Patients With Surgically Resectable Lung Cancer Who Opt for Radiation Have Worse Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Surgery has been the standard procedure for resectable primary LC. Survival after stereotactic body radiation therapy, another treatment, is significantly biased due to preponderance of data from patients deemed unsuitable for surgery. We examined survival of patients refusing surgery in favor of radiation therapy. METHODS: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to identify patients with primary Stage I NSCLC diagnosed between 2007 and 2016. Patients were excluded if it was unknown if they were recommended for surgery or if surgery was contraindicated. Multiple predictors were assessed: radiation versus surgery, age at diagnosis, sex, race/ethnicity, health insurance status, marital status, tumor size, and histology. A multivariate analysis was performed to estimate hazard ratios and generate Kaplan-Meier survival curves. RESULTS: When adjusted for confounding variables, survival was greater for patients undergoing surgical resection than those refusing surgery in favor of radiation (HRadj 2.66; 95% CI: 2.27-3.11, p < 0.001) or for those receiving no standardized treatment (HRadj 4.43; 95% CI: 3.57-5.50, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: SBRT is an effective treatment for inoperable early LC but there is limited data comparing outcomes against surgical resection. When eligible for both, patients refusing surgery and choosing radiation had worse survival when adjusting for variables including age, tumor size, and histology, and suggests that surgical resection is a superior treatment modality.

A simple prediction score for postoperative mortality after decortication.

Background: Decortication of the lung, either by video-thoracoscopy or thoracotomy is potentially a morbid procedure and has significantly higher mortality compared with other major thoracic procedures. Much of this difference can be attributed to other significant comorbidities and to the non-elective nature of the surgery. Our primary goal was to recognize the preoperative unique characteristics of patients who had postoperative mortality within the first 30 days. Our secondary goal was to build a score system to calculate the odds of death after decortication. Methods: Patients who had undergone either partial or total pulmonary decortication were retrospectively identified from the 2015-2017 databases of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) and were employed for this analysis. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate the possible association of multiple risk factors with postoperative death. Factors that remained significant in the multivariable regression analysis were used to develop the Decortication Prognostic Score (DPS). Results: The final study population consisted of 2,315 patients. The overall observed mortality rate was 5.6%. The greatest independent risk factor for increased 30-day mortality in multivariable logistic regression analysis was disseminated cancer, followed by age ≥65 years, ventilator dependence, active hemodialysis, open wound or wound infection, partially or totally dependent preoperative functional status, preoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis or septic shock, congestive heart failure (CHF), preoperative need for blood transfusion, dyspnea, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Afterwards, we developed a prognostic score for calculating the odds of postoperative death. The total score was associated with a stepwise higher risk of postoperative death after decortication. Patients with a score of 1 had an associated mortality of 1.1% [odds ratio (OR): 2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43-9.32, P=0.375], patients with scores 2-3 had an associated mortality of 6.6% (OR: 12.5, 95% CI: 3.04-51.36, P<0.001), and patients with scores ≥4 had an associated mortality of 27.1% (OR: 65.8, 95% CI: 15.86-273.2, P<0.001). Conclusions: Preoperative factors can predict postoperative mortality after decortication. DPS may help guide surgeons with bedside decision making and heighten awareness to patients most likely to be at risk for 30-day re-intubation, failure to wean from ventilator, surgical site infections, prolong length of stay and higher mortality after decortication.

New or enlarging hiatal hernias after thoracic surgery for early lung cancer.

Objective: The study objective was to determine the relationship between lung resection and the development of postoperative hiatal hernia. Methods: Preoperative and postoperative computed tomography imaging from 373 patients from the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program and the Initiative for Early Lung Cancer Research on Treatment were compared at a median of 31.1 months of follow-up after resection of clinical early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Incidence of new hiatal hernia or changes to preexisting hernias were recorded and evaluated by patient demographics, surgical approach, extent of resection, and resection site. Results: New hiatal hernias were seen in 9.6% of patients after lung resection (5.6% after wedge or segmentectomy and 12.4% after lobectomy; P = .047). The median size of new hernias was 21 mm, and the most commonly associated resection site was the left lower lobe (24.2%; P = .04). In patients with preexisting hernias, 53.5% demonstrated a small but significant increase in size from 21 to 22 mm (P < .0001). All hernias persisted through the latest postoperative computed tomography scan. When 110 surgical patients without preexisting hernia were matched by sex, age, and smoking to nonoperative controls, the incidence of new hernia at follow-up was significantly higher among those who underwent surgery (17.3% vs 2.7%, P = .0003). Conclusions: Both open and minimally invasive lung resection for clinical early-stage lung cancer are associated with new or enlarging postoperative hiatal hernia, especially after resections involving the left lower lobe.

Early-Stage Lung Cancer Patients' Perceptions of Presurgical Discussions.

