Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease of irreversible airways obstruction in which patients often suffer exacerbations. Sometimes these exacerbations need hospital care: telehealthcare has the potential to reduce admission to hospital when used to administer care to the pateint from within their own home.
A 60-year-old Muslim man was admitted to the Dhaka Hospital of ICDDR,B with an exacerbation of his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Incidental hyperpigmented skin lesions were noticed overlying the dorsum of his ankles, knees, and elbows.
Such asymptomatic areas of thickened, lichenified and hyperpigmented skin are called 'prayer marks' and are well-imprinted on the knees, ankles, and forehead. These are secondary to prolonged periods of pressure over bony prominences during prayer. The patient's wife stated that the appearance of the elbow marks had coincided with an increase in his breathlessness and subsequent use of his elbows to rise from daily prayers.
Prayer marks extending to the elbows could be a sign of worsening chronic disease.
Metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer is generally not considered to be curable, and the overall 5-year survival rate is less than 1%. Despite this poor prognosis, palliative chemotherapy can increase time and quality of life in the advanced-disease setting.
New chemotherapy treatments and targeted therapies are available for this stage of disease, but their high costs are an important issue.
In this perspective article, we discuss the hospital costs of antitumor drug administration and the ethical principles involved, the roles of drug agencies and oncologists, and relevant current research on these topics. These considerations have been examined from the perspective of a national public healthcare system.
Introduction: The use of targeted therapies in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing, especially as conventional chemotherapy affords relatively small benefits at a cost of increased toxicity. Two of the more established therapeutic targets in NSCLC are the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Vandetanib is an orally available inhibitor of VEGFR and EGFR signalling and is an attractive therapeutic agent owing to the simultaneous inhibition of both pathways.
Areas covered: This review encompasses the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of vandetanib in advanced NSCLC. Of particular interest are the randomized Phase III clinical trials, which did not show clinically significant overall survival benefit for vandetanib monotherapy or in combination with standard chemotherapy regimens.
Expert opinion: Vandetanib has anti-tumour activity in NSCLC, with improved objective responses and disease control. However, significant survival benefits were not demonstrated in Phase III clinical trials and at present vandetanib is not in further development for use in NSCLC.
The association of cancer and thrombotic events was first described by Trousseau in 1865. The spectrum of these episodes vary in severity, and these can present during or even prior to the diagnosis of cancer. Multiple factors in patients with lung cancer are associated with a higher risk of thrombosis. Patient-related, cancer-related and treatment-related factors contribute to the development of a thrombotic event.
The incidence of thrombotic events in patients with lung cancer is one of the highest among all cancers. Certain particular conditions in lung cancer may be responsible to elevate this risk. Tissue factor (TF) over-expression is considered to be the most important element in cancer-related thrombosis. Several oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes have been implicated with this over-expression. The development of thrombosis in a cancer patient adversely influences prognosis. The use of prophylactic anticoagulation in lung cancer patients has been investigated but no consensus has been obtained regarding which patients are more likely to benefit. Models exist that can help predict this risk, but validation is required.
Treatment guidelines of anticoagulation in patients who develop a thrombotic event are also discussed, but lung cancer patients have distinct characteristics that have to be taken in consideration.
It is of great importance to identify the elements that will predict the risk of developing cancer-associated thrombosis because it will consequently influence the management and prognosis of the patient.