Search

In malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), useful tools are needed to predict survival. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the LENT score, and demonstrate the performance of the LENT score in predicting survival in patients with MPM.This was a retrospective, observational single-center study. Sixty-nine patients diagnosed with MPM who had pleural effusion (March 2009-December 2020) were divided into groups according to their LENT score and compared. Median survivals were estimated and compared according to the LENT score and parameters of the LENT score.Fifty-four patients were in the low-LENT score group, 15 patients were in the moderate-LENT score group, and there were no patients in the highLENT score group. The two groups had similar characteristics in terms of age, gender, and histological subtype distribution. There were no patients with ECOG-PS 0 in the moderate-LENT score group. Serum neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio (NLR), pleural lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), patients with serum NLR9, and patients with pleural LDH1500 were significantly higher in the moderate-LENT score group (p= 0.002, 0.001,0.01,0.01, respectively). Fifty patients had died during a median follow-up of 38.6 ± 6.5 (95% CI= 25.84-51.41) months. The median survival for all patients was 28.63 ± 3.2 (95% CI= 22.33-34.92) months, higher than the original study. It was 30.97 ± 2 months in the low-LENT score group, and 20.7 ± 3.4 months in the moderate-LENT score group (p= 0.98). The median survival for patients with pleural LDH1500 was significantly higher than for patients with pleural LDH1500 (p= 0.006) (30.97 vs. 16.73 months), while ECOG-PS (0 vs. 1) and NLR (9 vs.9) showed no differences.The survival in our resultant groups was higher than those reported in the original study, and the LENT score had no discriminatory ability for predicting survival in patients with MPM. We nevertheless believe that before reaching more definite conclusions, further large-scale multicenter prospective studies are needed to better define the clinical utility of the LENT score.

Introduction: Today, whereas hypoxemia and respiratory failure is the major challenging problem in the course of severe COVID-19 pneumonia, to control the disease at a mild-moderate stage or to stop the inflammation by recognizing the cytokine storm early should be the most prominent goal. We aimed to reveal the clinical efficacy and safety of short-term high-dose corticosteroids in severe COVID-19. Material and Methods: This retrospective observational study consisted of 54 patients who were given high-dose steroid (HDS (>250 mg/day methylprednisolone, 3 days.). Low-dose steroid (LDS) therapy (dexamethasone 8 mg ) was applied to all patients. HDS group was reviewed in terms of decreasing hospital mortality and preventing fibrosis development in follow-up. Results: During the observation period, out of 317 severe COVID-19 pneumonia hospitalized, HDS and LDS were administered to 54 and 216 patients, respectively. Higher body mass index, younger age, more oxygen need of patients at admission, and more need for advanced oxygen therapy during hospitalization were found in the HDS group (p

Introduction Evaluation of parameters that will predict prognosis in COVID19 disease ensures correct determination of treatment strategy. In this study, it was aimed to determine the clinical, radiological and laboratory parameters affecting mortality and to evaluate the risk factors. Materials and methods Patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19 in September 2020 were included in the study. Clinical features, laboratory parameters, and radiological findings at admission were recorded. The relationship of these parameters with 30-day mortality was evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS for Windows 16.0 Package Program. Result Three hundred and sixty patients (female/male, n= 228/132) hospitalized in the specified period were included in the study. 30-day mortality rate was 14.4% in all patients. In multiple logistic regression analysis, age, presence of heart failure, admission oxygen saturation, body temperature higher than 38.2 and high ferritin levels were evaluated as independent risk factors for 30-day mortality. Conclusions The relationship between clinical and laboratory markers and mortality is very important for the correct orientation of healthcare services and the correct determination of treatment strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Favipiravir is generally used in treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in Turkey. OBJECTIVE: To determine the side effects of favipiravir and whether it is a good treatment option. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study conducted in Atatürk Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. METHODS: 357 patients who completed favipiravir treatment at the recommended dose were included. 37 patients with drug side effects and 320 patients without drug side effects were examined in two groups. RESULTS: Side effects were observed in 37 (10.36%) out of 357 patients using favipiravir. The most common side effect was liver dysfunction, in 26 (7.28%) of the patients. The following other side effects were also observed: diarrhea (1.4%), nausea (0.84%), abdominal pain (0.28%) and thrombocytopenia (0.28%). One patient (0.28%) presented both increased transaminases and nausea. CONCLUSION: In this study, it was determined that favipiravir may constitute an alternative for treating COVID-19 pneumonia given that its side effects are generally well tolerated and not serious.

