Application of computed tomography, positron emission tomography-computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endobronchial ultrasound, and mediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node staging of non-small-cell lung cancer: A protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Ruling out distant metastases, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)treatment depends on the results of mediastinal node staging (N staging). Several diagnostic methods play central roles in mediastinal N staging. This study is intended to evaluate the existing diagnostic methods and report quality, and to search for the best method for staging mediastinal lymph nodes. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies, including randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies. These studies report the application of computed tomography, positron emission tomography-computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endobronchial ultrasound, and mediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node staging of NSCLC. The quality of the literature was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Study 2. The true positive, false positive, true negative, and false negative of each study was extracted. The corresponding sensitivity, specificity, and other indicators were calculated and the Summary Receiver Operating curve was established. Then, head-to-head and indirect comparison meta-analyses will be conducted. RESULTS: The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: This study will provide basis for mediastinal lymph node staging of non-small cell lung cancer. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019145667.

Validity of the updated European Society of Thoracic Surgeons staging guideline in lung cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) has proposed a revised preoperative lymph node staging guideline for patients with potentially resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to assess the validity of this revised ESTS guideline and survival results in our patient cohort. METHODS: A total of 571 patients with potentially resectable NSCLC seen between January 2004 and November 2013 were included in the study. The preoperative mediastinal staging was performed by video-assisted cervical mediastinoscopy or video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy in all patients except those with peripheral cT1N0 nonadenocarcinoma tumors. Resection via thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was done in patients with no mediastinal lymph node metastasis. Surgical pathological results were compared with the ESTS staging guideline, and the validity of the guideline was tested. RESULTS: In this series, mediastinal lymph node metastasis was revealed preoperatively in 266 patients (46.6%). A total of 305 patients underwent anatomic lung resection. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of the guidelines were calculated as 95.0%, 100%, 100%, 94.6%, and 97.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The ESTS revised preoperative lymph node staging guidelines for patients with NSCLC seem to be effective and valid, and may provide high survival following resectional surgery.

Quality Assessment of Video Mediastinoscopy Performed for Staging in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background Mediastinoscopy is considered to be the gold standard for mediastinal staging for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The diagnostic value depends on how this procedure is performed, which has resulted in drafting a guideline by the European Society of Thoracic Surgery (ESTS). Biopsy of at least stations 4R, 4L, 7, and if present stations 2R and 2L, is recommended. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of the mediastinoscopies performed in our hospital for NSCLC. Methods Medical records of 102 consecutive patients with suspected or proven NSCLC and a performed cervical mediastinoscopy between January 2009 and November 2014 were analyzed in a retrospective cohort study. The number of biopsied stations and complications has been prospectively documented, together with their clinical data. Results Cervical mediastinoscopy was performed in 102 patients and in 51 (50%) patients biopsy was taken of stations 4R, 4L, and 7. N2/N3 disease emerged more significantly (p < 0.05) if biopsies were taken of at least the paratracheal stations 4R/4L and the subcarinal region. The incidence of major complications was 3.9%. Conclusion In our clinic, 50% of the mediastinoscopies performed are executed following the ESTS guidelines. Our results subscribe the need to biopsy at least the paratracheal stations 4L/4R and the subcarinal region to obtain a reliable assessment of the mediastinum.

Is VAMLA/TEMLA the new standard of preresection staging of non-small cell lung cancer?

Accurate mediastinal staging is the hallmark of a good thoracic oncology program. Mediastinal lymph node staging is important for prognostication and to guide the administration of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy. In addition, accurate mediastinal staging is necessary for a fair comparison of different clinical studies. The most important surgical advance in mediastinal lymph node staging in the past few years is transcervical staging, by either sternal elevation or video-assisted mediastinoscopy. The present report summarizes the existing published data evaluating such an approach.

Mediastinoscopy: still the gold standard.

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS-TBNA) is emerging as an alternative to mediastinoscopy for mediastinal lymph node evaluation in non-small cell lung cancer. It remains controversial whether EBUS-TBNA is as accurate as mediastinoscopy. Sensitivity appears similar to mediastinoscopy with enlarged nodes, but lower with normal-sized nodes. The false negative rate appears higher than with mediastinoscopy, so nonmalignant EBUS results may be unreliable. Two flawed studies examining costs identify a very small cost benefit to EBUS, which we will question herein. There are scenarios in which EBUS is preferable to mediastinoscopy. However, for routine staging of the upper mediastinum in non-small cell lung cancer, the benefits of EBUS over mediastinoscopy remain unproven.

