Asbestos history and use.

All six fiber types called asbestos can cause all the diseases related to exposure, including lung cancer. Known to the ancients, the modern history of asbestos hazards started in the 1890s with more and more data accumulating over time. Use increased exponentially in the middle of the 20th century with major use coming in construction and ship building. The recognition of asbestos as causing lung cancer dates to the early 1940s.

Epidemiology and prognosis in young lung cancer patients aged under 45 years old in northern China.

To explore the epidemiological characteristics and prognosis of lung cancer in patients aged under 45 years old in northern China. The population-based database about lung cancer cases aged under 45y selected form the Hebei Provincial Cancer Registry Center from 2010-2015. Mortality data of young death from 1973 to 1975, 1990 to 1992, and 2004 to 2005 were extracted from the national retrospective survey of death. Mortality rates were calculated by the mortality database above in this analysis. Consecutive, 954 non-selected younger patients (< 45 years) and 2261 selected older patients (≥ 45 years) with pathologically diagnosed lung cancer treated at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University were included as the hospital-based database. Epidemiological, treatment outcomes and prognosis status from 2010 to 2017 were documented. A comparison with younger and older patients was also made. Multivariate analysis with young lung cancer patients was calculated by Cox regression model. The younger lung cancer mortality rate tended to slightly increase in Hebei Province, from 1.04 per100 000 in 1973 to 2.01 per 100 000 in 2015, but the PDR tended to decrease over the last 40 years. There were 954 younger and 2261 older lung cancer patients included in the hospital-based database. The proportions of patients who were female (50.84% vs 34.85%), family history of cancer (12.37% vs 6.32%), advanced stage at diagnosis (65.46% vs 60.77%) and adenocarcinoma (65.27% vs 61.11%) were relatively higher in the younger group than in the older group. The median OS were 23.0 months and 27.0 months between younger and older, the OS difference existed between the two groups (P = 0.001). In the younger patients, Cox regression showed that a family history of cancer, symptoms at diagnosis, pathology, stage at diagnosis and surgery were confirmed as independent factors affecting the prognosis. Mortality rates among younger lung cancer patients showed an increasing trend in northern China. The younger account for small but have unique characteristics, with higher proportions of female, family history of cancer, adenocarcinoma and advanced stages than the older group and had a trend of worse OS.

DNA-Binding Anticancer Drugs: One Target, Two Actions.

Amsacrine, an anticancer drug first synthesised in 1970 by Professor Cain and colleagues, showed excellent preclinical activity and underwent clinical trial in 1978 under the auspices of the US National Cancer Institute, showing activity against acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In 1984, the enzyme DNA topoisomerase II was identified as a molecular target for amsacrine, acting to poison this enzyme and to induce DNA double-strand breaks. One of the main challenges in the 1980s was to determine whether amsacrine analogues could be developed with activity against solid tumours. A multidisciplinary team was assembled in Auckland, and Professor Denny played a leading role in this approach. Among a large number of drugs developed in the programme, N-[2-(dimethylamino)-ethyl]-acridine-4-carboxamide (DACA), first synthesised by Professor Denny, showed excellent activity against a mouse lung adenocarcinoma. It underwent clinical trial, but dose escalation was prevented by ion channel toxicity. Subsequent work led to the DACA derivative SN 28049, which had increased potency and reduced ion channel toxicity. Mode of action studies suggested that both amsacrine and DACA target the enzyme DNA topoisomerase II but with a different balance of cellular consequences. As primarily a topoisomerase II poison, amsacrine acts to turn the enzyme into a DNA-damaging agent. As primarily topoisomerase II catalytic inhibitors, DACA and SN 28049 act to inhibit the segregation of daughter chromatids during anaphase. The balance between these two actions, one cell cycle phase specific and the other nonspecific, together with pharmacokinetic, cytokinetic and immunogenic considerations, provides links between the actions of acridine derivatives and anthracyclines such as doxorubicin. They also provide insights into the action of cytotoxic DNA-binding drugs.

History of Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) Lung Cancer Study Group.

The Japan Clinical Oncology Group Lung Cancer Study Group has been carrying out clinical studies, exploring new strategies of treatment, supportive therapies (antiemetics, etc.), etc., for a variety of cancers, including not only small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer but also rare chest tumours (represented by thymoma) and cancer-associated conditions (cancerous pericarditis, cancerous pleuritis, etc.). In this review, an overview of all studies conducted from 1985 to 2019 is provided.

The Past, Present and Future of Pulmonary Metastasectomy: A Review Article.

