ESR/ERS statement paper on lung cancer screening.

In Europe, lung cancer ranks third among the most common cancers, remaining the biggest killer. Since the publication of the first European Society of Radiology and European Respiratory Society joint white paper on lung cancer screening (LCS) in 2015, many new findings have been published and discussions have increased considerably. Thus, this updated expert opinion represents a narrative, non-systematic review of the evidence from LCS trials and description of the current practice of LCS as well as aspects that have not received adequate attention until now.

Agreement between Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test and Modified 6-Min Walk Test in Determining Oxygen Uptake in COPD Patients with Different Severity Stages.

Background: In moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients the 6-min walk test (6MWT) is often exhaustive and correlates with the incremental cycle cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the agreement between oxygen uptake (VO2) measured during the 6MWT by portable equipment and incremental cycle exercise in COPD patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I-IV.

Methods: A total of 30 patients with COPD GOLD I-IV (14 patients GOLD stage I and II and 16 patients GOLD stage III and IV) underwent a 6MWT and an incremental CPET.

Marked differences in prediabetes- and diabetes-associated comorbidities between men and women-Epidemiological results from a general population-based cohort aged 6-80 years-The LEAD (Lung, hEart, sociAl, boDy) study.

Background: Based on biological and behavioural diversity sex and gender may affect comorbidities associated with prediabetes and diabetes. Besides evaluating the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes (using fasting plasma glucose and HbA1 levels), the primary aim of the study is to investigate sex and gender differences in the prevalence of comorbidities in subjects with prediabetes and diabetes and to identify possible risk factors associated with prediabetes and diabetes.

Design: This observational, population-based cohort study included 11.

Recovery cycles of posterior root-muscle reflexes evoked by transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation and of the H reflex in individuals with intact and injured spinal cord.

Posterior root-muscle (PRM) reflexes are short-latency spinal reflexes evoked by epidural or transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in clinical and physiological studies. PRM reflexes share key physiological characteristics with the H reflex elicited by electrical stimulation of large-diameter muscle spindle afferents in the tibial nerve. Here, we compared the H reflex and the PRM reflex of soleus in response to transcutaneous stimulation by studying their recovery cycles in ten neurologically intact volunteers and ten individuals with traumatic, chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Treatment decisions in end-stage COPD: who decides how? A cross-sectional survey of different medical specialties.

Introduction: End-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with acute respiratory failure are often treated by representatives from different medical specialties. This study investigates if the choice of treatment is influenced by the medical specialty.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey among four Austrian medical societies was performed, accompanied by a case vignette of a geriatric end-stage COPD patient with acute respiratory failure.

Effects of salinomycin and niclosamide on small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer circulating tumor cell lines.

Tumor dissemination and recurrence is attributed to highly resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) which may constitute a fraction of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) constitutes a suitable model to investigate the relation of CTCs and CSCs due to rapid tumor spread and a high number of CTCs. Expansion of five SCLC CTC lines (BHGc7, 10, 16, 26 and UHGc5) in vitro at our institution allowed for the analysis of CSC markers and cytotoxicity of the CSC-selective drugs salinomycin and niclosamide against CTC single cell suspensions or CTC spheroids/ tumorospheres (TOS).

PET/MRI versus PET/CT in oncology: a prospective single-center study of 330 examinations focusing on implications for patient management and cost considerations.

Purpose: PET/MRI has recently been introduced into clinical practice. We prospectively investigated the clinical impact of PET/MRI compared with PET/CT, in a mixed population of cancer patients, and performed an economic evaluation of PET/MRI.

Methods: Cancer patients referred for routine staging or follow-up by PET/CT underwent consecutive PET/CT and PET/MRI, using single applications of [F]FDG, [Ga]Ga-DOTANOC, or [F]FDOPA, depending on tumor histology.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Diverse Physical Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Meta-analyses of Observational Studies.

Background: Our aim was to assess both the credibility and strength of evidence arising from systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies and physical health outcomes associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but not acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Methods: We performed an umbrella review of observational studies. Evidence was graded as convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, weak, or nonsignificant.

Sequential afatinib and osimertinib in patients with mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer: updated analysis of the observational GioTag study.

Overall survival (OS) and updated time to treatment failure (TTF) analysis of patients with mutation-positive (Del19, L858R) non-small-cell lung cancer who received sequential afatinib/osimertinib in the real-world GioTag study. Patients had T790M-positive disease following first-line afatinib and received osimertinib treatment (n = 203). Primary outcome was TTF.

An evaluation of brigatinib as a promising treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer.

: Brigatinib is a second-line inhibitor for the treatment of rearranged anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) in lung cancer patients which has significant activity against brain metastases. This tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) overcomes a wide range of ALK mutations which confer therapeutic resistance and is increasingly applied in first-line therapy due to improved benefit for patients compared to crizotinib, the current standard of care. : The authors review the development and characteristics of brigatinib and discuss the optimal clinical use and sequence of the application of ALK inhibitors in patients progressing under therapy.

