European Respiratory Society guideline on various aspects of quality in lung cancer care.

This European Respiratory Society guideline is dedicated to the provision of good quality recommendations in lung cancer care. All the clinical recommendations contained were based on a comprehensive systematic review and evidence syntheses based on eight PICO (Patients, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes) questions. The evidence was appraised in compliance with the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. Evidence profiles and the GRADE Evidence to Decision frameworks were used to summarise results and to make the decision-making process transparent. A multidisciplinary Task Force panel of lung cancer experts formulated and consented the clinical recommendations following thorough discussions of the systematic review results. In particular, we have made recommendations relating to the following quality improvement measures deemed applicable to routine lung cancer care: 1) avoidance of delay in the diagnostic and therapeutic period, 2) integration of multidisciplinary teams and multidisciplinary consultations, 3) implementation of and adherence to lung cancer guidelines, 4) benefit of higher institutional/individual volume and advanced specialisation in lung cancer surgery and other procedures, 5) need for pathological confirmation of lesions in patients with pulmonary lesions and suspected lung cancer, and histological subtyping and molecular characterisation for actionable targets or response to treatment of confirmed lung cancers, 6) added value of early integration of palliative care teams or specialists, 7) advantage of integrating specific quality improvement measures, and 8) benefit of using patient decision tools. These recommendations should be reconsidered and updated, as appropriate, as new evidence becomes available.

Epidemiology of thymoma.

Thymic tumours are a heterogeneous group of malignancies with a range of clinical presentations. The most common types are thymoma and thymic carcinoma, but overall it remains a rare cancer, and one without a clear aetiology. In this review of the epidemiology of the disease, the relationship between sex, age, and ethnicity is reviewed, along with limited evidence on the genetics of the condition. In terms of risk factors and potential causative factors, environmental exposures such as tobacco, radiation, alcohol, or diet, seem to be irrelevant, but there is some evidence linking the development of thymoma and thymic carcinoma with viral conditions, including Epstein Barr Virus. But data is not conclusive, and in the absence of large patient numbers, it is difficult to prove causation. There has been good research looking at the link between thymoma and other malignancies, either before or after the diagnosis. There does not appear to be a significant increased likelihood of thymoma following other malignancies. But, there is a suggestion, in several papers, that there is an increased risk of other malignancies following the diagnosis of thymoma, although the magnitude of this risk is disputed. There does appear to be an increased risk of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after a diagnosis of thymoma, and this could be related to a disruption in T-cell function caused by either the disease process or the treatment directed at the thymoma. In summary though, it is a rare malignant process with a variety of presentations, often limited to the anterior mediastinum, and without an aggressive disease profile.

Achieving Thoracic Oncology data collection in Europe: a precursor study in 35 Countries.

BACKGROUND: A minority of European countries have participated in international comparisons with high level data on lung cancer. However, the nature and extent of data collection across the continent is simply unknown, and without accurate data collection it is not possible to compare practice and set benchmarks to which lung cancer services can aspire. METHODS: Using an established network of lung cancer specialists in 37 European countries, a survey was distributed in December 2014. The results relate to current practice in each country at the time, early 2015. The results were compiled and then verified with co-authors over the following months. RESULTS: Thirty-five completed surveys were received which describe a range of current practice for lung cancer data collection. Thirty countries have data collection at the national level, but this is not so in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Data collection varied from paper records with no survival analysis, to well-established electronic databases with links to census data and survival analyses. CONCLUSION: Using a network of committed clinicians, we have gathered validated comparative data reporting an observed difference in data collection mechanisms across Europe. We have identified the need to develop a well-designed dataset, whilst acknowledging what is feasible within each country, and aspiring to collect high quality data for clinical research.

ERS statement on harmonised standards for lung cancer registration and lung cancer services in Europe.

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) task force for harmonised standards for lung cancer registration and lung cancer services in Europe recognised the need to create a single dataset for use in pan-European data collection and a manual of standards for European lung cancer services.The multidisciplinary task force considered evidence from two different sources, reviewing existing national and international datasets alongside the results of a survey of clinical data collection on lung cancer in 35 European countries. A similar process was followed for the manual of lung cancer services, with the task force using existing guidelines and national or international recommendations for lung cancer services to develop a manual of standards for services in Europe.The task force developed essential and minimum datasets for lung cancer registration to enable all countries to collect the same essential data and some to collect data with greater detail. The task force also developed a manual specifying standards for lung cancer services in Europe.Despite the wide variation in the sociopolitical landscape across Europe, the ERS is determined to encourage the delivery of high-quality lung cancer care. Both the manual of lung cancer services and the minimum dataset for lung cancer registration will support this aspiration.

Chronic oedema: a prevalent health care problem for UK health services.

