Treatment of benign endobronchial tumors: when, how, and why. Insights, experiences, and interventional pulmonology strategies.

Benign endobronchial tumors are rare clinical entities characterized by considerable variability in etiology and clinical presentation. The authors report four cases of endobronchial hamartomas treated and followed up from 2018 to 2023. Three of these cases, with identical endobronchial localization in the right lower lobe, were radically treated in flexible bronchoscopy with the only use of biopsy forceps. Another case with a different localization in the left main bronchus was treated with a laser through rigid bronchoscopy. In addition, the authors outline the main interventional pulmonological strategies for the treatment of benign tumors with endobronchial growth based on the existing literature.

Transbronchial needle aspiration in severe cardiac failure patient: 'The old bull knows best'.

Conventional transbronchial needle aspiration (cTBNA) remains a basic technique that must be part of the bronchoscopists expertise. In cases where EBUS is not available, cTBNA must be kept in mind: 'the old bull knows best'.

Alectinib rescue therapy in advanced ALK rearranged lung adenocarcinoma: a case report.

Alectinib is a highly selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) that is approved as first-line treatment in adult patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and as second-line in patients previously treated with crizotinib, and has been shown in the literature to significantly prolong progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The authors describe a clinical case of a 24-year-old woman with malignant massive pleural effusion caused by ALK rearranged pulmonary adenocarcinoma with pleural and pericardial metastasis, in which, despite a dramatic clinical debut, the correct and timely management of the diagnostic and therapeutic path allowed for extraordinary therapeutic success.

A methodology for assessing the maximum expected radon flux from soils in northern Latium (central Italy).

Northern Latium (Italy) is an area where the Rn risk rate is potentially high because of the extensive outcropping of Neogene U-rich volcanics and the presence of major active tectonic lineaments. The lack of data on Rn risk rates in that area, which is undergoing major urban and industrial development, has prompted this study. It proposes a methodology to evaluate the maximum potential diffusive Rn flux from soils based on the measurement of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K activities by gamma-ray spectrometry, and the measurement of main soil parameters influencing the Rn emanation. This methodology provides a simple, reliable and low-cost tool for drawing up radon flux maps useful to both public planners and private individuals, who want to operate safely in the study area. The proposed methodology may also be applied to other geographic areas outside the prescribed study area.