CT Scan-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology for Lung Cancer Diagnosis through the COVID-19 Pandemic: What We Have Learned.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: Novel coronavirus-related disease (COVID-19) has profoundly influenced hospital organization and structures worldwide. In Italy, the Lombardy Region, with almost 17% of the Italian population, rapidly became the most severely affected area since the pandemic beginning. The first and the following COVID-19 surges significantly affected lung cancer diagnosis and subsequent management. Much data have been already published regarding the therapeutic repercussions whereas very few reports have focused on the consequences of the pandemic on diagnostic procedures. METHODS: We, here, would like to analyze data of novel lung cancer diagnosis performed in our Institution in Norther Italy where we faced the earliest and largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in Italy. RESULTS: We discuss, in detail, the strategies developed to perform biopsies and the safe pathways created in emergency settings to protect lung cancer patients in subsequent therapeutic phases. Quite unexpectedly, no significant differences emerged between cases enrolled during the pandemic and those before, and the two populations were homogeneous considering the composition and diagnostic and complication rates. CONCLUSIONS: By pointing out the role of multidisciplinarity in emergency contexts, these data will be of help in the future for designing tailored strategies to manage lung cancer in a real-life setting.

Smoking Habit and Respiratory Function Predict Patients' Outcome after Surgery for Lung Cancer, Irrespective of Histotype and Disease Stage.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that sublobar resections offer more favorable outcomes than lobectomy in early-stage lung cancer surgery. However, a percentage of cases that cannot be ignored develops disease recurrence irrespective of the surgery performed with curative intent. The goal of this work is thus to compare different surgical approaches, namely, lobectomy and segmentectomy (typical and atypical) to derive prognostic and predictive markers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Here we analyzed a cohort of 153 NSCLC patients in clinical stage TNM I who underwent pulmonary resection surgery with a mediastinal hilar lymphadenectomy from January 2017 to December 2021, with an average follow-up of 25.5 months. Partition analysis was also applied to the dataset to detect outcome predictors. RESULTS: The results of this work showed similar OS between lobectomy and typical and atypical segmentectomy for patients with stage I NSCLC. In contrast, lobectomy was associated with a significant improvement in DFS compared with typical segmentectomy in stage IA, while in stage IB and overall, the two treatments were similar. Atypical segmentectomy showed the worst performance, especially in 3-year DFS. Quite unexpectedly, outcome predictor ranking analysis suggests a prominent role of smoking habits and respiratory function, irrespective of the tumor histotype and the patient's gender. CONCLUSIONS: Although the limited follow-up interval cannot allow conclusive remarks about prognosis, the results of this study suggest that both lung volumes and the degree of emphysema-related parenchymal damage are the strongest predictors of poor survival in lung cancer patients. Overall, these data point out that greater attention should be addressed to the therapeutic intervention for co-existing respiratory diseases to obtain optimal control of early lung cancer.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer: targeting the complexity of the pharmacological interconnection.

INTRODUCTION: Many data already suggested that cancer and IPF are underlined by a number of common pathogenic biologic pathways. However, fewer data regards the interconnections, in terms of synergy or increased toxicities, of drugs used in cancer and IPF. Particularly, how the specific therapy influences the concurrent condition and prognostic factors of response in patients with both lung cancer and IPF are far to be clarified. Similarly, identification of features of IPF patients with higher risk of developing pulmonary adverse events when treated with chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, TKIs, or radiotherapy is of primary importance in clinical practice. AREAS COVERED: We will discuss the scientific rationale, based on the extensive analysis of literature data, by consulting several databases for combining anticancer and antifibrotic treatments and for the design of novel therapeutic strategies. The role of immunotherapy in cancer aroused in IPF context will be discussed with specific interested, based on the continuously increasing role of immune checkpoint inhibition against lung tumors. EXPERT OPINION: This work will help to improve knowledge, based on a multidisciplinary perspective, on IPF and cancer patients, which identify an unmet clinical need. A better management during each phase of disease progression will require the design innovative trials and the development of new drugs and molecules both in the oncologic and respiratory medicine pipeline.