Impact of Silicone Stent Placement in Symptomatic Airway Obstruction due to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - A French Multicenter Randomized Controlled Study: The SPOC Trial.

Background: Therapeutic bronchoscopy (TB) is an accepted strategy for the symptomatic management of central airway malignant obstruction. Stent insertion is recommended in case of extrinsic compression, but its value in preventing airway re-obstruction after endobronchial treatment without extrinsic compression is unknown.

Objective: Silicone stent Placement in symptomatic airway Obstruction due to non-small cell lung Cancer (SPOC) is the first randomized controlled trial investigating the potential benefit of silicone stent insertion after successful TB in symptomatic malignant airway obstruction without extrinsic compression.

Diagnostic of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in extrathoracic cancer: A place for EBUS-TBNA in real life practice?

Introduction: Mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with extrathoracic malignancy is common. To obtain tissue proof of metastatic spread, EBUS-TBNA is an alternative to mediastinoscopy or thoracoscopy, but there are limited data about its diagnostic performance. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA for the evaluation of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with extrathoracic cancers.

Endoscopic management of idiopathic tracheal stenosis.

Background: Idiopathic tracheal stenosis (ITS) is a rare condition representing a difficult therapeutic challenge. Endoscopic management is a therapeutic option but long-term results are not established. The aim of this retrospective multicenter study was to analyze long-term outcome after endoscopic management of ITS.

[Outcome in COPD patients treated with at-home, long-term, non-invasive ventilation].

Background: The use of domiciliary non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) is still controversial in stable hypercapnic COPD.

Methods: Records of COPD patients who received home NIPPV from 1990 to 2002 either following an acute exacerbation or because of stable hypercapnia were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Thirty-seven patients receiving long term oxygen therapy for 50 +/- 47 months were included.

[Which treatments should be proposed in resectable stage III cancers?].

The results of surgery alone or associated with an adjuvant treatment, chemo- and/or radio-therapy, in the management of stage III resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), are disappointing; with survival rates at 5 years generally lesser than 20% and many local and distant relapses. They justified the development of phase II trials that showed the feasibility of the chemotherapy and neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy with high rates of response and acceptable toxicity. The three phase III studies with induction chemotherapy gave contradicting results; two of them were on small cohorts and presented methodological biases.