Prevention of systemic toxicity in hyperthermic isolated lung perfusion using radioisotopic leakage monitoring.

RATIONALE: Hyperthermic isolated lung Perfusion (ILuP) is used to deliver high-dose chemotherapy to pulmonary metastases while sparing systemic toxicity. Accurate leakage monitoring is however necessary. This study aimed to verify the accuracy of radionuclide leakage monitoring in patients undergoing ILuP, by comparing this method with serial blood sampling. METHODS: A total of 15 consecutive ILuP procedures were performed on eleven patients affected by lung metastases from soft tissue sarcoma. After establishing isolated perfusion, erythrocytes of systemic blood (SB) were labelled with 0.2 MBq/kg of 99mTc. The baseline SB counting rate (CR) was assessed using a γ-probe. Subsequently, erythrocytes of the circuit blood (CB) were labelled with 2 Mbq/kg of 99mTc. Radioactivity leakage factor (RLF) was continuously measured using a formula, accounting for CR, systemic/circuit activity ratio and total/systemic volume ratio. The TNF-α concentration in SB and CB was measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) throughout the procedure. RESULTS: RLF averaged 2.3 ± 1.5%, while the systemic/circuit TNF-α ratio was 0.05 ± 0.12%. These two indices were strictly correlated in all of the procedures (average Rvalue 0.88 ± 0.07). RLF exceeded 5% during three of 15 procedures, prompting the application of compensatory manoeuvres. ELISA confirmed a marked increase in systemic TNF-α levels in these patients (2.6 ± 3.5 ng/ml). Conversely, patients whose RLF did not exceed the 5% threshold presented a mean TNF-α of 0.02 ± 0.005 ng/ml (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In patients submitted to ILuP, RLF monitoring is feasible and accurate. Moreover, it grants immediate results, permitting for the adoption of corrective manoeuvres for leakage, thus minimising toxicity.

Is there a subset of patients with preoperatively diagnosed N2 non-small cell lung cancer who might benefit from surgical resection?

OBJECTIVE: The role of surgery in the treatment of preoperatively diagnosed N2 non-small cell lung cancer remains controversial. This study sought significant prognostic factors to select candidates for surgery and assess prognosis. METHODS: The study population included 277 patients who underwent primary resection (192) or induction chemotherapy followed by surgery (85) for preoperatively diagnosed, potentially resectable N2 non-small cell lung cancer. N2 descriptors were prospectively recorded. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate survival, and statistical significance of differences between curves was assessed by log-rank test. Cox regression was used for multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Preoperative significant prognostic factors were number of mediastinal node levels involved (P < .001), symptom severity (P = .013), clinical T (P = .041), and induction chemotherapy (P = .001). Three groups with different prognoses were based on individual prognostic score. The group that did best had a median survival of 29.6 months. Postoperative predictors of survival were pathologic T (P = .003), tumor residue (P = .034), and number of mediastinal nodes involved (P < .001). Of 3 groups with different prognoses, the most favorable had a median survival as long as 42 months. CONCLUSION: This study provides a practical tool that uses significant prognostic factors to predict which patients with preoperatively diagnosed N2 non-small cell lung cancer have better prognoses. Because patients with the favorable prognostic factors showed good long-term survival and excellent local disease control, surgery should still play an important role in the multimodality treatment of these patients.

Twelve-year experience with left atrial resection in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: We retrospectively reviewed our 12-year experience in the surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer invading the left atrium. End points of the study were overall survival and factors potentially affecting survival. METHODS: Nineteen consecutive patients with lung cancer invading the left atrium underwent surgery. Three patients with N2 disease underwent induction chemotherapy. Patients with either incomplete resections or pN2 disease received postoperative chemoradiotherapy. RESULTS: Five-year survival was 14%, and the median survival time was 25 months. These figures refer to a very homogeneous group of patients with respect to the extent of atrial infiltration. Patients with N2 disease tended to have a worse outcome than patients with N0 or N1 disease (p = 0.06). The 3 patients with N2 disease who underwent induction chemotherapy were alive and disease-free at 30, 15, and 11 months from surgery. Survival was not affected by histology, type of surgery, or completeness of resection. Three patients with residual cancer in the atrial resection margin underwent postoperative chemoradiotherapy and are alive at 25, 17, and 15 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the poor survival rates we report, the present experience suggests that more-favorable results could be expected by the routine preoperative use of positron emission tomographic scan staging, a more-extensive assessment of atrial invasion, the application of induction chemotherapy in patients with N2 disease, and postoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients with tumors abutting the atrial resection margin.

Mediastinal chondrosarcoma.

The authors report a rare case of primary chondrosarcoma of the anterior mediastinum showing unusual pathological and clinical features, namely 1) the lack of any anatomical relationship between the tumor and cartilage-containing organs, and 2) an indolent behavior with long-term survival. In spite of early disease recurrence and repeated surgery, the patient is in good health five years after primary surgery. The reported case suggests that 1) primary chondrosarcomas of the anterior mediastinum may have a better prognosis than previously recognized, 2) the disease can remain confined within the chest for as long as five years, and 3) repeated surgery may contribute to long-term survival.