Cervical mediastinoscopy for paratracheal masses in pediatric patients.

A cytological diagnosis is essential for a definitive diagnosis in children who have paratracheal lesions. Thirteen pediatric patients were biopsied using cervical mediastinoscopy. Age, gender, preoperative diagnosis, and postoperative biopsy results and complications were reviewed. Five patients had mediastinal lesions residuing or recurring after chemotherapy for either Hodgkin disease or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In 2 of these patients, the diagnosis was recurrent disease. Among the 8 patients presenting with a paratracheal mass or enlarged lymph nodes, histopathologic diagnosis showed tuberculosis in 3 children, Hodgkin disease in 2 children, and histiocytosis X and non-Hodgkin lymphoma 1 patient in each. This study shows that cervical mediastinoscopy gave 100% correct diagnosis for mediastinal residual malignancies or uncommon forms of mycobacterium tuberculosis with paratracheal masses.

A second mediastinoscopy: how to decide and how to do it?

Specific indications for a second or remediastinoscopy include an inadequate first procedure, metachronous second primary or recurrent lung cancer, lung cancer after unrelated disease, and restaging after induction therapy. Nowadays, restaging is the most frequent indication for remediastinoscopy. Only patients with proven mediastinal downstaging will benefit from a subsequent surgical resection. In contrast to imaging or functional studies, remediastinoscopy provides pathological evidence of response after induction therapy. Although technically more challenging than a first procedure, remediastinoscopy can select patients for subsequent thoracotomy and provides prognostic information. Technically, mediastinal dissection is usually started at the left paratracheal side to avoid the innominate artery. Under the aortic arch, dissection proceeds in the pretracheal plane until the subcarinal nodes are reached. Sensitivity of a second mediastinoscopy is lower than a first procedure but in the most recent series it is higher than 70% with an accuracy around 85%. Survival also depends on the findings of remediastinoscopy, patients with persisting mediastinal involvement having a poor prognosis. An alternative approach consists of the use of minimally invasive staging procedures as endobronchial or endoscopic esophageal ultrasound to obtain an initial proof of mediastinal nodal involvement. Mediastinoscopy is subsequently performed after induction therapy to evaluate response. In this way, a technically more difficult remediastinoscopy can be avoided.

Concordância entre os estadiamentos clínico e patológico em pacientes com câncer de pulmão não-pequenas células, estádios I e II, submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico / Concordance between clinical and pathological staging in patients with stages I or II non-small cell lung cancer subjected to surgical treatment

OBJETIVO: Comparar os estadiamentos clínico e patológico em pacientes com câncer de pulmão não-pequenas células submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico e identificar as causas das discordâncias. MÉTODOS: Foram analisados, de forma retrospectiva, os dados de pacientes tratados no Serviço de Cirurgia Torácica do Hospital São Lucas da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, e foram calculados a sensibilidade, especificidade, valor preditivo positivo, valor preditivo negativo e acurácia para os estádios clínicos IA, IB e IIB. O índice kappa foi utilizado para determinar a concordância entre os estadiamentos clínico e patológico. RESULTADOS: Dentre os 92 pacientes estudados, 33,7 por cento foram classificados como estádio clínico IA, 50 por cento como IB e 16,3 por cento como IIB. A concordância entre os estadiamentos clínico e patológico foi de 67,5 por cento para IA, 54,3 por cento para IB e 66,6 por cento para IIB. O estadiamento clínico teve maior acurácia no estádio IA, e um kappa de 0,74 neste caso confirma uma substancial associação com o estadiamento patológico. A dificuldade em avaliar doença metastática linfonodal é responsável pela baixa concordância em pacientes com estádio clínico IB. CONCLUSÕES: A concordância entre os estadiamentos clínico e patológico é baixa, e, freqüentemente, os pacientes são subestadiados (no presente estudo, somente um caso foi superestadiado). São necessárias estratégias para melhorar o estadiamento clínico e, conseqüentemente, o tratamento e o prognóstico dos pacientes com câncer de pulmão não-pequenas células.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical and pathological staging in patients with non-small cell lung cancer submitted to surgical treatment, as well as to identify the causes of discordance. METHODS: Data related to patients treated at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul São Lucas Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated for clinical stages IA, IB, and IIB. The kappa index was used to determine the concordance between clinical and pathological staging. RESULTS: Of the 92 patients studied, 33.7 percent were classified as clinical stage IA, 50 percent as IB, and 16.3 percent as IIB. The concordance between clinical and pathological staging was 67.5 percent for stage IA, 54.3 percent for IB, and 66.6 percent for IIB. The accuracy of the clinical staging was greater for stage IA, and a kappa of 0.74, in this case, confirmed a substantial association with pathological staging. The difficulty in evaluating nodal metastatic disease is responsible for the low concordance in patients with clinical stage IB. CONCLUSIONS: The concordance between clinical and pathological staging is low, and patients are frequently understaged (in the present study, only one case was overstaged). Strategies are necessary to improve clinical staging and, consequently, the treatment and prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