Treatment of ALK-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer with brigatinib as second or later lines: real-world observations from a single institution.

The second-generation ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor brigatinib has recently been approved in the European Union for use after crizotinib treatment in patients with EML4-ALK-rearranged lung cancer. In the current study, brigatinib was investigated as second-line or later-line treatment in 35 patients who had developed resistance to crizotinib, ceritinib, or alectinib. Most patients (68.

Learning curve for detection of pelvic parts of ureters by transvaginal sonography: feasibility study.

Objective: To investigate how many examinations it takes to be able to identify the pelvic parts of the ureters on transvaginal sonography (TVS).

Methods: This was a prospective study including consecutive women attending a gynecological outpatient clinic in a tertiary referral setting. Prior to commencement of the study, three trainees, with a focus on gynecological surgery and TVS but with no experience in identifying ureters, each observed an expert examiner performing 10 routine TVS examinations, including identification of both ureters.

Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 in patients with severe osteoarthritis of the hip : A prospective cross-sectional study.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip is a frequent and debilitating joint disease. Only few clinical risk factors for hip OA are established and clinically applicable biomarkers to identify patients at risk are still lacking. The glycoprotein vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) is expressed by chondrocytes and synovial tissue and was a predictive marker for development of severe large joint OA in a previous study.

Comparison of RECIST, iRECIST, and PERCIST for the Evaluation of Response to PD-1/PD-L1 Blockade Therapy in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, the immune RECIST (iRECIST) criteria, and the Positron Emission Tomography Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST) 1.0 in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death protein 1 ligand (PD-L1) inhibitors.

Adjustable stemmed shoulder hemiarthroplasty: Ten-year results of a prospective multicentre study.

Background: Adjustable shoulder hemiarthroplasty (HA) allows the complex anatomy of the proximal humerus, including its centre of rotation, to be restored. However, whether better anatomical adaptation improves clinical outcomes and long-term survival remains unclear. Therefore long-term clinical and radiographic results of an eccentric adjustable hemiprosthesis were examined, focusing on the longevity and fixation of the humeral stem.

Endoscopic Lung Volume Reduction: An Expert Panel Recommendation - Update 2019.

Endoscopic lung volume reduction (ELVR) therapies are gaining prominence as a treatment option with guideline recommendations by COPD GOLD and NICE and the recent FDA approval for endobronchial valves. The transition from an experiment-based therapy only to clinical care comes with new challenges. A significant volume of evidence-based data has been published; all data demonstrate consistent improvements in several aspects of patient outcomes.

EGFR Mutations in Cell-free Plasma DNA from Patients with Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma: Improved Detection by Droplet Digital PCR.

Background: Analysis of cell-free DNA from blood could provide an alternative method for identifying genomic changes in the tumors of patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: We compared the performance of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and Cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 (Cobas) for detecting EGFR mutations in cell-free plasma DNA.

Patients And Methods: Plasma samples from patients with advanced EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma were analyzed for EGFR T790M, exon 19 deletions, and L858R mutations by both ddPCR and Cobas.

The European COPD audit : Adherence to guidelines, readmission risk and hospital care for acute exacerbations in Austria.

Objective: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are the major reason for COPD hospitalization and increased risk for readmissions. The organizational structure of Austrian hospitals provides the opportunity to investigate the impact of specialized respiratory care compared to general care on adherence to guidelines and readmission in AECOPD.

Methods: The data from the European COPD audit, a prospective observational non-interventional cohort trial were analyzed.

Expression of Proteolytic Enzymes by Small Cell Lung Cancer Circulating Tumor Cell Lines.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive type of lung cancer which disseminates vigorously and has a dismal prognosis. Metastasis of SCLC is linked to an extremely high number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which form chemoresistant spheroids, termed tumorospheres. Intravasation and extravasation during tumor spread requires the activity of a number of proteases to disintegrate the stroma and vascular tissue.

Safety of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide in HIV-1-infected adults with end-stage renal disease on chronic haemodialysis: an open-label, single-arm, multicentre, phase 3b trial.

Background: Current treatment for HIV-infected individuals with renal failure on haemodialysis frequently requires complex regimens with multiple pills. A daily single-tablet regimen of coformulated elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide is approved in Europe, the USA, and in other regions for use in HIV-1-infected individuals with mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease (creatinine clearance 30-69 mL/min). We aimed to assess the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of this regimen in HIV-infected adults with end-stage renal disease on chronic haemodialysis.

Liquid-Biopsy-Based Identification of EGFR T790M Mutation-Mediated Resistance to Afatinib Treatment in Patients with Advanced EGFR Mutation-Positive NSCLC, and Subsequent Response to Osimertinib.

Background: Acquired epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation is the primary resistance mechanism to first-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) used in advanced, EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Available data, predominantly in Asian patients, suggest that this mutation is also the major cause of resistance to the irreversible ErbB family blocker, afatinib. For EGFR T790M-positive patients who progress on EGFR TKI therapy, osimertinib is an effective treatment option.