Oncological outcomes of unsuspected pN2 in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Optimal treatment of stage IIIA (N2) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is controversial. Guidelines advise induction therapy before surgical resection. A proportion of patients with cN0 NSCLC are postoperatively upstaged due to unsuspected N2 disease. Survival of unsuspected N2 NSCLC treated with surgery varies and technical feasibility of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess prevalence and survival of unsuspected N2 NSCLC treated with thoracotomy or VATS. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed of all available literatures through Pubmed, Cochrane, EMBASE, Web of Science, Trials registries and System for Information on Grey Literature (SIGLE) from 2000 to 2019. Outcomes of interest were prevalence, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival of unsuspected N2 NSCLC. Secondary outcomes were number of harvested lymph nodes, postoperative complications and survival of unsuspected N2 NSCLC treated with VATS. RESULTS: Seventeen studies with patients with clinical stage N0-1 and unsuspected pN2 NSCLC were included. Prevalence of unsuspected pN2 was 8.6%. Three- and 5-year OS was 58% [95% confidence interval (CI) 37-78%) (N = 4337] and 35% (95% CI 28-43%) (N = 4337). Three- and 5-y ear disease-free survival was 48% (95% CI 30-66%) (N = 109) and 35% (95% CI 24-46%) (N = 517). VATS resulted in a low complication rate with similar 5-year OS as thoracotomy. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with cN0-1 NSCLC, a minority has unsuspected pN2 NSCLC. Even for these patients, 5-year OS and disease-free survival are reasonable. VATS with adequate lymph node dissection is the treatment of choice when in experienced hands. Adjuvant therapy should be provided in absence of relevant comorbidity.

Oncologic Outcomes of Surgery Versus SBRT for Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The optimal treatment of stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma is subject to debate. The aim of this study was to compare overall survival and oncologic outcomes of lobar resection (LR), sublobar resection (SR), and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of oncologic outcomes of propensity matched comparative and noncomparative cohort studies was performed. Outcomes of interest were overall survival and disease-free survival. The inverse variance method and the random-effects method for meta-analysis were utilized to assess the pooled estimates. RESULTS: A total of 100 studies with patients treated for clinical stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma were included. Long-term overall and disease-free survival after LR was superior over SBRT in all comparisons, and for most comparisons, SR was superior to SBRT. Noncomparative studies showed superior long-term overall and disease-free survival for both LR and SR over SBRT. Although the papers were heterogeneous and of low quality, results remained essentially the same throughout a large number of stratifications and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: Results of this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that LR has superior outcomes compared to SBRT for cI non-small-cell lung carcinoma. New trials are underway evaluating long-term results of SBRT in potentially operable patients.

Oncological Outcomes of Lobar Resection, Segmentectomy, and Wedge Resection for T1a Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The optimal treatment of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains subject to debate. Lobar resection is considered the standard of care, but sublobar resections are a lung parenchymal-sparing treatment offering promising results. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare oncological outcomes of lobar resections and parenchymal-sparing resections for T1a NSCLC. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge Search, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for studies reporting oncological outcomes following lobar or parenchymal-sparing resections. Two researchers independently identified studies and extracted data. Oncological outcomes were compared for each surgical modality using the Mantel-Haenszel method, and outcomes were pooled for each modality using the inverse variance method. A total of 11,195 studies were identified and 28 articles were included. For pT1a tumors, there was no difference in 5-year overall survival when lobar resection (n = 15,003) was compared to parenchymal-sparing resection (n = 1224), with a relative risk of 0.92 (95% confidence interval: 0.84-1.01). Five-year overall survival and disease-free survival after segmentectomy yielded equal survival compared to lobar resection in directly comparing studies and point estimates of noncomparative studies. In most comparisons, wedge resection showed comparable results to lobar resections and segmentectomy. Subanalysis of intentional parenchymal-sparing surgery showed favorable results. This study shows that parenchymal-sparing surgery yields equivocal survival compared to lobar surgery for stage T1a NSCLC. However, a drawback in implementing parenchymal-sparing resection for lobectomy-tolerable patients is the risk of nodal upstaging.

Survival After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Clinically Diagnosed or Biopsy-Proven Early-Stage NSCLC: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a promising curative treatment for early-stage NSCLC. It is unclear if survival outcomes for SBRT are influenced by a lack of pathological confirmation of malignancy and staging of disease in these patients. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we assess survival outcomes after SBRT in studies with patients with clinically diagnosed versus biopsy-proven early-stage NSCLC. METHODS: The main databases were searched for trials and cohort studies without restrictions to publication status or language. Two independent researchers performed the screening and selection of eligible studies. Outcomes were overall survival, cancer-specific survival, and disease-free survival. The inverse variance method and the random effects method for meta-analysis were used to assess pooled survival estimates. RESULTS: A total of 11,195 nonduplicate records were identified by the original search strategy. After screening by title and abstract, 1051 potentially eligible records were identified. A total of 43 articles were included. The comparative studies showed lower 3-year overall survival and lower 2-year and 5-year cancer-specific survival for biopsy-proven disease compared to clinical disease. However, 5-year overall survival was the same for both groups. For the pooled estimates, 3-year disease-free survival and 2-year cancer-specific survival were lower for biopsied disease. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this systematic review and meta-analysis show a discrepancy in oncological outcomes for patients undergoing SBRT for suspected early-stage NSCLC in whom there is pathologic conformation of malignancy and those who there is only a clinical diagnose of NSCLC. These results emphasize the importance of obtaining pathologic proof of malignancy.

A pilot study to identify clinical predictors for wrist fractures in adult patients with acute wrist injury.

BACKGROUND: To date, no clinical decision rules for acute wrist injuries are available. In the past, clinical decision rules for the knee, ankle and spine injuries have been developed and validated. Implementation of these rules resulted in standardised clinical assessment at the emergency department and a substantial reduction of radiographic diagnostics. The objective of the study was to identify predictors for wrist fractures in patients with acute wrist injury which might potentiate a clinical decision rule in the future. This is a prospective pilot study in adult patients presenting with acute wrist injury at the emergency department of the Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital in the Netherlands. METHODS: Clinical variables were collected in a case report file by emergency physicians. Radiography was ordered according to common practice to confirm or rule out the presence of fractures. Independent associations between the presence of clinical variables and wrist fractures were calculated. Multivariable analysis was performed in order to quantify sensitivity and specificity for fracture prediction. RESULTS: A total of 63 wrist fractures were detected in the study population of 95. Age over 55 years, inability to carry weight directly after trauma, support of injured wrist by the contralateral hand for pain relief, presence of swelling and/or hematoma, visible wrist deformity and reduced range of motion were associated with the presence of a wrist fracture. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified clinical predictors for wrist fractures in patients with acute wrist injury. Future studies are needed for justification of evidence-based wrist assessment and identification of a 100% sensitive decision rule for wrist fractures.

Resection of a bony tumour of the chest wall with direct reconstruction using a sandwich technique: a standard technique for closure of large chest wall defects.

Bony tumours of the chest wall are rare and radical surgical resection forms the cornerstone of treatment. Closure of the defect following radical resection can be challenging. We report the case of a 59-year-old woman with a large tumour of the thoracic wall, which was surgically resected with direct reconstruction using a sandwich technique with a Palacos(®) patch placed in a double-layer Marlex mesh. Pathological examination showed a fibrous dysplasia of the rib. The patient had a good functional and cosmetic result.