[Concordance between clinical and pathological staging in patients with stages I or II non-small cell lung cancer subjected to surgical treatment]. / Concordância entre os estadiamentos clínico e patológico em pacientes com câncer de pulmão não-pequenas células, estádios I e II, submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical and pathological staging in patients with non-small cell lung cancer submitted to surgical treatment, as well as to identify the causes of discordance. METHODS: Data related to patients treated at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul São Lucas Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated for clinical stages IA, IB, and IIB. The kappa index was used to determine the concordance between clinical and pathological staging. RESULTS: Of the 92 patients studied, 33.7% were classified as clinical stage IA, 50% as IB, and 16.3% as IIB. The concordance between clinical and pathological staging was 67.5% for stage IA, 54.3% for IB, and 66.6% for IIB. The accuracy of the clinical staging was greater for stage IA, and a kappa of 0.74, in this case, confirmed a substantial association with pathological staging. The difficulty in evaluating nodal metastatic disease is responsible for the low concordance in patients with clinical stage IB. CONCLUSIONS: The concordance between clinical and pathological staging is low, and patients are frequently understaged (in the present study, only one case was overstaged). Strategies are necessary to improve clinical staging and, consequently, the treatment and prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Cost-minimization analysis of alternative diagnostic approaches in a modeled patient with non-small cell lung cancer and subcarinal lymphadenopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the costs of alternative diagnostic evaluations of enlarged subcarinal lymph nodes (SLNs) in modeled patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: A cost-minimization model was used to compare 5 diagnostic approaches in the evaluation of enlarged SLNs in modeled patients with NSCLC. Values for the test performance characteristics and prevalence of malignancy in patients with SLN were obtained from the medical literature. The target population was adult patients known or suspected to have NSCLC with SLNs with a short axis length of at least 10 mm on thoracic computed tomography (CT). RESULTS: The lowest-cost diagnostic work-up was by initial evaluation with endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS FNA) biopsy ($11,490 per patient) compared with mediastinoscopy (with biopsy) ($13,658), transbronchial FNA biopsy ($11,963), CT-guided FNA biopsy ($13,027), and positron emission tomography ($12,887). The results were sensitive to rate of SLN metastases and EUS FNA sensitivity. The EUS FNA biopsy remained least costly if the probability of SLN metastases exceeded 24% or EUS FNA sensitivity was higher than 76%. Primary mediastinoscopy was the most economical if not. CONCLUSIONS: Which testing strategy is least costly for SLN evaluation in a modeled patient with NSCLC may be determined by the pretest probability of nodal metastases. Use of EUS FNA biopsy minimizes the cost of diagnostic evaluation in most cases.

[Ambulatory mediastinoscopy]. / Dagkirurgisk mediastinoskopi.

INTRODUCTION: The present study was undertaken to investigate the safety of mediastinoscopy as a routine outpatient procedure. METHODS: We reviewed the first 108 mediastinoscopies performed at our outpatient surgery centre. RESULTS: During the period, 1996 to 1999, 108 out of 206 (52%) mediastinoscopy patients were admitted to the outpatient surgery centre, and 86 (80%) of these were discharged the same day. These numbers were 86% and 86% for 1999 alone, which reflects acceptance of outpatient surgery. One patient was admitted because of preoperative mediastinal venous bleeding, which required compression for 24 hours, and 19 more patients were admitted without strict medical indications. Two patients were admitted later the same day after discharge, because of minor wound bleeding, which was stopped by infiltration with adrenalin. DISCUSSION: Mediastinoscopy can be performed safely as an outpatient procedure on most patients.

