Therapeutic bronchoscopy for malignant central airway obstructions caused by non-bronchogenic cancers: Results from the EpiGETIF registry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Little is known about malignant central airway obstruction (MCAO) complicating the metastatic spread of non-bronchogenic solid cancers (NBC) and their bronchoscopic management. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of this population and determine prognostic factors before therapeutic bronchoscopy (TB). METHODS: In this multicenter study using the EpiGETIF registry, we analysed patients treated with TB for MCAO caused by NBC between January 2019 and December 2022. RESULTS: From a database of 2389 patients, 436 patients (18%) with MCAO and NBC were identified. After excluding patients with direct local invasion, 214 patients (8.9%) were analysed. The main primaries involved were kidney (17.8%), colon (16.4%), sarcoma (15.4%), thyroid (8.9%) and head and neck (7.9%) cancers. Most patients (63.8%) had already received one or more lines of systemic treatment. Obstructions were purely intrinsic in 58.2%, extrinsic in 11.1% and mixed in 30.8%. Mechanical debulking was used in 73.4% of cases, combined with thermal techniques in 25.6% of cases. Airway stenting was required in 38.4% of patients. Median survival after TB was 11.2 months, influenced by histology (p = 0.002), performance status (p = 0.019), initial hypoxia (HR 1.45 [1.01-2.18]), prior oncologic treatment received (HR 1.82 [1.28-2.56], p < 0.001) and assessment of success at the end of the procedure (HR 0.66 [0.44-0.99], p < 0.001). Complications rate was 8.8%, mostly mild, with no procedure-related mortality. CONCLUSION: TB for MCAO caused by a NBC metastasis provides rapid improvement of symptoms and prolonged survival. Patients should be promptly referred by medical oncologists for bronchoscopic management based on the prognostic factors identified.

Therapeutic bronchoscopy for malignant central airway obstruction: Introduction to the EpiGETIF registry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: EpiGETIF is a web-based, multicentre clinical database created in 2019 aiming for prospective collection of data regarding therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy (TB) for malignant central airway obstruction (MCAO). METHODS: Patients were enrolled into the registry from January 2019 to November 2022. Data were prospectively entered through a web-interface, using standardized definitions for each item. The objective of this first extraction of data was to describe the population and the techniques used among the included centres to target, facilitate and encourage further studies in TB. RESULTS: Overall, 2118 patients from 36 centres were included. Patients were on average 63.7 years old, mostly male and smokers. Most patients had a WHO score ≤2 (70.2%) and 39.6% required preoperative oxygen support, including mechanical ventilation in 6.7%. 62.4% had an already known histologic diagnosis but only 46.3% had received any oncologic treatment. Most tumours were bronchogenic (60.6%), causing mainly intrinsic or mixed obstruction (43.3% and 41.5%, respectively). Mechanical debulking was the most frequent technique (67.3%), while laser (9.8%) and cryo-recanalization (2.7%) use depended on local expertise. Stenting was required in 54.7%, silicone being the main type of stent used (55.3%). 96.3% of procedure results were considered at least partially successful, resulting in a mean 4.1 points decrease on the Borg scale of dyspnoea. Complications were noted in 10.9%. CONCLUSION: This study exposes a high volume of TB that could represent a good source of future studies given the dismal amount of data about the effects of TB in certain populations and situations.

Novel therapies for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer that is typically associated with exposure to asbestos. Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma have poor outcomes with suboptimal therapeutic options and currently no treatment is curative. The standard frontline treatment, cisplatin plus pemetrexed chemotherapy, has only short and insufficient efficacy, and no validated treatment beyond first-line therapy is available. New therapeutic strategies are therefore needed. The addition of bevacizumab (an anti-VEGF antibody) combined with cisplatin plus pemetrexed has shown some promise. However, immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors, has generated a lot of excitement because of data suggesting the potential value of immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients who have failed chemotherapy. In this Review, we describe immune checkpoint inhibitors, other immunotherapies, targeted therapies, or combinations of novel drugs being investigated in malignant pleural mesothelioma, as well as the issues surrounding the selection of the best candidates for these treatments.