Background: Patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have high survival rates, but patients often say they did not anticipate the effect of the surgery on their postsurgical quality of life (QoL). This study adds to the literature regarding patient and surgeon interactions and highlights the areas where the current approach is not providing good communication. Design: Since its start in 2016, the Initiative for Early Lung Cancer Research on Treatment (IELCART), a prospective cohort study, has enrolled 543 patients who underwent surgery for stage I NSCLC within the Mount Sinai Health System. Presurgical patient and surgeon surveys were available for 314 patients, postsurgical surveys for 420, and both pre- and postsurgical surveys for 285. Results: Of patients with presurgical surveys, 31.2% said that their surgeon recommended multiple types of treatment. Of patients with postsurgical surveys, 85.0% felt very well prepared and 11.4% moderately well prepared for their postsurgical recovery. The median Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung Cancer score and social support score of the patients who felt very well prepared was significantly higher than those moderately or not well prepared (24.0 v. 22.0, P < 0.001) and (5.0 [interquartile range: 4.7-5.0] v. 5.0 [IQR: 4.2-5.0], p = 0.015). Conclusions: This study provides insight into the areas where surgeons are communicating well with their patients as well as the areas where patients still feel uninformed. Most surgeons feel that they prepare their patients well or very well for surgical recovery, whereas some patients still feel that their surgeons did not prepare them well for postsurgical recovery. Surgeons may want to spend additional time emphasizing postsurgical recovery and QoL with their patients or provide their patients with additional avenues to get their questions and concerns addressed. Highlights: Pretreatment discussions could help surgeons understand patient priorities and patients understand the anticipated outcomes for their surgeries.There is an association between feeling prepared for surgery and higher quality of life and social support scores after adjustment for confounders.Despite these pretreatment discussions, patients still feel that they are not well prepared about what to expect during their postsurgical recovery.

A narrative review of hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy for advanced lung cancer.

The traditional treatment of stage IV lung cancer is predominantly supportive or palliative. No current standardized guidelines promote the use of hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) in the treatment of advanced lung cancer with pleural involvement. Several small studies have examined the safety and utilization of HITHOC for this population, though the data is extremely limited. A review of the literature is presented in accordance with the Narrative Review checklist. The MEDLINE electronic database was searched for articles published in English from January 1999 - August 2020 using relevant keywords such as "hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy", "hyperthermic intrapleural chemotherapy" and "HITHOC". This was supplemented by review and hand search of the reference lists. While data suggest a potential though controversial role for HITHOC for certain intrathoracic tumors such as malignant pleural mesothelioma and thymoma, there is insufficient evidence to confidently promote a role for hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced lung cancers. Existing studies are small, nonrandomized, and prone to bias. Hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy is not a standardized treatment for advanced lung cancer, and is characterized by potentially serious side effects with little clinical benefit. Recent developments in targeted therapy and immunotherapy are unlikely to leave room for the development of large randomized controlled trials.

Major modifications to minimize thoracic esophago-gastric leak and eradicate esophageal stricture after Ivor Lewis esophagectomy.

BACKGROUND: The Ivor Lewis esophagectomy (ILE) remains the procedure of choice for localized middle or lower esophageal carcinoma. Nevertheless, anastomotic leak remains a common complication with rates from 3% to 25% and a stricture rate as high as 40%. The frequency of these complications suggests that the procedure itself may have inherent limitations including the use of potentially ischemic tissue for the esophagogastric anastomosis. We introduce a modified technique that reduces operative steps, preserves blood supply, and uses a modified esophagogastric anastomosis. METHODS: All consecutive patients undergoing ILE with the described modified technique were identified. An esophagram was performed on postoperative day six or seven. To ensure that all cases were identified, anastomotic leaks were defined as any radiographic evidence of contrast extravasation. RESULTS: A total of 110 patients underwent the modified esophagectomy with 2 anastomotic leaks (1.82%) and zero strictures. There was 1 late death but no early deaths (<30 or 90 days) or early re-admissions (<30 days). The average number of risk factors was 2.12, and 98 patients (90%) had at least 1 risk factor in their medical history. CONCLUSIONS: The modifications proposed simplify procedural steps, limit unnecessary dissection and introduce a technique that ends the practice of connecting ischemic tissue. We believe this technique contributes to surgical durability and reduces the rate of postoperative leak and eliminates stricture.

Taken Together: Effective Multimodal Approaches for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive, deadly cancer often requiring input from multiple medical disciplines. Treatment has evolved over the last several decades with increasing evidence and ongoing advances in chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy; however, no standard treatment regimen has yet been defined. Regardless of the overall strategy, surgery remains the foundation of treatment to remove macroscopic disease, and preservation of lung parenchyma via extended pleurectomy/decortication may be preferable to extrapleural pneumonectomy.