Pulmonary metastases are a sign of advanced malignancy and an omen of poor prognosis. Once primary tumors metastasize, they become notoriously difficult to treat and interdisciplinary management often involves a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Over the last 25 years, the emerging body of evidence has recognized the curative potential of pulmonary metastasectomy. Surgical resection of pulmonary metastases is now commonly considered for patients with controlled primary disease, absence of widely disseminated extrapulmonary disease, completely resectable lung metastases, sufficient cardiopulmonary reserve, and lack of a better alternative systemic therapy. Since the development of these selection criteria, other prognostic factors have been proposed to better predict survival and optimize the selection of surgical candidates. Disease-free interval (DFI), completeness of resection, surgical approach, number and laterality of lung metastases, and lymph node metastases all play a dynamic role in determining patient outcomes. There is a definite need to continue reviewing these prognosticators to identify patients who will benefit most from pulmonary metastasectomy and those who should avoid unnecessary loss of lung parenchyma. This literature review aims to explore and synthesize the last 25 years of evidence on the long-term survival, prognostic factors, and patient selection process for pulmonary metastasectomy.

Lung cancer mortality in Australia in the twenty-first century: How many lives can be saved with effective tobacco control?

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the number of past and future lung cancer deaths that have already been averted by tobacco control initiatives in Australia, and to estimate the number of additional deaths averted under various smoking scenarios. METHODS: We predicted lung cancer mortality rates and case numbers to 2100 using a previously validated generalized linear model based on age, birth cohort and population cigarette smoking exposure. We estimated the impact of various tobacco control scenarios: 'actual tobacco control' (incorporating the aggregate effect of past and current taxation, plain packaging, mass media campaigns and other initiatives) and scenarios where 10%, 5% and 0% smoking prevalence was achieved by 2025, all of which were compared to a counterfactual scenario with the highest historical smoking consumption level continuing into the future as if no tobacco control initiatives had been implemented. RESULTS: Without tobacco control, there would have been an estimated 392,116 lung cancer deaths over the period 1956-2015; of these 20% (78,925 deaths; 75,839 males, 3086 females) have been averted due to tobacco control. However, if past and current measures continue to have the expected effect, an estimated 1.9 million deaths (1,579,515 males, 320,856 females; 67% of future lung cancer deaths) will be averted in 2016-2100. If smoking prevalence is reduced to 10%, 5% or 0% by 2025, an additional 97,432, 208,714 or 360,557 deaths could be averted from 2016 to 2100, respectively. CONCLUSION: Tobacco control in Australia has had a dramatic impact on the number of people dying from lung cancer. Several hundred thousand more lung cancer deaths could be averted over the course of the century if close-to-zero smoking prevalence could be achieved in the next decade.

Disparities in the Treatment and Outcome of Stage I Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in the 21st Century.

BACKGROUND: African American (AA) individuals are less likely to receive treatment and more likely to die from cancer compared with Caucasian (C) individuals. Recent advancements in surgery and radiation have improved outcomes in early stage non-small-cell lung cancer (ESNSCLC). We studied racial disparities in ESNSCLC in the past decade. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to retrieve data of 62,312 ESNSCLC patients age 60 years and older diagnosed between 2004 and 2012. Patients were divided into racial cohorts: C, AA, American Indian (AI), Asian/Pacific Islander (API), or unknown. Demographics characteristics, therapy, and survival were compared using χ2 test, Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox multivariate analysis. RESULTS: AA and AI individuals were less likely to receive surgery than typical ESNSCLC patients (55.9% and 57.6% vs. 66.7%; P < .0001). Two-year overall survival (OS) for C individuals was 70%, for AA 65%, AI 60%, and API 76% (P < .0001). Two-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) for C individuals was 79%, AA 76%, AI 73%, and API 84% (P < .0001). Median CSS for AI and AA individuals was less than that of typical ESNSCLC patients (49 and 80 months vs. 107 months; P < .0001). This difference disappeared in multivariate analysis, accounted by sex, age, treatment, histology, and T stage (all P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Despite treatment advancements in the past decade, AA and AI individuals continue to have worse OS and CSS from ESNSCLC. This might be because of the association with more adverse risk factors, including older age, squamous histology, male sex, T2 stage, and tendency to forgo treatment.