Factors predicting prolonged empirical antifungal treatment in critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence, risk factors, and impact on outcome of prolonged empirical antifungal treatment in ICU patients. METHODS: Retrospective observational study performed during a one-year period. Patients who stayed in the ICU >48 h, and received empirical antifungal treatment were included. Patients with confirmed invasive fungal disease were excluded. Prolonged antifungal treatment was defined as percentage of days in the ICU with antifungals > median percentage in the whole cohort of patients. RESULTS: Among the 560 patients hospitalized for >48 h, 153 (27%) patients received empirical antifungal treatment and were included in this study. Fluconazole was the most frequently used antifungal (46% of study patients). Median length of ICU stay was 19 days (IQR 8, 34), median duration of antifungal treatment was 8 days (IQR 3, 16), and median percentage of days in the ICU with antifungals was 48% (IQR 25, 80). Seventy-seven patients (50%) received prolonged empirical antifungal treatment. Chemotherapy (OR [95% CI] 2.6 [1.07-6.69], p = 0.034), and suspected infection at ICU admission (3.1 [1.05-9.48], p = 0.041) were independently associated with prolonged empirical antifungal treatment. Duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay were significantly shorter in patients with prolonged empirical antifungal treatment compared with those with no prolonged empirical antifungal treatment. However, ICU mortality was similar in the two groups (46 versus 52%, p = 0.62). CONCLUSION: Empirical antifungal treatment was prescribed in a large proportion of study patients. Chemotherapy, and suspicion of infection at ICU admission are independently associated with prolonged empirical antifungal treatment.

Perfusion CT allows prediction of therapy response in non-small cell lung cancer treated with conventional and anti-angiogenic chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether CT can depict early perfusion changes in lung cancer treated by anti-angiogenic drugs, allowing prediction of response. METHODS: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer, treated by conventional chemotherapy with (Group 1; n = 17) or without (Group 2; n = 23) anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drug (bevacizumab) underwent CT perfusion before (TIME 0) and after 1 (TIME 1), 3 (TIME 2) and 6 (TIME 3) cycles of chemotherapy. The CT parameters evaluated included: (1) total tumour vascular volume (TVV) and total tumour extravascular flow (TEF); (2) RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours) measurements. Tumour response was also assessed on the basis of the clinicians' overall evaluation. RESULTS: In Group 1, significant reduction in perfusion was identified between baseline and: (1) TIME 1 (TVV, P = 0.0395; TEF, P = 0.015); (2) TIME 2 (TVV, P = 0.0043; TEF, P < 0.0001); (3) TIME 3 (TVV, P = 0.0034; TEF, P = 0.0005) without any significant change in Group 2. In Group 1: (1) the reduction in TVV at TIME 1 was significantly higher in responders versus non-responders at TIME 2 according to RECIST (P = 0.0128) and overall clinicians' evaluation (P = 0.0079); (2) all responders at TIME 2 had a concurrent decrease in TVV and TEF at TIME 1. CONCLUSION: Perfusion CT demonstrates early changes in lung cancer vascularity under anti-angiogenic chemotherapy that may help predict therapeutic response. KEY POINTS: • Perfusion CT has the potential of providing in vivo information about tumour vasculature. • CT depicts early and specific perfusion changes in NSCLC under anti-angiogenic drugs. • Specific therapeutic effects of anti-angiogenic drugs can be detected before tumour shrinkage. • Early perfusion changes can help predict therapeutic response to anti-angiogenic treatment. • Perfusion CT could be a non-invasive tool to monitor anti-angiogenic treatment.

Endobronchial valves: 1st Multicenter retrospective study on the 2-step approach.

