scholarly journals ‘In the Meantime’: Ordinary Life in Continuous Medical Testing for Lung Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Michal Frumer ◽  
Rikke Sand Andersen ◽  
Peter Vedsted ◽  
Sara Marie Hebsgaard Offersen
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Diagnostic Uncertainty ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
Medical Testing ◽  
Mode Of Being ◽  
Subject Making ◽  
Diagnostic Investigations

Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Danes undergoing CT scans as part of follow-up testing for potential lung cancer, we explore how access to technologies generates diagnostic uncertainty and trends of continuous testing. Our research is set in the context of a welfare state that has cultivated forms of government whose public health branches focus on early diagnosis and cancer control. Many studies on biotechnologies emphasise subject-making and power relations. Inspired by the work of Veena Das, we adopt an approach that focuses on the entanglement of diagnostic investigations with everyday life. We argue that being followed establishes a mode of being which we call ‘in the meantime’. Life in the meantime is equally characterised by a dramatic mode of being—that is, waiting for death—and an ambiguous mode of being: feeling quite well. As with any life crisis, it involves some sense of agency. We show in this paper how life in the meantime informs an ordinary ethics that encourages three ethical concerns in everyday life: firstly, how to inhabit life in the meantime? Secondly, what good is the testing for? And finally, what is a good death?

scholarly journals Telephone follow-up of oncology patients: the contribution of the nurse specialist for a Service-Dominant Logic in hospital

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Rochette ◽  
Anne Sophie Michallet ◽  
Stéphanie Malartre-Sapienza ◽  
Sophie Rodier
Keyword(s):  
Patient Activation ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Control Unit ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
Nurse Specialist ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Service Dominant Logic ◽  
Dominant Logic

Abstract Background The French healthcare system is characterised by a shift towards outpatient care and the desire to develop telemedicine affirmed in the collective commitment “Ma santé 2022” presented by President Macron in 2018. In France, remote patient follow up has recently been developed in the active phase of cancer treatment inspired by the patient navigation approach used in other countries. According to Service-Dominant Logic (S-D L), patients become more active. Their role in co-production of services is strengthened and their behaviours changed. Telephone follow-ups can contribute to modifying the relationship between the patient and the nurse navigators in charge of it, moving logically from a passive attitude from the patient to a more active one. Methods This study was carried out at Léon Bérard, a cancer control unit, in France. It concerned patients treated in an oncohaematology department, who benefited from telephone follow-ups carried out by nurse specialists during the active phase of their treatment. The multidisciplinary research team including social science researchers, physicians and carers developed a research protocol to study this pilot case. Essentially based on a qualitative approach, it was validated by the centre’s management to study this follow-up on patients’ behaviours. The 1st phase of the research, based on 24 semi-structured interviews with patients undergoing treatment undertaken from November 2018 to September 2019, is presented. Results The Telephone follow-up was a positive experience for all patients. The action of the nurse specialist helped to develop certain dimensions of in-role and extra-role behaviour that created value. The patients’ discourse has reported a positive follow-up in its clinical dimensions, its psychological dimensions and an enhanced quality of life. We detected a patient activation through their roles but it remained limited. The telephone follow-up also created a patient dependency. Conclusions The telephone follow-up is a relevant tool for patients undergoing treatment and it deserves to be more widely deployed. It brings comfort and creates a relationship based on trust but at the same time it limits the emancipation of the patient, which is a central element of the S-D logic and its empowerment.

scholarly journals Psychosocial consequences of a three-month follow-up after receiving an abnormal lung cancer CT-screening result: A longitudinal survey

Lung Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Christina Sadolin Damhus ◽  
Julie Greve Quentin ◽  
Jessica Malmqvist ◽  
Volkert Siersma ◽  
John Brodersen
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Ct Screening ◽  
Psychosocial Consequences ◽  
Screening Result

scholarly journals Structural and functional radiomics for lung cancer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyao Wu ◽  
Arthur Jochems ◽  
Turkey Refaee ◽  
Abdalla Ibrahim ◽  
Chenggong Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Treatment Strategy ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Clinical Implementation ◽  
Early Stage Lung Cancer ◽  
Treatment Response Evaluation ◽  
Advanced Stage Lung Cancer ◽  
Stage Lung Cancer

