Comparison of 6th, 7th, and 8th editions of the TNM staging in non-small cell lung cancer patients: Validation of the 8th edition of TNM staging.

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the transition from the 6th edition of the Tumor, Node, Metastasis (TNM) staging system to the 7th edition, and from the 7th edition to the 8th edition by comparing the stage migrations. We also aimed to externally validate the 8th edition of the TNM staging system. Methods: Between September 2005 and June 2015, a total of 1,077 patients (986 males, 91 females; mean age: 59.6±8.3 years; range, 35 to 84 years) with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent lung resection were retrospectively analyzed. We re-staged patients according to 6th, 7th, and 8th TNM staging and compared the stage migrations of cases among the three staging systems. Results: Stage migration in the transition to the 7th edition of the TNM staging system was observed in 368 (34.1%) patients whereas it was observed in 541 (50.2%) patients in the transition to the 8th edition (p<0.001). The rate of upstaging in transition to the 7th edition staging system was 50.2% (n=185), whereas it was 98.1% (n=531) for the transition to the 8th edition (p<0.001). The survival rates of Stages 1B, 2B and 3A increased with transition to the 7th edition and the survival rates of Stages 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B increased with the transition to the 8th edition. The best stratification in the survival curves in the 6th edition was between 1B-1A and 3B-3A. In the 7th edition, it occurred between 1B-1A, 3A-2B and 3B-3A and, in the 8th edition, between 1B-1A and 3B-3A. Conclusion: Stratification according to the 7th edition showed better prognostic validity compared to the 6th edition; and that of the 8th edition was better compared to the 7th edition.

Does Pulmonary Hamartoma Increase the Risk of Lung Cancer? Outcomes of 38 Pulmonary Hamartoma Cases.

OBJECTIVES: Hamartomas are common benign tumors of the lung. Rarely, lung cancer coincidence may occur at the time of diagnosis or in the follow-up period. METHODS: Between 2016 and 2019, 38 patients who underwent a surgical procedure and diagnosed with lung hamartoma were retrospectively evaluated regarding clinicopathological features. Cases were analyzed according to age, sex, radiological findings, localization of nodules, surgical methods, and the coincidence of lung cancer. RESULTS: The mean age was 50.2±11.1 (range 28-76 years). There were 23 male (60.5%) and 15 female (39.5%) patients. Mean size was 2.7±1.8 (range 0.8-10 cm). In 28 patients, hamartoma was <3 cm in diameter (73.6%). Eighteen hamartomas were localized in the upper lobe (47.4%). Only 6 cases (15.8%) were localized at the central part of the lung. Multiple nodules were reported in 10 cases (26.3%). In 4 cases (10.5%), lung carcinoma and hamartoma were seen together at the time of diagnosis. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been performed in 29 cases (76.3%). As a surgical method, enucleation was performed in 4 cases (10.5%), wedge resection in 28 cases (73.7%), and lobectomy in 6 cases (15.8%). No post-operative mortality appeared in the early follow-up. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary hamartomas are usually present as solitary pulmonary nodules with benign radiological findings. VATS wedge resection is a method that can be used safely in diagnosis and treatment. Hamartomas may be associated with lung cancer at the time of diagnosis or follow-up, so it should be kept in mind that a different nodule seen in patients diagnosed with hamartoma may be associated with lung cancer.

Correlation between outcomes and tumor size in >7 cm T4 non-small cell lung cancer patients: A tumor size-based comparison study.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether all size-based pathological T4N0-N1 non-small cell lung cancer patients with tumors at any size >7 cm had the same outcomes. METHODS: We reviewed non-small cell lung cancer patients with tumors >7 cm who underwent anatomical lung resection between 2010 and 2016. A total of 251 size-based T4N0-N1 patients were divided into two groups based on tumor size. Group S (n = 192) included patients with tumors of 7.1-9.9 cm and Group L (n = 59) as tumor size ≥10 cm. RESULTS: The mean tumor size was 8.83 ± 1.7 cm (Group S: 8.06 ± 0.6 cm, Group L: 11.3 ± 1.6 cm). There were 146 patients with pathological N0 and 105 patients with pathological N1 disease. Mean overall survival and disease-free survival were 64.2 and 51.4 months, respectively. The five-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 51.2% and 43.5% (five-year OS; pT4N0:52.7%, pT4N1:47.9%, DFS; pT4N0:44.3%, pT4N1: 42.3%). No significant differences were observed between T4N0 and T4N1 patients in terms of five-year OS or DFS (p = 0.325, p = 0.505 respectively). The five-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 52% and 44.6% in Group S, and 48.5% and 38.9% in Group L. No significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of five-year overall survival or disease-free survival (p = 0.699, p = 0.608, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Above 7 cm, any further increase in tumor size in non-small cell lung cancer patients had no significant effect on survival, confirming it is not necessary to further discriminate among patients with tumors in that size class.

Does the carinal involvement have the same surgical outcome as the main bronchus involvement in patients with non-small cell lung cancer?

OBJECTIVE: Carinal and main bronchus involvement were compared in terms of the survival of patients with N0-1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Sixty-six NSCLC patients who underwent complete surgical carinal resection/reconstruction (Carina group) and complete resection because of main bronchus involvement (Main Bronchus group) between 2006 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The Carina group included 30 patients and the Main Bronchus group included 36. In the Carina group, conditions other than carinal involvement that rendered patients pathological (p) T4, and in the Main Bronchus group, conditions that would upstage the pT status from pT2 were excluded. Patients with mediastinal lymph node metastases were excluded. Thus, an isolated main bronchial invasion and isolated carinal invasion patient population was tried to be obtained. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival rate was 49.4% (median 61.5 ± 19.9 months). The 5-year survival rates of patients in the Carina group was 49.2% (median 63.3 months), and that of patients in the Main Bronchus group was 46.4% (median 55.9 months). The difference between survival rates was not statistically significant (p = 0.761). The survival rates of pN0 and pN1 patients also did not differ significantly (63.2% vs. 45.5%, p = 0.207). Recurrence was significantly more common in the Main Bronchus group than the Carina group (28.1% vs. 7.1%; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Isolated carinal invasion had a comparable outcome to isolated main bronchus invasion in pN0-1 patients with NSCLC who are undergoing anatomical surgical resection.

Usefulness of long-term video-EEG monitoring in children at a tertiary care center.

The value of video-electroencephalographic monitoring (EEG-VM) in evaluating patients with epileptic disorders constitutes a major research field. This study investigates the usefulness of inpatient long-term EEG-VM for pediatric neurology patients under four headings: pre-surgical evaluation; seizure classification; epileptic seizure and non-epileptic paroxysmal event differentiation; and antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment modification. A retrospective study of 101 patients over a one-year period was carried out. The results showed that following EEG-VM, 57.4% of the patients were referred for discussion to the epilepsy surgery conference regarding resective surgery, and of these, 31% were deemed to be surgical candidates. The seizure classification assigned to the patients before EEG-VM changed in 73.3% of the patients after EEG-VM. Regarding the differentiation between epileptic seizure and non-epileptic paroxysmal events, a diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) was made in 4% of the patients after EEG-VM. EEG-VM outcomes led to the modification of AED treatment in 68.3% of the patients. These significant alterations demonstrate the usefulness of EEG-VM in the management of pediatric neurology patients.