BACKGROUND: Although the endobronchial valves (EBV) were successfully developed as treatment for severe emphysema, its main complication, pneumothorax, remained an important concern. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the placement of Zephyr© endobronchial valves throughout 2 procedures instead of 1 minor the frequency of pneumothorax without lowering the benefits of such treatment. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in 15 pulmonology department in France. All the patients met the inclusion criteria of the recommendation set by the expert panel on the Endoscopic Lung Volume Reduction (ELVR) updated in 2019. As recommended, all the scan were analyzed with the StratX© (PulmonX Corporation, Redwood city, CA) protocol, and completed by a Chartis© (PulmonX Corporation, Redwood city, CA) in case of questionable fissure. During the first procedure, all but the most proximal sub-segment of the targeted lobe were occluded. One month after, EBV were placed in the bronchus of the last subsegment. All patients were evaluated before and 3 months after the second procedure. RESULTS: Between March 2019 and December 2020, 96 patients received EBV treatment. 12 patients (12.5%) presented a pneumothorax (3 after the 1st step and 9 after the 2nd procedure). Beside pneumothorax, the main adverse event was exacerbation (10.4%) and pneumonia (4.1%). No death were reported. Significant improvement were found for FEV1 (14.6 ± 25.3%), RV (- 0.69 ± 2.1 L), 6MWT (34.8 ± 45.9 m), BODE Score (-1.41 ± 1.41pts), and mMRC scale (-0.85 ± 0.7pts). These results are compared not only to the results previously published using the usual approach but also to our previous publication evaluating the 2-step approach. Some patients presented authentic segmental atelectasis despite infralobar treatment. CONCLUSION: Placing EBV during 2 procedures instead of one led to a significant decrease of post treatment pneumothoraces without increasing the rate of other complications. It does not seem to alter the benefits of such therapy for severe emphysema. These results must be confirmed by launching a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled study to compare the frequency of pneumothorax and the efficacy of this new approach with the usual one-time procedure.

Accuracy of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in HIV-infected patients with thoracic lymphadenopathy in a tuberculosis low-burden area.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is an innovative technique to explore hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. We aimed to assess its diagnostic accuracy in HIV-infected patients in a tuberculosis low-burden area. A retrospective review was performed of all HIV-infected patients with thoracic lymphadenopathy referred for EBUS-TBNA between January 2012 and January 2019 in 3 Northern French Hospitals. A total of 15 patients was included during the study period. Our patients were predominantly male (80%), with a mean age of 50 ± 11 years. Six patients (43%) had a CD4 cells count of less than 200/mm3. Eleven patients (73%) were receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 7 (47%) reached undetectable viral load. Adequate lymphnode sampling was accomplished in all patients. No serious complications were reported. EBUS-TBNA led to a definitive diagnosis in 12 out of 15 patients (80%). It identified 4 neoplasia, 3 atypical mycobacterial diseases, 2 tuberculosis, 1 Castleman disease, 1 sarcoidosis, and 1 professional dustiness. In 3 cases, sampling revealed normal lymphoid tissue. Active surveillance confirmed the suspected diagnosis of HIV adenitis with regression of lymphadenopathy on antiretroviral therapy in 2 cases. In one case of negative sampling, thoracoscopy led to the diagnosis of tuberculosis. In our cohort, accuracy of EBUS-TBNA was 92%. EBUS-TBNA appeared to be a safe and accurate tool in the investigation of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in HIV-infected patients in settings of tuberculosis low-prevalence. It can avoid more invasive procedures such as mediastinoscopy.

Performance of Endobronchial Ultrasound Elastography in the Differentiation of Malignant and Benign Mediastinal Lymph Nodes: Results in Real-life Practice.

BACKGROUND: Little data exists regarding the performance of elastography in EBUS-TBNA. The aim of the study was to evaluate the elastography score proposed and previously published by Izumo, in particular its capacity to perfectly identify benign lymph node, and to discriminate malignant ones. METHODS: This study included patients undergoing EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal lymph nodes (LN). Before LN needle aspiration, an elastography was performed which allowed a color elastogram to be superimposed on the ultrasound image. Three blinded assessors classified these elastograms into 3 types using the score published by Izumo: type 1 (predominantly not blue), type 2 (partially blue, partially not blue), or type 3 (predominantly blue). These types were then compared with pathology results. RESULTS: A total of 217 LN (114 patients) were analyzed: histologic findings identified 97 benign LN (44.7% of the lymph nodes) and 120 malignant LN (55.3%). There were 44 elastographies (20.2%) that were classified as type 1, 90 elastographies (41.5%) classified as type 2, and 83 elastographies (38.3%) classified as type 3. Considering type 1 as benign and type 3 as malignant, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were respectively 87.0%, 68.0% , 80.0% , and 77.0%. Ten (23%) of the 44 lymph nodes with a type 1 elastogram were malignant. CONCLUSION: Elastography does not preclude performing TBNA of the lymph nodes. It does not preclude EBUS-TBNA when a type 1 elastogram pattern is found. All lymph nodes visualized should be sampled by EBUS-TBNA, regardless of elastography pattern.