Objective There are many clinical conditions, such as lung cancer, that need to be followed up and treated during a pandemic. Providing health care for patients who are immune‐suppressive requires extra care. Method Among 108 lung cancer patients who had been hospitalized during the COVID‐19 pandemic, 18 with respiratory symptoms were evaluated retrospectively. Results The patients’ median age was 64 ± 9.4 with a male predominance (male n = 16, female n = 2). Thirteen had non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and 5 had small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Nine (50%) patients were receiving chemotherapy. The most common symptom was shortness of breath (n = 14, 77.8%), followed by fever (n = 10, 55.6%). The findings confirmed on computed thorax tomography (CTT) were as follows: consolidation (n = 8, 44.4%), ground glass opacities (n = 8, 44.4%) and thoracic tumour/mediastinal‐hilar lymphadenopathy (n = 3, 16.7%). Hypoxia was seen in 11 patients (61.1%), twelve patients had an elevated LDH (median = 302 ± 197) and lymphopenia (median = 1055 ± 648) and 5 (27.7%) were highly suspected of having contracted COVID‐19. None of their nasopharyngeal swaps was positive. Two of these 5 patients received COVID‐19 specific treatment even though they thrice had negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) results. The two patients responded well to both clinical and radiological treatments. For one case with SCLC receiving immunotherapy, methylprednisolone was initiated for radiation pneumonitis after excluding COVID‐19. Conclusion In line with a country's health policies and the adequacy of its health system, the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach in the management and treatment of complications in patients with lung cancer has become even more important during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Introduction and aim Despite the improvement in survival among patients with lung cancer as a result of the development of novel treatment options, acute respiratory failure (ARF), which may occur because of the disease itself, comorbidities or complications in treatment may be life threatening. The most commonly utilised treatment option in cancer patients with ARF is invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). The prognosis of lung cancer patients admitted to the intensive care unit is poor. The use of non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) in the setting of ARF not only supports the respiratory muscles and facilitates alveolar ventilation and airway patency, but also reduces the risk of serious complications of IMV, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia. NIMV treatment in the event of respiratory failure has been associated with a high rate of mortality in recently diagnosed or progressive lung cancer with organ failure. However, studies in this regard are limited, and the role of NIMV has yet to be investigated in patients in hospital wards. Accordingly, the present study investigates retrospectively the success of NIMV among patients with lung cancer (including all stages and histopathological types) in a hospital ward setting and the influential factors. Material and method The data of 42 patients with lung cancer and respiratory failure who were admitted to the palliative care service and received NIMV between 2014 and 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. Demographic features, comorbidities, respiratory failure types, rate of withdrawal from NIMV, frequencies of tracheostomy and intubation, bacteriologic examination of the airway samples, rate of discharge from hospital and any history of NIMV/USOT use at home were recorded. NIMV success was defined as the discharge of the patient from the hospital, with or without a respiratory support device. The primary end-point of the study was NIMV success, while the secondary end-point was NIMV success with respect to the underlying diagnosis and respiratory failure type. Results A total of 42 patients (38 males and 4 females) were included in the study, with a mean age of 67.4 ± 9.5 years. The rate of discharge from hospital was 71% across the entire study population, among which, 13 (31%) were discharged with USOT and 16 (38.1%) with NIMV. Among the 12 patients under palliative supportive treatment, 8 were discharged from the hospital. The success rates of NIMV in the respiratory failure aetiological subgroups were: 66% (12 patients) in the pneumonia subgroup and 71.4% (15 patients) in the COPD subgroup. The difference between these subgroups was not significant (P = .841). The success rate of NIMV in the hypercapnic and hypoxaemic respiratory failure subgroups was 72.7% (24 patients) and 66.6% (6 patients), respectively. There were no significant differences between the type of respiratory failure subgroups (P = .667). The success rate of NIMV was similar in patients with a positive airway sample microbiology (71.4%, n = 14) and those with no growth identified in the culture (70.3%, n = 28) (P = .834). Conclusion In lung cancer patients with no contraindication, NIMV can be used to reduce or postpone the need for ICU admission, independent of disease stage, cellular type and underlying cause.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of asbestos exposure on cancer-driver mutations. Methods: Between January 2014 and September 2018, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK), and c-ros oncogene 1 receptor tyrosine kinase gene (ROS1) alterations, demographic characteristics, asbestos exposure, and asbestos-related radiological findings of 1904 patients with lung adenocarcinoma were recorded. Results: The frequencies of EGFR mutations, ALK, and ROS1 rearrangements were 14.5%, 3.7%, and 0.9%, respectively. The rates of EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements were more frequent in asbestos exposed non-smokers (48.7% and 9%, respectively). EGFR mutation rate was correlated to female gender and not-smoking, ALK rearrangement rate was correlated to younger age, not-smoking, and a history of asbestos exposure. Conclusions: The higher rate of ALK rearrangements in asbestos-exposed lung adenocarcinoma cases shows that asbestos exposure may most likely cause genetic alterations that drive pulmonary adenocarcinogenesis.