Clinical characteristics and medical service utilization of lung cancer in China, 2005-2014: Overall design and results from a multicenter retrospective epidemiologic survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the clinical profile and its trajectory of lung cancer on clinicopathological characteristics and medical service utilization in China. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with primary lung cancer in tertiary hospitals during 2005-14 were selected from seven geographic regions of China. Data on clinical characteristics and medical service utilization was extracted from medical record, and the ten-year trends were explored. RESULTS: A total of 7184 patients were included, the mean age was 58.3 years and the male-to-female-ratio was 2.7. From 2005 to 2014, the proportion of ≥60 year-old patients increased from 41.2% to 56.2% (p < 0.001). The smoking rate decreased from 62.9% to 51.1% (p < 0.001) and the proportion of females increased from 23.5% to 31.9% (p < 0.001). The proportion of advanced stage increased from 41.9% to 47.4% (p < 0.001). Adenocarcinoma's proportion increased from 36.4% to 53.5% (p < 0.001) while that of squamous carcinoma decreased from 45.4% to 34.4% (p < 0.001). The application of chest X-ray dropped from 50.2% to 31.0% (p < 0.001) but that of chest CT increased from 65.8% to 81.4% (p < 0.001). As two main treatment options, chemotherapy (p = 0.290) and surgery (p = 0.497) remained stable. The medical expenditure per patient increased from 40,508 to 66,020 Chinese Yuan (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The sustaining high smoking exposure, increasing proportion of female patients, advancing clinical stage, shifting of predominant pathology and increasing medical expenditure demonstrate potential challenges and directions on lung cancer prevention and control in China. Despite substantial changes of clinical characteristics, main treatment options remained unchanged, which needs further investigation.

Fundamentals of Standard Sleeve Resection.

Standard sleeve resection refers to the circumferential removal of a segment of the main bronchus in continuity with a lobectomy in order to avoid pneumonectomy. By doing so, surgery can be carried out in patients with compromised pulmonary function while also benefiting those with more normal function. It is most often indicated for malignant tumors located at the origin of the right upper lobe bronchus. Operative mortality is low and in the range of 2% to 3%, and quality of life and long-term survival are better than what is observed after pneumonectomy.

Frequency and clinicopathological features of metastasis to liver, lung, bone, and brain from gastric cancer: A SEER-based study.

The hematogenous metastatic pattern of gastric cancer (GC) was not fully explored. Here we analyzed the frequency and clinicopathological features of metastasis to liver, lung, bone, and brain from GC patients. Data queried for this analysis included GC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database from 2010 to 2014. All of statistical analyses were performed using the Intercooled Stata 13.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX). All statistical tests were two-sided. Totally, there were 19 022 eligible patients for analysis. At the time of diagnosis, there were 7792 patients at stage IV, including 3218 (41.30%) patients with liver metastasis, 1126 (14.45%) with lung metastasis, 966 (12.40%) with bone metastasis and 151 (1.94%) with brain metastasis. GC patients with lung or liver metastasis have a higher risk of bone and brain metastasis than those without lung nor liver metastasis. Intestinal subtype had significantly higher rate of liver and lung metastasis, while diffuse type was more likely to have bone metastasis. Proximal stomach had significantly higher risk to develop metastasis than distal stomach. African-Americans had the highest risk of liver metastasis and Caucasian had the highest prone to develop lung and brain metastasis. The median survival for patients with liver, lung, bone, and brain metastasis was 4 months, 3 months, 4 months and 3 months, respectively. It is important to evaluate the status of bone and brain metastasis in GC patients with lung or liver metastasis. Knowledge of metastatic patterns is helpful for clinicians to design personalized pretreatment imaging evaluation for GC patients.

International trends in lung cancer incidence from 1973 to 2007.

Lung cancer is the commonly diagnosed cancer and one of the most important avoidable causes of death around the world. We conducted the study to investigate the pattern of lung cancer incidence worldwide. Joinpoint analysis was used to extend international lung cancer incidence rates by the latest data from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents over the 35-year period 1973-2007 from 24 populations from Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) of lung cancer were from 33.3 to 66.8 per 100,000 among males and 10.5 to 37.4 per 100,000 among females in most of Americas, Europe, and Oceania populations during the period 2003-2007. In Asia, ASRs in China (Hong Kong) were the highest, up to 53.3 per 100,000 in males and 21.9 per 100,000 in females during the period 2003-2007. The international trends between 1973 and 2007 showed that ASRs of lung cancer among males were declining in 13 of 18 selected Americas, Oceania, and Europe populations, with AAPC from -0.7% to -2.9%, whereas the rates among females in 18 selected populations were increasing, with AAPC from 1.3% to 5.0%. The increasing and decreasing trends of ASRs of lung cancer in Asia have a geographic variation but no gender differences. Although the decreasing trends in ASRs of lung cancer for males were observed, the ASRs were higher than females. The declining trends in males were mainly attributed to tobacco control, whereas the increasing trends in females should be given more concern and need to be further studied in etiology factors.

Experimental asbestos studies in the UK: 1912-1950.