[Post-transplant pulmonary complications: Guidelines from the francophone Society of bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy (SFGM-TC)]. / Complications pulmonaires post-greffe : recommandations de la Société francophone de greffe de moelle et de thérapie cellulaire (SFGM-TC).

Pulmonary complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation occur frequently (30-75%), vary in severity, and sometimes prove lethal. They may occur at an early stage post-transplant before D100 but may also surface later. Etiological support for these complications has shown a beneficial impact on survival. When faced with early complications, non-invasive tests, scans, and microbiological tests must be rapidly implemented. In the majority of cases, these tests facilitate diagnosis. In cases where microbiological non-invasive tests are negative, and the patient shows a steady respiratory condition, bronchoalveolar lavage can be effective if it is implemented in the first four days following the onset of pulmonary symptoms. This diagnostic approach should in no way occlude the introduction of broad-spectrum antibiotics in these profoundly immunocompromised patients. Later pulmonary complications are the most often not infectious. They include different anatomo-clinical conditions: cryptogenic organizing pneumonia; interstitial lung disease; idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. Vascular disorders may include hypertension, thrombotic microangiopathy, venous thromboembolism, and pleural effusions. These conditions must be monitored using RFE (respiratory functional exploration) which allows early detection and therapeutic intervention. A combination of RFE and thoracic radiology scans will provide diagnostic assessment. Bronchoalveolar lavage is indicated when an infection is suspected or before systemic corticosteroid therapy. A lung biopsy should be discussed on a case-by-case basis, such as in cases of interstitial pulmonary disorders.

Imaging Tumor Response and Tumoral Heterogeneity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Antiangiogenic Therapy: Comparison of the Prognostic Ability of RECIST 1.1, an Alternate Method (Crabb), and Image Heterogeneity Analysis.

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess computed tomography (CT) intratumoral heterogeneity changes, and compared the prognostic ability of the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, an alternate response method (Crabb), and CT heterogeneity in non-small cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy with and without bevacizumab. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients treated with chemotherapy (group C) or chemotherapy and bevacizumab (group BC) underwent contrast-enhanced CT at baseline and after 1, 3, and 6 cycles of chemotherapy. Radiologic response was assessed using RECIST 1.1 and an alternate method. CT heterogeneity analysis generating global and locoregional parameters depicting tumor image spatial intensity characteristics was performed. Heterogeneity parameters between the 2 groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Associations between heterogeneity parameters and radiologic response with overall survival were assessed using Cox regression. RESULTS: Global and locoregional heterogeneity parameters changed with treatment, with increased tumor heterogeneity in group BC. Entropy [group C: median -0.2% (interquartile range -2.2, 1.7) vs. group BC: 0.7% (-0.7, 3.5), P=0.10] and busyness [-27.7% (-62.2, -5.0) vs. -11.5% (-29.1, 92.4), P=0.10] showed a greater reduction in group C, whereas uniformity [1.9% (-8.0, 9.8) vs. -5.0% (-13.9, 5.6), P=0.10] showed a relative increase after 1 cycle but did not reach statistical significance. Two (9%) and 1 (6%) additional responders were identified using the alternate method compared with RECIST in group C and group BC, respectively. Heterogeneity parameters were not significant prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The alternate response method described by Crabb identified more responders compared with RECIST. However, both criteria and baseline imaging heterogeneity parameters were not prognostic of survival.