Chronic oedema (CO) is a major clinical problem worldwide, which has many important secondary consequences for health, activity and participation. Effective treatment planning and organisation of services is dependent on an understanding of the condition and its epidemiology. This cross-sectional study was designed to estimate the point prevalence of CO within the health services of one UK urban population and to determine the proportions that have concurrent leg ulceration. Patients with CO in all anatomic sites were ascertained by health care professionals in one acute and one community hospital, all relevant outpatient and community nursing services, general practices and all nursing/residential homes in one urban catchment area (Derby City). The presence and distribution of oedema was confirmed through a brief clinical examination. A battery of demographic and clinical details was recorded for each case. Within the study population of Derby City residents, 971 patients were identified with CO [estimated crude prevalence 3·93 per 1000, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3·69-4·19]. The prevalence was the highest among those aged 85 or above (28·75 per 1000) and was higher among women (5·37 per 1000) than men (2·48 per 1000). The prevalence among hospital inpatients was 28·5%. Only five (3%) patients in the community population had oedema related to cancer or cancer treatment. Of the 304 patients identified with oedema from the Derby hospitals or community health services, 121 (40%) had a concurrent leg ulcer. Prevalence statistics and current demographic trends indicate that CO is a major and growing health care problem.

The impact of the 'hub and spoke' model of care for lung cancer and equitable access to surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the influence of where a patient is first seen (either surgical or non-surgical centre) and patient features on having surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study from individual patients, between 1January 2008 and 31March 2012. SETTING: Linked National Lung Cancer Audit and Hospital Episode Statistics datasets. PARTICIPANTS: 95,818 English patients with a diagnosis of NSCLC, of whom 12,759 (13%) underwent surgical resection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Odds of having surgery based on the empirical catchment population of the 30 thoracic surgical centres in England and whether the patient is first seen in a surgical centre or a non-surgical centre. RESULTS: Patients were more likely to be operated on if they were first seen at a surgical centre (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.29 to 1.45). This was most marked for surgical centres with the largest catchment populations. In these surgical centres with large catchment populations, the resection rate for local patients was 18% and for patients first seen in a non-surgical centre within catchment was 12%. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical centres that serve the largest catchment populations have high resection rates for patients first seen in their own centre but, in contrast, low resection rates for patients first seen at the surrounding centres they serve. Our findings demonstrate the importance of going further than relating resection rates to hospital volume or surgeon number, and show that there is a pressing need to design lung cancer services which enable all patients, including those first seen at non-surgical centres, to have equal access to lung cancer surgery.

Small-cell lung cancer in England: trends in survival and chemotherapy using the National Lung Cancer Audit.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify trends in survival and chemotherapy use for individuals with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) in England using the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA). METHODS: We used data from the NLCA database to identify people with histologically proven SCLC from 2004-2011. We calculated the median survival by stage and assessed whether patient characteristics changed over time. We also assessed whether the proportion of patients with records of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy changed over time. RESULTS: 18,513 patients were diagnosed with SCLC in our cohort. The median survival was 6 months for all patients, 1 year for those with limited stage and 4 months for extensive stage. 69% received chemotherapy and this proportion changed very slightly over time (test for trends p = 0.055). Age and performance status of patients remained stable over the study period, but the proportion of patients staged increased (p-value<0.001), mainly because of improved data completeness. There has been an increase in the proportion of patients that had a record of receiving both chemotherapy and radiotherapy each year (from 19% to 40% in limited and from 9% to 21% in extensive stage from 2004 to 2011). Patients who received chemotherapy with radiotherapy had better survival compared with any other treatment (HR 0.24, 95% CI 0.23-0.25). CONCLUSION: Since 2004, when the NLCA was established, the proportion of patients with SCLC having chemotherapy has remained static. We have found an upward trend in the proportion of patients receiving both chemotherapy and radiotherapy which corresponded to a better survival in this group, but as it only applied for a small proportion of patients, it was not enough to change the overall survival.

The European initiative for quality management in lung cancer care.

Lung cancer is the commonest cause of cancer-related death worldwide and poses a significant respiratory disease burden. Little is known about the provision of lung cancer care across Europe. The overall aim of the Task Force was to investigate current practice in lung cancer care across Europe. The Task Force undertook four projects: 1) a narrative literature search on quality management of lung cancer; 2) a survey of national and local infrastructure for lung cancer care in Europe; 3) a benchmarking project on the quality of (inter)national lung cancer guidelines in Europe; and 4) a feasibility study of prospective data collection in a pan-European setting. There is little peer-reviewed literature on quality management in lung cancer care. The survey revealed important differences in the infrastructure of lung cancer care in Europe. The European guidelines that were assessed displayed wide variation in content and scope, as well as methodological quality but at the same time there was relevant duplication. The feasibility study demonstrated that it is, in principle, feasible to collect prospective demographic and clinical data on patients with lung cancer. Legal obligations vary among countries. The European Initiative for Quality Management in Lung Cancer Care has provided the first comprehensive snapshot of lung cancer care in Europe.