The asbestos industry originated in the UK in the 1870s. By 1898, asbestos had many applications and was reported to be one of the four leading causes of severe occupational disease. In 1912, the UK government sponsored an experimental study that reported that exposure to asbestos produced no more than a modicum of pulmonary fibrosis in guinea pigs. In the 1930s, the newly established Medical Research Council, with assistance from industry, sponsored a study of the effects of exposing animals to asbestos by injection (intratracheal and subcutaneous) and by inhalation in the factory environment. Government reports, publications, and contemporary records obtained by legal discovery have been reviewed in the context of the stage of scientific development and the history of the times. Experimenters were engaged in a learning process during the 1912-1950 period, and their reports of the effects of asbestos were inconsistent. Pathologists who studied the effects of asbestos experimentally, at whole animal, tissue and cellular levels, advanced experimental methodology and mechanistic knowledge. In the hands of public relations experts, however, research was exploited to preserve an industry and perpetuate preventable diseases, a practice that continues to this day.

Effect of socioeconomic status on stage at diagnosis of lung cancer in a hospital-based multicenter retrospective clinical epidemiological study in China, 2005-2014.

There is inconsistent evidence of associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and lung cancer stage in non-Chinese populations up to now. We set out to determine how SES affects stage at diagnosis at both individual and area levels, from a hospital-based multicenter 10-year (2005-2014) retrospective clinical epidemiological study of 7184 primary lung cancer patients in mainland China. Individual-level SES data were measured based on two indicators from case report forms of the study: an individual's education and occupation. Seven census indicator variables were used as surrogates for the area-level SES with principal component analysis (PCA). Multivariate analysis was undertaken using binary logistic regressions and multinomial logit model to describe the association and explore the effect across tertiles on stage after adjusting for demographic variables. There was a significant stepwise gradient of effect across different stages in the highest tertile of area-level SES, comparing with the lowest tertile of area-level SES (ORs, 0.77, 0.67, and 0.29 for stage II, III, and IV). Patients with higher education were less likely to have stage IV lung cancer, comparing with the illiterate group (ORs, 0.52, 0.63, 0.71, 0.64 for primary school, middle school, high school, college degree or above subgroup, respectively). Findings suggest that the most socioeconomically deprived areas may be associated with a higher risk of advanced-stage lung cancer, and increasing educational level may be correlated with a lower risk to be diagnosed at advanced stage in both men and women.

Lung cancer incidence trends in California by race/ethnicity, histology, sex, and neighborhood socioeconomic status: An analysis spanning 28 years.

OBJECTIVES: Lung cancer incidence trends by histology, sex, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) have not been previously reported. We conducted a population-based study of lung cancer incidence over three peri-censal periods: 1988-1992, 1998-2002, and 2008-2012. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We abstracted lung cancer cases from the California Cancer Registry and used US Census and American Community Survey data to develop multidimensional nSES indices for each census period. We calculated nSES tertile-specific incidence rates and rate ratios for each peri-censal period and used incidence rate ratios (IRR) to assess changes in rates from 1988 to 1992 to 1998-2002 and 2008-2012. RESULTS: There were a total of 231,205 lung cancer cases. Males: Among males, incidence rates of lung cancer decreased over time, all race/ethnicities, and all nSES tertiles, with larger declines among males in higher nSES areas. Rates either declined or were stable for adenocarcinoma, with larger declines for other histologic subtypes. Females: Among females, declines in incidence rates of lung cancer were more pronounced for females in higher nSES areas, but diverged more so than for males, with variations by histology and race/ethnicity. Incidence rates of adenocarcinoma increased over time among all females, with greater increase among females in low nSES areas. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate differences in incidence trends over three decades by histology, gender, race/ethnicity, and nSES. While incidence rates consistently declined over time for males, there were greater declines in incidence for high nSES populations. In contrast, among females, there was evidence of increases in lung cancer incidence among low SES API females, and for adenocarcinoma.

Trends in treatment and relative survival among Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patients in the Netherlands (1990-2014): Disparities between younger and older patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to describe trends over time regarding disparities in treatment and relative survival (RS) between younger and older patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: All patients diagnosed with pathologically verified NSCLC in 1990-2014 were included from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (n=187,315). Treatment and RS (adjusted for sex, histology and treatment) were analyzed according to age group (<70 years versus ≥70 years), stage and five-year period of diagnosis. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2014, five-year RS increased from 17 to 22% among younger patients and from 12 to 16% among elderly. The application of surgery increased over time for elderly with stage I NSCLC, decreased for elderly with stage II, and was stable but higher for younger patients. Disparities in RS between age groups with stage I became smaller since 2000-2004, but did not change over time for stage II. For stage III and IV, both age groups showed strong increases over time in chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy from 2000 onwards, although considerably less among elderly. One-, three- and five-year RS increased more strongly over time for the younger group leading to larger disparities between age groups with stage III or IV NSCLC. CONCLUSION: More curative-intent treatment and improved RS for NSCLC were seen over time, but were less profound among elderly. Disparities herein between age groups seemed to become smaller over time for stage I NSCLC, did not change for stage II, and were widening for stage III and IV at the expense of elderly. Future prospective studies should focus on optimizing treatment selection and outcomes for elderly.