A non-interventional biomarker study in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung treated with nintedanib plus docetaxel following progression on chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy: LUME-BioNIS.

Background: Anti-angiogenic agents, such as nintedanib and ramucirumab, when combined with docetaxel, are subsequent treatment options in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have failed on first-line chemotherapy or immunochemotherapy. However, to date, there are no validated predictive biomarkers for efficacy of anti-angiogenic therapies in this setting. The aim of this study was to explore whether genetic or genomic markers, alone or combined with clinical covariates, could be used to predict overall survival (OS) in patients with NSCLC who are eligible for treatment with nintedanib plus docetaxel.

Strengths and challenges in current lung cancer care: Timeliness and diagnostic procedures in six Dutch hospitals.

Objectives: Timely diagnosis of lung cancer (LC) is crucial to achieve optimal patient care and outcome. Moreover, the number of procedures required to obtain a definitive diagnosis can have a large influence on the life expectancy of a patient. Here, adherence with existing Dutch guidelines for timeliness and type and number of invasive and imaging procedures was assessed.

Liquid biopsy-based decision support algorithms for diagnosis and subtyping of lung cancer.

Objectives: Pathologic subtyping of tissue biopsies is the gold standard for the diagnosis of lung cancer (LC), which could be complicated in cases of e.g. inconclusive tissue biopsies or unreachable tumors.

Complications following lung surgery in the Dutch-Belgian randomized lung cancer screening trial.

Objectives: To assess the complication rate in participants of the screen arm of the NELSON lung cancer screening trial who underwent surgical resection and to investigate, based on a literature review, whether the complication rate, length of hospital stay, re-thoracotomy and mortality rates after a surgical procedure were different from those of the non-screening series, taking co-morbidity into account.

Methods: Between April 2004 and December 2008, 198 subjects underwent thoracic surgery. Co-morbid conditions were retrieved from the medical records.

The role of conventional bronchoscopy in the workup of suspicious CT scan screen-detected pulmonary nodules.

Background: Up to 50% of the participants in CT scan lung cancer screening trials have at least one pulmonary nodule. To date, the role of conventional bronchoscopy in the workup of suspicious screen-detected pulmonary nodules is unknown. If a bronchoscopic evaluation could be eliminated, the cost-effectiveness of a screening program could be enhanced and the potential harms of bronchoscopy avoided.

The role of the ¹⁸f-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography scan in the Nederlands Leuvens Longkanker screenings Onderzoek lung cancer screening trial.

Background: In computed tomography lung cancer screening programs, up to 30% of all resections are futile.

Objective: To investigate whether a preoperative positron emission tomography (PET) after a conclusive or inconclusive nonsurgical workup will reduce the resection rate for benign disease in test-positive participants of a lung cancer screening program.

Methods: ¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET scans were made in 220 test positives.

Screening and early detection of lung cancer.

Lung cancer with an estimated 342,000 deaths in 2008 (20% of total) is the most common cause of death from cancer, followed by colorectal cancer (12%), breast cancer (8%), and stomach cancer (7%) in Europe. In former smokers, the absolute lung cancer risk remains higher than in never-smokers; these data therefore call for effective secondary preventive measures for lung cancer in addition to smoking cessation programs. This review presents and discusses the most recent advances in the early detection and screening of lung cancer.

Stem cells and the natural history of lung cancer: implications for lung cancer screening.

Lung cancer is not simply a single disease, but a collection of several phenotypically very diverse and regionally distinct neoplasias. Its natural history is complex and not yet fully understood. Stem cells and the complex interaction with the microenvironment of the tumor and the immune system play an important role in tumor progression and metastasizing capacity.

How to deal with incidentally detected pulmonary nodules less than 10mm in size on CT in a healthy person.

The high frequency of non-calcified pulmonary nodules (NCN) <10mm incidentally detected on a multi-detector CT (MDCT) of the chest raises the question of how clinicians and radiologists should deal with these nodules. Management algorithms for solitary pulmonary nodules >10mm do not carry across to sub-centimeter lesions. Purpose of this review is to provide a 10-step approach for routinely detected sub-centimeter NCN on a MDCT in healthy persons in order to be able to make an optimal discrimination between benign and malignant NCNs.