The pathological confirmation rate of lung cancer in England using the NLCA database.

BACKGROUND: The National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) recommends that trusts obtain pathology (histology or cytology) for 75% of their lung cancer patients, however this figure was arbitrarily chosen and the optimal pathological confirmation rate is unknown, and many countries report somewhat higher rates. The aims of this study were to provide a simple means of benchmarking appropriate pathological confirmation rates by stratifying patients into groups, and whether obtaining pathology based on those groups is associated with a survival benefit. METHODS: We calculated the proportion of patients with non-small cell or small cell lung cancer in the NLCA database, first seen between 1st January 2004 and 31st December 2010, who had pathological confirmation of their diagnosis. Using logistic we assessed the independent influence of patient factors on the likelihood of having histology or cytology, and the overall effect on survival. We also used bivariate analysis to identify the features which were most strongly associated with having pathology and performed Cox regression to identify any survival advantage. FINDINGS: We analysed data on 136,993 individuals. Age and performance status (PS) were the strongest predictors of pathological confirmation: age ≥ 85 odds ratio (OR) 0.20 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19-0.22) compared with age<55; PS 4 OR 0.11 (95%CI 0.10-0.12) compared with PS 0. Pathological confirmation of diagnosis was associated with a small early survival advantage for groups 1 & 2 which represented younger patients with good PS, even after adjusting for other patient features: hazard ratio (HR) 0.93 & 0.89 respectively. CONCLUSION: Stratifying patients by age and performance status is useful and appropriate when benchmarking standards for pathological confirmation of the diagnosis of lung cancer. We have shown better survival at six months and one year for younger patients with better PS, even after adjusting for confounders. Much of the survival advantage was accounted for by adjusting for the use of chemotherapy.

Inequalities in outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer: the influence of clinical characteristics and features of the local lung cancer service.

BACKGROUND: The treatment given to patients with lung cancer and survival vary between and within countries. The National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) linked to Hospital Episode Statistics was used to quantify the extent to which these outcomes are influenced by patient features and/or hospital facilities and performance indicators. METHODS: All patients with a histological diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were included. Logistic regression was used to quantify the independent influence of features of both patients and hospitals on the likelihood of having surgery and Cox regression was used for survival analyses. RESULTS: There were 34,513 patients with NSCLC in our dataset. After adjusting for age, sex, performance status, stage and Charlson Index of comorbidity, patients with NSCLC first seen in thoracic surgical centres (27% of the cohort) were 51% more likely to have surgery than those seen in non-surgical centres (adjusted OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.97). Resection rates varied from 13% to 17% between non-surgical and thoracic surgical centres. Surgery was the most powerful determinant of overall survival (adjusted HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.44). CONCLUSION: A minority of patients with NSCLC first seen in a thoracic surgical centre are more likely to have surgery and to benefit from the survival advantage this confers. This finding suggests that there is an opportunity to improve the outcome for patients with lung cancer in England by optimising access to thoracic surgeons in non-surgical centres.

Lung cancer in England: information from the National Lung Cancer Audit (LUCADA).

AIMS: Our aims were to determine whether the information in the National Lung Cancer Audit database (LUCADA) is influenced by the completeness of reporting and to describe the current socio-demographics and survival of people with lung cancer in England. METHODS: Using national registry data as a gold standard we stratified NHS Trusts into quartiles on the basis of their patient ascertainment. We assessed the distribution of patient features across these quartiles using Cox and logistic regression. We then examined overall survival and access to treatment. RESULTS: We analysed data for 60,059 patients whose data were entered between 2004 and 2008. There was little variation in key patient features, treatment and median survival across quartiles of data completeness. Socio-economic disadvantage did not influence survival or access to surgery but was related to a decreased use of chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that LUCADA accurately describes people in England who are diagnosed with lung cancer and can therefore be used to drive health care improvements. Individual patient socio-economic status does not affect survival and has only a limited impact on access to treatment and so NHS Trust level factors should be studied to explain the previously published regional variations in these outcomes.

Cutaneous angiosarcoma presenting as an unusual facial bruise.

Angiosarcoma is a rare vascular tumour accounting for 2% of soft tissue sarcomas, which together represent less than 1% of all cancers. Although well described in specialist literature, it is unusual in general medical practice. We describe a case in which the initial appearance as a bruise gave rise to diagnostic uncertainty and delay.