If a patient's cancer progresses while undergoing targeted therapy, a re-biopsy is not mandatory. But when evaluating the benefits and risks on a case-by-case basis (transformation to small cell, assessing for a clinical trial), physicians should inform patients about the possible need for a re-biopsy (5). This was a retrospective and multicentre study. A total of 644 patients with lung adenocarcinoma were reviewed, 625 of whom were ruled eligible. From them, 399 were found to show disease progression, and 126 re-biopsies were performed. Progression status, re-biopsy sites, success of obtaining adequate tissue, molecular patterns after re-biopsy and subsequent treatments were analysed. Survival differences among patients with disease progression were then examined according to re-biopsy status. Overall, 625 patients with adenocarcinoma and a median age of 61.4 were evaluated. Initial tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) usage numbered 37 patients (5.9%). Progression was diagnosed in 399 (63.8%) patients, out of which 26 (31.6%) underwent re-biopsies. The successful number of re-biopsies was 103 (81.7%). No complications were observed after any of the biopsy procedures. Subsequent treatments were changed in 15 patients (11.9%), who began new TKI treatments. Poor performance status was the most common reason for not performing a biopsy (n = 65; 23.8%), followed by the physician's decision (n = 40; 14.6%). Re-biopsies can demonstrate the new characteristics of a tumour and can detect the activation of pre-existing clones, making possible new treatment opportunities for patients. According to the performance status of the patient and the availability of the progressive lesion, we should increase the rate of re-biopsies before the decision to follow up with the best supportive care.

Objectives Consolidation/tumour (C/T) ratio means the maximum diameter of the consolidation is divided by the maximum diameter of the tumour and it is predictive for pathologic subtypes and prognosis after resection of the tumour. The purpose of this study is to clarify impact of C/T ratio along with maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) in pathological stage I lung adenocarcinoma. Methods Only patients with pathological stage I lung adenocarcinoma diagnosed by resection were included. Prognostic impact of C/T ratio and SUVmax were analysed by using regression analyses. Results Totally 156 patients (121 males, 35 females) were evaluated retrospectively. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were higher in patients with C/T ratio >= 0.5 (OS: 46.3 +/- 23.7 vs 30.4 +/- 14.6, P = 0.002 and PFS: 43.0 +/- 25.4 vs 27.8 +/- 15.8, P = 0.005). But PFS and OS curves did not reveal any significant differences with Kaplan-Meier method (P = 0.45 and P = 0.055 respectively). Resection type (limited vs anatomic) and C/T ratio were predictors for OS in multivariate analyses (resection type: HR: 2.21 (1.01-4.83), P = 0.045 and C/T ratio: HR: 0.44 (0.20-0.98), P = 0.045). For PFS, resection type and SUVmax had prognostic significance (resection type: HR: 3.56 (1.64-7.74), P = 0.001 and SUVmax: HR: 1.31 (0.82-2.99), P = .002). Conclusion In pathological stage 1 lung adenocarcinomas, SUVmax and surgery type are important predictors for recurrence rates. For early stage, adenocarcinoma patients with high SUVmax value, tumour size >= 3 cm and high grade subtype, C/T ratio should not be considered significant alone on survival and recurrence.