Quistes y tumores del mediastino: análisis de 100 observaciones / Cysts and tumors of mediatinum: our experiencie in 100 consecutive cases

Desde el 1/1/75 al 30/6/95 se asistieron 100 pacientes con tumores del mediastino, correspondieron a 54 hombres y 46 mujeres, con una edad promedio de 40,5 años. La ubicación de los tumores fue: compartimiento anterior 61, medio 23 y posterior 16; 46 fueron benignos/no invasores y 54 malignos/invasores, éstos presentaron alto porcentaje de linfomas primarios (23/54). Sesenta y ocho pacientes presentaron síntomas, 10 con cuadro de Miastenia Gravis; la ausencia de síntomas estuvo directamente relacionada con los tumores benignos (29/32). Los tumores de timo con 36 casos fueron los más frecuentes, le siguieron linfoma primario 23, neurogénico 11, germinal 10, quistes 6, mesenquimáticos 6 y endocrinos 5 (bocio endotorácico 3 y adenoma paratiroideo 2). Se operaron 75 pacientes (46 benignos y 19 malignos), 6 luego de tratamiento quimioterápico neoadyuvante (4 de timo y 2 germinales). Las vías de acceso más frecuentes fueron esternotomía vertical (26 casos) y toracotomía posterolateral (25 casos). Todos los pacientes fueron resecados, 63 en forma completa, la conducta adoptada fue resección amplia, incluso de ser necesario ampliada a estructuras vecinas (16 casos). La quimioterapia pre y postoperatoria en base al platino, efectiva en nuestra experiencia, ha mejorado significativamente la evolución de los pacientes con tumores malignos, fundamentalmente los timomas y tumores germinales. El rol de la videotoracoscopia se ajusta a la resección de los quistes y de tumores benignos de pequeño y mediano tamaño. La morbimortalidad quirúrgica fue estadísticamente mayor en los pacientes con Miastenia Gravis respecto de los no portadores de M.G. (p < 0,05 y p < 0,01 respectivamente)

Quistes y tumores del mediastino: análisis de 100 observaciones / Cysts and tumors of mediatinum: our experiencie in 100 consecutive cases

Desde el 1/1/75 al 30/6/95 se asistieron 100 pacientes con tumores del mediastino, correspondieron a 54 hombres y 46 mujeres, con una edad promedio de 40,5 años. La ubicación de los tumores fue: compartimiento anterior 61, medio 23 y posterior 16; 46 fueron benignos/no invasores y 54 malignos/invasores, éstos presentaron alto porcentaje de linfomas primarios (23/54). Sesenta y ocho pacientes presentaron síntomas, 10 con cuadro de Miastenia Gravis; la ausencia de síntomas estuvo directamente relacionada con los tumores benignos (29/32). Los tumores de timo con 36 casos fueron los más frecuentes, le siguieron linfoma primario 23, neurogénico 11, germinal 10, quistes 6, mesenquimáticos 6 y endocrinos 5 (bocio endotorácico 3 y adenoma paratiroideo 2). Se operaron 75 pacientes (46 benignos y 19 malignos), 6 luego de tratamiento quimioterápico neoadyuvante (4 de timo y 2 germinales). Las vías de acceso más frecuentes fueron esternotomía vertical (26 casos) y toracotomía posterolateral (25 casos). Todos los pacientes fueron resecados, 63 en forma completa, la conducta adoptada fue resección amplia, incluso de ser necesario ampliada a estructuras vecinas (16 casos). La quimioterapia pre y postoperatoria en base al platino, efectiva en nuestra experiencia, ha mejorado significativamente la evolución de los pacientes con tumores malignos, fundamentalmente los timomas y tumores germinales. El rol de la videotoracoscopia se ajusta a la resección de los quistes y de tumores benignos de pequeño y mediano tamaño. La morbimortalidad quirúrgica fue estadísticamente mayor en los pacientes con Miastenia Gravis respecto de los no portadores de M.G. (p < 0,05 y p < 0,01 respectivamente) (AU)

Estadificación ganglionar mediastinal en cáncer de pulmón mediante Tomografía Computada: experiencia prospectiva vs. serie no protocolizada / Ganglionic median staging in lung cancer intervening CT: prospective experience vs. series not

Se presentan los resultados de la evaluación ganglionar del mediastino mediante tomografía computada en 120 pacientes operados de cáncer de pulmón. Se los dividió en dos grupos: I- aquellos cuya TC hubiese sido realizada en nuestra Institución siguiendo un protocolo prospectivo (44 pacientes) y II-aquellos cuyos informes proviniesen de otros centros radiológicos (76 pacientes). Todos ellos fueron evaluados intraoperatoriamente mediante vaciamiento (85 casos) o muestreo ganglionar sistemático (35 casos). El grupo I estudiado en nuestra Institución mostró una sensibilidad (93%) significativamente diferente (p<0,05) de la del grupo 2 (33%). Se proponen medidas para unificar criterios técnicos y de interpretación radiológica