Perioperative chemoimmunotherapy in a patient with stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer.

We present a case of a 56-year-old male patient with stage IIIB (T3N2M0) poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Four cycles of chemotherapy were first applied, and the patient had stable disease. However, the patient refused to receive radiotherapy, therefore second-line treatment chemotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy was applied. Partial response was reached at the 4th cycle of chemotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. The neoadjuvant strategy was prolonged to 10 cycles but no significant change was observed on tumor size. The patient then underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic left lower lobectomy. Eight cycles of adjuvant PD-1 immunotherapy were applied postoperatively. Perioperative immunotherapy demonstrated good curative effect in this patient and no recurrence was observed at the clinic 40 months following surgery. Here we intend to explore the concept of immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy and surgery in neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting, and to investigate the possibility of extending this strategy in patients with stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

COVID-19 ventilator barotrauma management: less is more.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation may develop significant pneumomediastinum and sub-cutaneous emphysema without associated pneumothorax (SWAP). Prophylactic chest tube placement or sub-fascial "blowholes" are usually recommended to prevent tension pneumothorax and clinical decline. Risk of iatrogenic lung injury and release of virus into the environment is high. Incidence and conservative management data of such barotraumatic complications during the COVID-19 pandemic are lacking. METHODS: All patients with mediastinal air and SWAP evaluated by the department of Thoracic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital between March 30 and April 10, 2020 were identified. All patients without pneumothorax were treated conservatively with daily chest x-ray and observation. Three patients had prophylactic chest tube placement prior to the study period without thoracic surgery consultation. RESULTS: There were 29 cases of mediastinal air with SWAP out of 171 COVID positive intubated patients (17.0%) who were treated conservatively. Patients were intubated for an average of 2.4 days before SWAP was identified. 12 patients (41%) had improvement or resolution without intervention. Two patients progressed to pneumothorax 3 and 8 days following initial presentation. Both had chest tubes placed without incident before there were any changes in oxygenation, hemodynamics, supportive medications, or ventilator settings. There were 3 patients who had percutaneous tubes placed before the study period all of whom had significant worsening of their sub-cutaneous air and air leak. CONCLUSIONS: Conservative management of massive sub-cutaneous emphysema without pneumothorax in COVID-19 patients is safe and limits viral exposure to healthcare workers. Placement of chest tubes is discouraged unless a definite sizable pneumothorax develops.

Transdiaphragmatic Migration of a Spinal Fixation Rod into the Lung.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis may require surgical treatment for extreme curvature of the spine or loss of pulmonary function. We present a report of a 31-year-old woman with a history of scoliosis and anterolateral spinal fusion who developed chest pain and hemoptysis. Imaging revealed that a fixation rod had migrated cephalad, penetrating the diaphragm into the left lower lobe of the lung. The hardware was removed and lung repaired with good results. This is the first reported case of cranial spinal rod migration over a decade after initial implantation.

Mesenchymal stem cells increase T-regulatory cells and improve healing following trauma and hemorrhagic shock.

BACKGROUND: Rodent lungs undergo full histologic recovery within 1 week following unilateral lung contusion (LC). However, when LC is followed by hemorrhagic shock (HS), healing is impaired. We hypothesize that the intravenous administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in animals undergoing combined LC followed by HS (LCHS) will improve wound healing. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 5-6 per group) were subjected to LCHS with or without the injection of a single intravenous dose of 5 × 10 MSCs following return of shed blood after HS. Rats were sacrificed 7 days following injury. Flow cytometry was used to determine the T-regulatory cell (Treg) population in peripheral blood. Lung histology was graded using a well-established lung injury score (LIS). Components of the LIS include average inflammatory cells per high-power field over 30 fields, interstitial edema, pulmonary edema, and alveolar integrity, with total scores ranging from 0 to 11. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test, expressed as mean (SD). p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Seven days following isolated LC, animals demonstrated lung healing with an LIS unchanged from naive. The addition of HS resulted in a persistently elevated LIS score, whereas the addition of MSCs to LCHS decreased the LIS score back to naive levels. The change in LIS was driven by a significant decrease in edema scores. In rats undergoing LC alone, 10.5% (3.3%) of CD4 cells were Tregs. The addition of HS caused no significant change in Treg population (9.3% [0.7%]), whereas LCHS + MSC significantly increased the population to 18.2% (6.8%) in peripheral blood (p < 0.05 vs. LCHS). CONCLUSION: Impaired wound healing following trauma and HS is improved by a single dose of MSCs given immediately after injury. This enhanced healing is associated with an increase in the Treg population and a significant decrease in lung edema score as compared with animals undergoing LCHS. Further study into the role of Tregs in MSC-mediated wound healing is warranted.