Stefan S. Jeppesen

Comparison of survival of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with or without a localized non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are often co-existing diseases with poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to compare survival in COPD patients with localized NSCLC treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (NSCLC group) with COPD patients without a malignant diagnosis (non-malignant group). MATERIALS AND METHODS The NSCLC group was prospectively recorded at the Department of Oncology from 2007 to 2013. The non-malignant group was selected among patients referred to the Department of Respiratory Medicine from 2005 until 2011 suspected of thoracic malignancy but without the malignant diagnosis maintained. RESULTS In a propensity score matched comparison the median overall survival was 53 vs. 71 months in the NSCLC and non-malignant groups, respectively (p<0.001). Subgroup analyses showed survival for patients with mild/moderate COPD was affected statistically significant with a higher mortality rate by a diagnosis of localized NSCLC with hazard ratio=2.62 (95% CI: 1.47-4.68) while an insignificant higher mortality rate with hazard ratio=1.22 (95% CI: 0.71-2.08) was found in patient with severe/very severe COPD. CONCLUSION Despite the serious prognosis of COPD, a localized NSCLC diagnosis negatively affects survival in COPD patients. However, stereotactic body radiotherapy should still be considered for COPD patients diagnosed with localized NSCLC.

Survival of localized NSCLC patients without active treatment or treated with SBRT

Abstract Background: Little information on the natural history of patients with localized NSCLC is available since many of the studies covering the subject lack information on pathological confirmation, staging procedures and comorbidity. No randomized studies have compared SBRT with no treatment for patients with localized NSCLC. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether SBRT has influence on overall survival for patients with localized NSCLC and investigate the effect of baseline ventilatory lung function on overall survival. Material and methods: From 2007 to 2013, 136 patients treated with SBRT at Odense University Hospital were prospectively recorded. The thoracic SBRT consisted of three fractions of 15–22 Gy delivered in 9 days. For comparison, a national group of 73 untreated patients in the same time period was extracted from the Danish Lung Cancer Registry. All patients had histologically/cytologically proven NSCLC T1-2N0M0 with a tumour diameter ≤5 cm. Results: The 5-year relative survival was 44% versus 7% for the SBRT and untreated groups, respectively. In a propensity score matched comparison the median overall survival was 47 months versus 11 months for the SBRT and untreated groups, respectively (p < .05). On multivariate analysis, SBRT was significantly associated with improved prognosis while ECOG performance status 2+ and tumour diameter ≥3 cm significantly predicted poorer prognosis. Severe to very severe reduction of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) did not predict poorer survival for the SBRT treated patients with localized NSCLC. Conclusions: SBRT offers more favourable survival than no treatment for patients with localized NSCLC. Performance status of 0–1, tumour diameter less than 3 cm and SBRT predicted improved survival. SBRT should not be withheld for patients with localized NSCLC based on poor ventilatory lung function.

Impact of comprehensive geriatric assessment on quality of life, overall survival, and unplanned admission in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy

OBJECTIVES Overall survival ﴾OS﴿ for patients with localized non-small cell lung cancer ﴾NSCLC﴿ treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy ﴾SBRT﴿ is poorer than for patients undergoing surgery. Patients who undergo SBRT are often ineligible for surgery due to significant comorbidities that can impact their mortality. A comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) that identifies and treats aging related comorbidities could improve OS and quality of life (QoL). This randomized study investigated if a CGA added to SBRT impacts QoL, survival, and unplanned admissions. MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 2015 to June 2016, 51 patients diagnosed with T1-2N0M0 NSCLC treated with SBRT were enrolled. The patients were randomized 1:1 to receive SBRT +/- CGA. EuroQoL Group 5D (EQ-5D) health index and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were assessed at start of SBRT, at five weeks, and every third month for a year after SBRT. RESULTS There were 26 and 25 patients randomized to receive ± CGA, respectively. The repeated measures one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test of the EQ-5D health index and VAS scores did not show statistically significant differences between groups. For the EQ-5D VAS scores at twelve months follow-up there was a small difference between the groups although not statistically significant. Even though more patients deceased in the no-CGA group, no statistically significant difference in survival rates and unplanned admission rate was observed between groups. CONCLUSION In patients with localized NSCLC treated with SBRT, a CGA did not impact the overall QoL, the prevalence/length of unplanned admissions, or survival. There was an indication of small differences in QoL and survival in the data, but such differences can only be validated in larger studies.

Charlson comorbidity index as a predictor of overall survival for patients with early stage NSCLC

Background: Oral mucositis (OM) is a common debiliating adverse effect following high dose chemotherapy prior to bone marrow transplantation. OM often interferes with food intake and lead to malnutrition, weight loss and impaired quality of life. These adverse effects may require intravenous morphine for pain alleviation, Although uncomfortable to the patient, oral cryotherapy with ice chips has been shown to reduce the grade and extent of OM. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate whether an intraoral cooling device has the same effectiveness as ice chips when it comes to cooling the oral mucosa. Method: Five healthy volunteers (mean age 36.2 years) chewed ice under surveillance for 30 minutes. Before the start of and immediately after the termination of the ice chewing, the intraoral mucosal temperature was measured using a modified thermometer. The same protocol was used to asses the cooling efficacy obtained by the newly developed intraoral device. Results: No statistical significant differences in cooling of teh oral mucosa (p=0.12) were obtained. The mean surface temperature following cooling was 25.7 degrees Celcius with ice chips and 24.7 degrees Celcius with the cooling device. Conclucion: The cooling device is as effective as ice chips in terms of cooling the oral mucosa. The next step in this research is to use the cooling devise to establish the highest surface temperature of the oral mucosa, during infusion of chemotherapy, that will still result in prevention of oral mucositis.Introduction Lifestyle interventions might be useful in the management of adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with prostate cancer. Objectives To examine the effects of dietary and exercise interventions on quality of life (QoL), metabolic risk factors and androgen deficiency symptoms in men with prostate cancer undergoing ADT. Methods CINAHL, Cochrane library, Medline and PsychINFO were searched to identify randomised controlled trials published from January, 2004 to October, 2014. Data extraction and methodological quality assessment was independently conducted by two reviewers. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan® 5.3.5. Results Of 2183 articles retrieved, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria and had low risk of bias.Nine studies evaluated exercise (resistance and/or aerobic and/or counselling) and three evaluated dietary supplementation. Median sample size =79 (33–121) and median intervention duration was 12 weeks (12–24). Exercise improved QoL measures (SMD 0.26, 95%CI −0.01 to 0.53) but not body composition, metabolic risk or vasomotor symptoms. Qualitative analysis indicated soy (or isoflavone) supplementation did not improve vasomotor symptoms; however, may improve QoL. Conclusions Few studies have evaluated the efficacy of lifestyle interventions in the management of adverse effects of ADT. We found inconclusive results for exercise in improving QoL and negative results for other outcomes. For soy-based products, we found negative results for modifying vasomotor symptoms and inconclusive results for improving QoL. Future work should investigate the best mode of exercise for improving QoL and other interventions such as dietary counselling should be investigated for their potential to modify these outcomes.