CHEST 2006 ABSTRACT BRIEFS
EMBARGO: Each Abstract is Embargoed Until the Day/Time Listed Below Title
Lung Cancer
Radiation to Healthy Lung Associated With Pulmonary-Related Death
(Monday, October 23, 2006, 12:30 PM EST)
A new study reveals that fatal pulmonary-related events following radiation therapy are associated with the amount of radiation received by the contralateral or healthy lung. Researchers from Anderson Cancer Center in Texas investigated the incidence of fatal pulmonary events in 63 patients with mesothelioma who underwent intensity modulated radiation therapy and extrapleural pneumonectomy. Endpoints were pulmonary-related death (PD), classified as death from pneumonia within six months of intensity modulated radiation therapy, or noncancer death, including all deaths except those related to PD or cancer. Researchers concluded that of the 10 percent of patients who died from PD, all had received significantly more radiation to their contralateral lung, compared with noncancer death patients.
Lung Cancer Symptoms Have Not Changed
(Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 12:30 PM EST)
Despite technologic advances, the presenting symptoms of lung cancer (LC) have not changed over time, according to a new study. In order to update information on the modern presentation of LC, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Health System and Cleveland Clinic Foundation conducted a retrospective chart review of 228 patients who presented with lung cancer within the two years prior to the study. Common symptoms on presentation included cough, dyspnea, weight loss, and chest pain. Of the total population, 14.6 percent (42) of patients were asymptomatic and 48 percent (144) had COPD on presentation. Asymptomatic patients were found more likely to have had previous cancer, but less likely to have COPD, when compared with symptomatic patients. Patients without COPD had a lower incidence of cough and dyspnea, than did patients with COPD. Researchers conclude that the presenting features of LC have not changed with the advances in imaging technology.
Air Flow Obstructions May Predict Lung Lesions
(Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 12:30 PM EST)
New research suggests that airflow obstructions determined by spirometry may predict premalignant lung lesions. Using a cohort of subjects who visited lung cancer screening clinics from 1996 to 2005, researchers from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York analyzed the relationship between spirometric parameters of airflow obstruction and central premalignant lung lesions. All of the patients underwent simple spirometry, and 269 high-risk patients received autoflouorescence bronchoscopy with endobronchial biopsy of suspicious legions. In total, 61 biopsy results were normal, while 123 confirmed either early or invasive central lung cancer. Researchers also found that patients with FEV1 less than 70 percent were associated with almost twice the risk of detecting premalignant or malignant lesions. Researchers suggest that spirometry used with autofluorescence bronchoscopy is a potential marker for lung cancer surveillance.
Radiofrequency Ablation in Inoperable Lung Cancer Yields Results
(Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 2:30 PM EST)
Patients with lung cancer who were deemed medically inoperable showed mid-to-long-term results when treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), according to new research. Over a 30-month period, 16 patients with non-small cell lung cancer underwent 19 RFA treatments and follow-up CT-PET scans. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital noted successful completion in all patients, with no 30-day mortality, and 81 percent of patients remained alive after a mean follow-up of nine months. Also, the incidence of major complications remained low. Researchers concluded that RFA treatment in carefully selected, inoperable, lung cancer patients provides excellent control in tumors less than three centimeters.
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