Reduced Lung-Cancer Mortality with Volume CT Screening in a Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND There are limited data from randomized trials regarding whether volume-based, low-dose computed tomographic (CT) screening can reduce lung-cancer mortality among male former and current smokers. METHODS A total of 13,195 men (primary analysis) and 2594 women (subgroup analyses) between the ages of 50 and 74 were randomly assigned to undergo CT screening at T0 (baseline), year 1, year 3, and year 5.5 or no screening. We obtained data on cancer diagnosis and the date and cause of death through linkages with national registries in the Netherlands and Belgium, and a review committee confirmed lung cancer as the cause of death when possible. A minimum follow-up of 10 years until December 31, 2015, was completed for all participants. RESULTS Among men, the average adherence to CT screening was 90.0%. On average, 9.2% of the screened participants underwent at least one additional CT scan (initially indeterminate). The overall referral rate for suspicious nodules was 2.1%. At 10 years of follow-up, the incidence of lung cancer was 5.58 cases per 1000 personyears in the screening group and 4.91 cases per 1000 person-years in the control group; lung-cancer mortality was 2.50 deaths per 1000 person-years and 3.30 deaths per 1000 person-years, respectively. The cumulative rate ratio for death from lung cancer at 10 years was 0.76 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 0.94; P = 0.01) in the screening group as compared with the control group, similar to the values at years 8 and 9. Among women, the rate ratio was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.38 to 1.14) at 10 years of follow-up, with values of 0.41 to 0.52 in years 7 through 9. CONCLUSIONS In this trial involving high-risk persons, lung-cancer mortality was significantly lower among those who underwent volume CT screening than among those who underwent no screening. There were low rates of follow-up procedures for results suggestive of lung cancer. (Funded by the Netherlands Organization of Health Research and Development and others; NELSON Netherlands Trial Register number, NL580.)

Thin-section Computed Tomography findings before and after azithromycin treatment of neutrophilic reversible lung allograft dysfunction

Recently a novel subgroup of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) has been described in patients after lung transplantation with high neutrophil counts in broncho-alveolar lavage and recovery of lung functional decline with azithromycin treatment. We aimed to describe the thin-section computed tomography (CT) findings of these neutrophilic reversible allograft dysfunction (NRAD) patients before and after azithromycin.status: publishe

Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation After Prior Lung Transplantation for Hereditary Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis: A Case Report

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare, diffuse lung disorder characterized by surfactant accumulation in the small airways due to defective clearance by alveolar macrophages, resulting in impaired gas exchange. Whole lung lavage is the current standard of care treatment for PAP. Lung transplantation is an accepted treatment option when whole lung lavage or other experimental treatment options are ineffective, or in case of extensive pulmonary fibrosis secondary to PAP. A disadvantage of lung transplantation is recurrence of PAP in the transplanted lungs, especially in hereditary PAP. The hereditary form of PAP is an ultra-rare condition caused by genetic mutations in genes encoding for the granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) receptor, and intrinsically affects bone marrow derived-monocytes, which differentiate into macrophages in the lung. Consequently, these macrophages typically display disrupted GM-CSF receptor-signaling, causing defective surfactant clearance. Bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may potentially reverse the lung disease in hereditary PAP. In patients with hereditary PAP undergoing lung transplantation, post-lung transplant recurrence of PAP may theoretically be averted by subsequent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which results in a graft-versus-disease (PAP) effect, and thus could improve long-term outcome. We describe the successful long-term post-transplant outcome of a unique case of end-stage respiratory failure due to hereditary PAP-induced pulmonary fibrosis, successfully treated by bilateral lung transplantation and subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Our report supports treatment with serial lung and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to improve quality of life and prolong survival, without PAP recurrence, in selected patients with end-stage hereditary PAP