated by their proximal location and propensity to bleed when manipulated. A 22-year-old man was found to have typical carcinoid tumour involving the carina and surgical resection was considered not feasible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) is a molecularly complex and genomically unstable disease. No targeted therapy is currently approved for lung SqCC, although potential oncogenic drivers of SqCC have been identified, including amplification of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (). Reports from a recently completed clinical trial indicate low response rates in patients treated with FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, suggesting inadequacy of amplification as a biomarker of response, or the need for combination treatment.
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