Association of Lung Inflammatory Cells with Small Airways Function and Exhaled Breath Markers in Smokers - Is There a Specific Role for Mast Cells?

Background: Smoking is associated with a mixed inflammatory infiltrate in the airways. We evaluated whether airway inflammation in smokers is related to lung function parameters and inflammatory markers in exhaled breath.

Methods: Thirty-seven smokers undergoing lung resection for primary lung cancer were assessed pre-operatively by lung function testing including single-breath-nitrogen washout test (sb-N2-test), measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and pH/8-isoprostane in exhaled breath condensate (EBC).

Hyponatremia as prognostic factor in small cell lung cancer--a retrospective single institution analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study is to present data on clinical significance of hyponatremia in an unselected contemporary patient population with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with limited disease (LD) and extensive disease (ED).

Patients And Methods: Our electronic database was searched for patients with newly diagnosed SCLC from June 2004 to December 2008. 395 cases were identified.

Efficacy and safety of bronchoscopic laser therapy in patients with tracheal and bronchial obstruction: a retrospective single institution report.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study is to present data efficacy and safety of bronchoscopic laser therapy in patients with tracheal and bronchial obstruction.

Patients And Methods: From February 2004 to April 2010, our electronic database was searched for all patients who had undergone bronchoscopic laser therapy. We collected data on age, gender, performance status, diagnosis leading to bronchoscopic laser treatment, number of procedures per patient, efficacy by means of extend of recanalisation and symptom improvement, additional interventions and procedure-related complications.

Tissue sampling in lung cancer: a review in light of the MERIT experience.

Lung cancer continues to present an enormous global burden of morbidity and mortality, despite an increasing therapeutic armamentarium of chemotherapy and targeted agents. Recent research efforts have been directed towards identifying predictors of response to treatment, in order to facilitate the selection of patients likely to obtain the greatest benefit from specific therapeutic interventions, with the ultimate goal of providing customized therapy. A strong scientific basis exists for the use of markers to identify patients who are most likely to respond to biological and targeted therapies, based on characteristics such as tumour genotype and histology.

Lactate dehydrogenase as prognostic factor in limited and extensive disease stage small cell lung cancer - a retrospective single institution analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study is to present data on clinical significance of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) serum levels in an unselected contemporary patient population with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in limited disease (LD) and extensive disease stage (ED).

Patients And Methods: From June 2004 to June 2008, our electronic database including all in-patient and out-patient contacts was searched for patients with newly diagnosed LD and ED SCLC. 397 cases were identified.

Characteristics, treatment patterns and outcomes of patients with small cell lung cancer--a retrospective single institution analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study is to present data on patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and treatment results in an unselected contemporary patient population with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in limited disease (LD) and extensive disease stage (ED).

Patients And Methods: From June 2004 to December 2008, our electronic database including all in-patient and out-patient contacts was searched for patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. 397 patients were found having SCLC.

Irinotecan plus carboplatin versus oral etoposide plus carboplatin in extensive small-cell lung cancer: a randomized phase III trial.

Purpose: A Japanese randomized trial showed superior survival for patients with extensive-disease (ED) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) receiving irinotecan plus cisplatin compared with etoposide plus cisplatin. The present trial evaluated the efficacy of irinotecan plus carboplatin (IC) compared with oral etoposide plus carboplatin (EC).

Patients And Methods: Patients with ED SCLC were randomly assigned to receive either IC, which consisted of carboplatin (area under the curve = 4; Chatelut formula) and irinotecan (175 mg/m2) intravenously both on day 1, or EC, which consisted of carboplatin as in IC and etoposide (120 mg/m(2)/d) orally on days 1 through 5.

Inhalation therapy for bronchial asthma: strategies and targets.

Bronchial asthma is associated with symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, airway hyper-responsiveness and inflammation along large and small airways. Inhalation therapy with bronchodilators (relievers) and anti-inflammatory agents (controllers) forms the basis of treatment for most patients with asthma of different severities. Conventionally, therapeutic efficacy is assessed on the basis of improvements in symptoms and lung function.

Phase III comparative study of high-dose cisplatin versus a combination of paclitaxel and cisplatin in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: New effective chemotherapy is needed to improve the outcome of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Paclitaxel administered as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin has been shown to be a potentially new useful agent for the treatment of NSCLC.

Patients And Methods: Between January 1995 and April 1996, 414 patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC were randomized to received either a control arm of high-dose cisplatin (100 mg/m(2)) or a combination of paclitaxel (175 mg/m(2), 3-hour infusion) and cisplatin (80 mg/m(2)) every 21 days.

Factor analysis of changes in dyspnea and lung function parameters after bronchodilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Expiratory airway collapse is a characteristic feature in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We hypothesized that this collapse might mask the effects of bronchodilators during forced expiration but not during forced inspiration, and that accordingly, the improvement in forced inspiration and not that in forced expiration with bronchodilator therapy would be related to changes in the perception of dyspnea. In order to investigate this, we conducted lung function measurements, including measurements of forced inspiration and expiration before and 30 min after inhalation of 400 microg salbutamol, in 61 patients with COPD (mean FEV(1): 38.

Ifosfamide and gemcitabine: a phase II trial in advanced inoperable non-small cell lung cancer.

