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Lung cancer - major changes in the American Joint Committee on cancer eighth edition cancer staging manual.
CA Cancer J Clin. 2017 Jan 31;:
Authors: Rami-Porta R, Asamura H, Travis WD, Rusch VW
Abstract
Answer questions and earn CME/CNE The revision for the eighth edition of the tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) classification of lung cancer was based on analyses of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer database, which included 77,156 evaluable patients diagnosed with lung cancer from 1999 to 2010. Among tumor (T) descriptors, the following new tumor-size groups were created: T1a, ≤1 cm; T1b, >1 to 2 cm; T1c, >2 to 3 cm; T2a, >3 to 4 cm; T2b, >4 to 5 cm; T3, >5 to 7 cm; and T4, >7 cm. Tis and T1mi were introduced for adenocarcinoma in situ and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma, respectively. Endobronchial tumors located <2 cm from the carina have better prognosis than those with any other T3 descriptor and were classified as T2. Total atelectasis/pneumonitis was classified as a T2 descriptor, because it has a T2 prognosis. Diaphragmatic invasion is now T4. Visceral pleural invasion remains unchanged, and mediastinal pleura invasion, which is seldom used, disappears as a T descriptor. The lymph node (N) component descriptors are unchanged, but the number of involved nodal stations has prognostic impact. For the metastasis (M) component, M1a (intrathoracic metastases) remains unchanged, but extrathoracic metastases are divided into a single extrathoracic metastasis (new M1b) and multiple extrathoracic metastases in a single organ or multiple organs (M1c). Stage IA is now divided into IA1, IA2, and IA3 to accommodate T1a, T1b, and T1cN0M0 tumors, respectively; all N1 disease is stage IIB except for T3-T4N1M0 tumors, which are stage IIIA; a new stage IIIC is created for T3-T4N3M0 tumors; and stage IV is divided into IVA (M1a and M1b) and IVB (M1c). This revision enhances our capacity for prognostication and will have an important impact in the management of patients with lung cancer and in future research. CA Cancer J Clin 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
PMID: 28140453 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Which patients with advanced respiratory disease die in hospital? A 14-year population-based study of trends and associated factors.
BMC Med. 2017 Feb 01;15(1):19
Authors: Higginson IJ, Reilly CC, Bajwah S, Maddocks M, Costantini M, Gao W, GUIDE_Care project
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Strategies in many countries have sought to improve palliative care and reduce hospital deaths for non-cancer patients, but their effects are not evaluated. We aimed to determine the trends and factors associated with dying in hospital in two common progressive respiratory diseases, and the impact of a national end of life care (EoLC) strategy to reduce deaths in hospital.
METHODS: This population-based observational study linked death registration data for people in England dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or interstitial pulmonary diseases (IPD). We plotted age- and sex-standardised trends, assessed during the pre-strategy (2001-2004), first strategy phase (2004-2008), and strategy intensification (2009-2014) periods, and identified factors associated with hospital death using multiple adjusted proportion ratios (PRs).
RESULTS: Over 14 years, 380,232 people died from COPD (334,520) or IPD (45,712). Deaths from COPD and IPD increased by 0.9% and 9.2% annually, respectively. Death in hospital was most common (67% COPD, 70% IPD). Dying in hospice was rare (0.9% COPD, 2.9% IPD). After a plateau in 2004-2005, hospital deaths fell (PRs 0.92-0.94). Co-morbidities and deprivation independently increased the chances of dying in hospital, with larger effects in IPD (PRs 1.01-1.55) than COPD (PRs 1.01-1.39) and dose-response gradients. The impact of multimorbidity increased over time; hospital deaths did not fall for people with two or more co-morbidities in COPD, nor one or more in IPD. Living in rural areas (PRs 0.94-0.94) or outside London (PRs, 0.89-0.98) reduced the chances of hospital death. In IPD, increased age reduced the likelihood of hospital death (PR 0.81, ≥ 85 versus ≤ 54 years); divergently, in COPD, being aged 65-74 years was associated with increased hospital deaths (PR 1.13, versus ≤ 54 years). The independent effects of sex and marital status differed for COPD versus IPD (PRs 0.89-1.04); in COPD, hospital death was associated with being married.
CONCLUSIONS: The EoLC strategy appeared to have contributed to tangible reductions in hospital deaths, but did not reach people with multimorbidity and this gap widened over time. Integrating palliative care earlier in the disease trajectory especially in deprived areas and cities, and where multimorbidity is present, should be boosted, taking into account the different demographic factors in COPD and IPD.
PMID: 28143520 [PubMed - in process]
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Respiratory disease terminology: Discordance between pulmonologists and patients.
Lung India. 2017 Jan-Feb;34(1):9-12
Authors: Singh N, Singh S, Jain NK, Singh V
Abstract
CONTEXT: A number of local dialects and languages exist in India, which leads to a single disease being addressed by a number of names which may overlap with other disease names also. This creates misunderstanding and is a hindrance to effective patient-doctor communication.
AIMS: The paper aims to find out how effectively the name of the respiratory disease is communicated to the patient. The terminology used by patients to describe their disease was also noted at limited level.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was conducted in the form of parallel cross-sectional surveys, among pulmonologists and patients.
METHODS: Among the members of the Indian Chest Society and those attending the National Conference on Pulmonary Diseases (NAPCON-2015), 1028 pulmonologists participated in the online survey which was the first part of the study. The term used to address the common respiratory disease was inquired in the survey. To find the response of patients, a questionnaire was given to the patients attending four respiratory disease clinics of a city. They were inquired about the name of respiratory disease they were suffering from.
RESULTS: Pneumonia was the disease which was communicated with exact terminology by 898 (87.4%) doctors to their patients. In contrast, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was communicated with precise terminology by only 171 (16.6%) doctors. Pulmonary tuberculosis was exactly told by 708 (69%), asthma by 731 (71.1%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 593 (57.7%) doctors. However, only 17.6% of the 1122 patients participating in the survey had a knowledge of the name of disease they were suffering from.
CONCLUSIONS: The exact terminology of the common respiratory diseases is not effectively used by many doctors and most of the patients. The study identifies an important gap in patient-doctor communication, and therefore, highlights the need of effective patient education.
PMID: 28144053 [PubMed - in process]