Prognostic and predictive markers of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease in a clinical trial and long-term observational cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To explore prognostic and predictive markers of SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) outcomes in a phase 3 trial (focuSSced) and prognostic markers in a real-world cohort (SMART). METHODS: The focuSSced SSc-ILD subgroup included 68 of 106 placebo-treated and 68 of 104 tocilizumab-treated patients. The SMART cohort included 505 patients with SSc-ILD. Linear mixed-effect models were used to identify factors associated with change in forced vital capacity (FVC). Kaplan-Meier estimation and Cox regression were used for time-to-event analyses. RESULTS: In placebo-treated focuSSced patients, sex was a significant prognostic factor for FVC decline; males had increased risk for absolute decline ≥10% in percent-predicted FVC (ppFVC) and 0.22% faster weekly FVC decline than females (P = 0.0001). FVC was 9.8% lower in patients with CRP >6 mg/ml vs those with CRP ≤6 mg/ml (P = 0.0059). Tocilizumab reduced the risk for ≥10% decline in ppFVC in patients who were male, had earlier disease (<2 years duration), had IL-6 levels <10 pg/ml, or had anti-topoisomerase antibodies (ATA). In the SMART cohort, prognostic factors for ppFVC <70% were male sex, ATA, and low baseline FVC. Males had 3.3% lower FVC 1 year after disease onset (P < 0.001) and 0.6% faster yearly decline (P = 0.03) than females. CONCLUSION: Prognostic markers in SSc-ILD were similar between focuSSced and SMART. Male sex and inflammatory markers were associated with lower FVC but IL-6 ≥10 pg/ml was not predictive of response to tocilizumab. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02453256.

Appearance of Florid Cemento-Osseous Dysplasia on SPECT/CT.

Florid cemento-osseous dysplasia, a benign fibro-osseous condition, is diagnosed based on characteristic radiographic appearances of multifocal round or lobulated sclerotic lesions associated with the teeth in multiple quadrants of the jaws. We report a case of a 73-year-old woman who presented with a painless sharp bony area on the right side of her maxilla. SPECT/CT of facial bones demonstrated multifocal intense increased uptake in both the maxilla and mandible, corresponding to ill-defined florid sclerotic periapical lesions seen on CT, in keeping with a classical appearance of florid cemento-osseous dysplasia.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma presenting with mediastinal eggshell calcification.

An 81-year-old South Asian man normally resident in the UK presented with night sweats for over 2 months on a background of weight loss of 4 kg in 6 months. His medical history was significant for metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated 5 years previously with cytoreductive nephrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Following an abnormal chest radiograph showing an ill-defined right paratracheal mass, a CT scan showed eggshell calcification (circumferential calcification) of enlarged low right paratracheal lymph nodes. An endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration of an involved large paratracheal lymph node showed cytology consistent with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Is computed tomography follow-up of patients after lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer of benefit in terms of survival?

A best evidence topic in cardiothoracic surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether following up patients after lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with computed tomography (CT) scanning is of benefit in terms of survival. Altogether, 448 papers were found using the reported search, of which five represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question and three provided supporting evidence. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. There is no general consensus in the literature. From the limited number of papers that address the effect of CT follow-up on survival following surgery for NSCLC, three showed that CT scanning may improve the survival of patients by detecting local and distant recurrences at an earlier stage when the patient is asymptomatic. One paper showed that detection by the use of low-dose CT or simultaneous chest CT plus positron emission tomography-CT led to a longer duration of survival compared with detection by clinical suspicion (2.1 ± 0.3 vs 3.6 ± 0.2 years, p = 0.002). However, two papers broadly showed that follow-up with CT does not improve survival outcomes regardless of the site of recurrence. One such study showed that there was no clinically significant difference in survival whether patients were followed up using a strict CT protocol compared with a symptom-based follow-up (median survival after recurrence: strict 7.9 months, symptom-based 6.6 months, p = 0.219). The remaining papers supported the use of CT as a screening tool for recurrence but did not comment directly on survival. Owing to the limited and contradictory evidence, there is a need for an randomized controlled trial to assess the survival outcomes of patients followed up with a CT screening protocol vs a symptom-based follow-up.