Abstract Introduction Lung cancer ranks second in new cancer cases and first in cancer-related deaths worldwide. Precision medicine is working on altering treatment approaches and improving outcomes in this patient population. Radiological images are a powerful non-invasive tool in the screening and diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer, treatment strategy support, prognosis assessment, and follow-up for advanced-stage lung cancer. Recently, radiological features have evolved from solely semantic to include (handcrafted and deep) radiomic features. Radiomics entails the extraction and analysis of quantitative features from medical images using mathematical and machine learning methods to explore possible ties with biology and clinical outcomes. Methods Here, we outline the latest applications of both structural and functional radiomics in detection, diagnosis, and prediction of pathology, gene mutation, treatment strategy, follow-up, treatment response evaluation, and prognosis in the field of lung cancer. Conclusion The major drawbacks of radiomics are the lack of large datasets with high-quality data, standardization of methodology, the black-box nature of deep learning, and reproducibility. The prerequisite for the clinical implementation of radiomics is that these limitations are addressed. Future directions include a safer and more efficient model-training mode, merge multi-modality images, and combined multi-discipline or multi-omics to form “Medomics.”

scholarly journals The Role of Surgery in Lung Cancer Treatment: Present Indications and Future Perspectives—State of the Art

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3711
Author(s):  
François Montagne ◽  
Florian Guisier ◽  
Nicolas Venissac ◽  
Jean-Marc Baste
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Residual Disease ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Locally Advanced ◽  
Small Cell Lung ◽  
Lung Cancers ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
Systemic Therapies

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) are different today, due to the increased use of screening programs and of innovative systemic therapies, leading to the diagnosis of earlier and pre-invasive tumors, and of more advanced and controlled metastatic tumors. Surgery for NSCLC remains the cornerstone treatment when it can be performed. The role of surgery and surgeons has also evolved because surgeons not only perform the initial curative lung cancer resection but they also accompany and follow-up patients from pre-operative rehabilitation, to treatment for recurrences. Surgery is personalized, according to cancer characteristics, including cancer extensions, from pre-invasive and local tumors to locally advanced, metastatic disease, or residual disease after medical treatment, anticipating recurrences, and patients’ characteristics. Surgical management is constantly evolving to offer the best oncologic resection adapted to each NSCLC stage. Today, NSCLC can be considered as a chronic disease and surgery is a valuable tool for the diagnosis and treatment of recurrences, and in palliative conditions to relieve dyspnea and improve patients’ comfort.

scholarly journals Complete metabolic response in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer with prolonged response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e002262
Author(s):  
Justin Ferdinandus ◽  
Martin Metzenmacher ◽  
Lukas Kessler ◽  
Lale Umutlu ◽  
Clemens Aigner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Cell Lung Cancer ◽  
Metabolic Response ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Complete Metabolic Response ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy

IntroductionImmunotherapy is the new standard of care in advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently published data show that treatment discontinuation after 12 months of nivolumab treatment is associated with shorter survival. Therefore, the ideal duration of immunotherapy remains unclear, and finding markers of beneficial outcomes is of great importance. Here, we determine the proportion of complete metabolic responses (CMR) in patients who have not progressed after 24 months of immunotherapy.MethodsThis is a retrospective analysis of 45 patients with positron emission tomography using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose imaging for assessment of residual metabolic activity after at least 24 months. CMR was defined as uptake in tumor lesions below background levels, using mediastinum as a reference. ResultsOut of 45 patients, 29 patients had a CMR (64%). CMR was observed more frequently in non-first-line patients. Patients with CMR were younger (median 65.7 vs 75.5, p=0.03). Fourteen patients with CMR have discontinued therapy and have not progressed until time of analysis; however, median follow-up was only 5.6 (range 0.8–17.0) months.ConclusionAfter a minimum of 24 months of palliative immunotherapy for NSCLC, CMR occurred in almost two thirds of patients. Potentially, achievement of CMR might identify patients, for whom palliative immunotherapy may be safely discontinued.

scholarly journals Decelerated tumor growth due to hypothyroidism with prolongation of survival in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma: a case report

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 030006051988530
Author(s):  
Jia Hou ◽  
Shan-Shan Xiong ◽  
Zhao-Qi Huang ◽  
Xing-Dong Cai
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibitor ◽  
Tumor Therapy ◽  
Stage Iv ◽  
Small Cell Lung ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Advanced Stages

Lung adenocarcinoma is a form of non-small-cell lung cancer with high mortality in the advanced stages, and is one of the most common histological subtypes of lung cancer in most countries. Prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma is generally poor, with a median survival of 4–13 months. We report a case of unusually prolonged survival of a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma complicated by hypothyroidism. A 71-year-old man with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma presented with hypothyroidism. Surprisingly, without any anti-tumor and anti-hypothyroidism therapy, he survived this lung cancer for longer than 2.5 years before his last follow-up visit. Patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma rarely survive for longer than 2 years, even after therapy. We hypothesize that hypothyroidism is the cause for this discrepancy. Thyroid hormones can promote growth of carcinoma. Therefore, hypothyroidism appears to be beneficial to anti-cancer therapy. We believe that hypothyroidism, as an adverse event commonly occurring in anti-tumor therapy (e.g., an immune checkpoint inhibitor), might not be able to be completely eliminated.

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