The novel nucleoside agent gemcitabine has demonstrated antitumor activity against a variety of solid tumors and is associated with low toxicity. A phase I trial in Germany of gemcitabine combined with the alkylating agent ifosfamide has shown encouraging activity against non-small cell lung cancer. The efficacy and toxicity of this combination was further evaluated in a phase II trial involving chemotherapy-naive patients with non-small cell lung cancer (mostly stage IV disease).

A phase II trial of gemcitabine and ifosfamide in non-small cell lung cancer.

The novel nucleoside agent gemcitabine has demonstrated antitumor activity against a variety of solid tumors and is associated with low toxicity. A phase I trial in Germany of gemcitabine combined with the alkylating agent ifosfamide has shown encouraging activity against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The efficacy and toxicity of this combination was further evaluated in a phase II trial of chemotherapy-naive patients with NSCLC (mostly stage IV disease).

Etoposide/vincristine-based chemotherapy with or without carboplatin in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: a prospective randomized phase III trial.

In the treatment of small cell lung cancer, carboplatin/etoposide/vincristine (CEV) is one of the most active regimens. In contrast, the etoposide/vincristine (EV) combination also has produced acceptable results in patients with extensive disease. To evaluate the efficacy and survival of patients treated with EV in comparison to those treated with more intensive CEV chemotherapy, a prospective, randomized, phase III trial was performed.

The protective effect of low-dose inhaled fenoterol against methacholine and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in asthma: a dose-response study.

We compared in a randomized, double-blind study the protective effect of low doses of fenoterol on the airway response to exercise during cold air breathing and an inhalation challenge with methacholine. In six asymptomatic asthmatic persons (mean age, 20.3 years) exercise and methacholine challenges were performed under control conditions and 15 minutes after the inhalation from a metered-dose inhaler of either placebo or 30, 50, 100, and 200 micrograms fenoterol, resulting in 12 separate study sessions within a 3-week period.

Combination chemotherapy with carboplatin, etoposide, and vincristine as first-line treatment in small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: The antineoplastic activity of carboplatin and etoposide may be improved by the addition of vincristine (CEV) because of its low myelosuppressive potential and its activity in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). A phase II study with CEV was carried out.

Patients And Methods: One hundred twenty-one untreated patients with SCLC (63 with limited disease [LD], 58 with extensive disease [ED]) were treated with a combination of 300 mg/m2 intravenous (IV) on day 1, etoposide 140 mg/m2 IV daily on days 1 to 3, and vincristine 1.

Phase II and III studies with carboplatin in small cell lung cancer.

Carboplatin is one of the most active agents in untreated small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (11% complete response [CR], 59% CR plus partial response [PR]). Combination carboplatin/etoposide/vincristine (CEV) (phase II trial) led to an overall remission rate of 84% in patients with limited disease (LD), with 52% CRs. The median survival time with this combination was 14 months in patients with LD and 9.

Salmeterol protects against hyperventilation-induced bronchoconstriction over 12 hours.

To study the dose-response relationship of salmeterol for protection against a naturally occurring stimulus, isocapnic hyperventilation tests of cold air were done in 16 asthmatic patients. The subjects inhaled either 50 micrograms salmeterol, salbutamol 200 micrograms, or placebo in a double-blind, randomised, cross-over study. The FEV1 was measured prior to medication and the provocative ventilation (PV20) required to induce a 20% fall in FEV1 was calculated by linear interpolation from ventilation-response curves obtained 0.

Carboplatin/etoposide/vincristine therapy in small cell lung cancer.

Carboplatin is one of the most active agents in untreated small cell lung cancer (SCLC; 14% complete response, CR; and 61% CR + partial response, PR). The combination carboplatin/etoposide/vincristine (CEV) (phase II trial) led to an overall remission rate of 84% in patients with limited disease, with 52% CR. The median survival time with this combination was 13 months in patients with limited disease and 9.

A randomized trial with mitomycin-C/ifosfamide versus mitomycin-C/vindesine versus cisplatin/etoposide in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

192 evaluable patients with advanced inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer were treated with either mitomycin-C/ifosfamide (A), mitomycin-C/vindesine (B), or cisplatin/etoposide (C) in a prospective randomized trial. The response rates for each treatment arm were 30.0% (A), 22.

Carboplatin in small cell lung cancer.

Carboplatin is one of the most active agents in untreated small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (14% complete response [CR] and 61% CR + partial response [PR]). The combination carboplatin/etoposide/vincristine (CEV) (phase II trial) led to an overall remission rate of 84% in patients with limited disease, with 52% CR. The median survival time with this combination was 13 months in patients with limited disease and 9.

Chemotherapy with tauromustine in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. A trial of the Phase II Study Group of the Association for Medical Oncology of the German Cancer Society.

Tauromustine (TCNU) is a newly developed nitrosourea compound. As a result of molecular modification, TCNU is more hydrophilic than BCNU and CCNU. In experimental data there was a high therapeutic index, especially in Walker 256 carcinosarcoma in rats, and in phase I trials antitumor activity was observed in NSCLC (10/33 remissions).

Phase II study of carboplatin in untreated, inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer.

A total of 51 previously untreated patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were treated with 130 mg/m2 carboplatin given every 4 weeks as an i.v. infusion on days 1, 3, and 5.

Duration of the effect of a single dose of azelastine on histamine-induced bronchoconstriction.

We studied the duration of the protective effect of azelastine against histamine-induced bronchoconstriction in six subjects with asymptomatic asthma. The study was performed in two periods of five consecutive days each. After a histamine inhalation test, we randomly administered either placebo or a single oral dose of 8.