Pancoast tumors

[Advance of Treatment for Superior Sulcus Tumor of the Lung]

肺上沟瘤是指发生在肺上沟区的的支气管源性肿瘤, 是非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC)的一个独特的临床亚型, 占肺癌总数不足5%。它常侵犯第1肋、臂丛、锁骨下动静脉、交感神经链、星状神经节和(或)椎体等胸廓入口结构。近几十年, 肺上沟瘤的治疗取得了不断的进展, 最新发布的几个临床试验证实了同期放化疗加手术切除能够改善肿瘤的完整切除率、局部控制率和病理缓解率, 延长患者的总生存时间。已经成为肺上沟瘤的治疗最为有效的方式, 并成为美国国立综合癌症网络(National Comprehensive Cancer Network, NCCN)和美国胸科医师协会(American College of Chest Physicians, ACCP)指南推荐的肺上沟瘤治疗方案。本文回顾国内外相关文献, 简要介绍肺上沟瘤手术治疗及综合治疗的进展情况。

[Anterior or Posterior Approach with Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Superior Sulcus Tumors]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The surgical resection for pancoast tumors remains challenging. There are only few reports explaining the use of VATS in the treatment of Pancoast tumors. The aim of this study is to assess whether the use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for the surgical treatment of Pancoast tumors was feasible and safe.

METHODS

Between Janunary 2010 and June 2013, ten patients who were diagnosed as Pancoast tumors were recruited. Six patients were accepted for surgical treatment either through an anterior (n=3) or a posterior approach (n=3) combined with VATS. The observation index of this study included: Operation safety and mortality; The integrity of the tumor resection; General data of operation and postoperative complications; Tumor recurrence and metastasis at twelve months after operation.

RESULTS

There were no perioperative deaths. The average time of operation time was 242 min. The radical en bloc resection of the involved chest wall were done in each patients. The average amount of blood loss was 308 mL and the average time of hospital stay was 14 d. Only one patient had postoperative pneumonia and recovered after use of antibiotics. There was none of severe postoperative complications. No patient developed a local recurrence or distant metastasis within twelve months.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of VATS has practical value in the management of Pancoast tumors. It is useful to make an accurate extent of the resection of chest-wall and provides a better exposure. Anterior or posterior approach with VATS surgery can facilitate the safety management of Pancoast tumors.

Therapeutic modalities for Pancoast tumors

A Pancoast tumor, also called a pulmonary sulcus tumor or superior sulcus tumor, is a tumor of the pulmonary apex. It is a type of lung cancer defined primarily by its location situated at the top end of either the right or left lung. It typically spreads to nearby tissues such as the ribs and vertebrae. Most Pancoast tumors are non-small cell cancers. The growing tumor can cause compression of a brachiocephalic vein, subclavian artery, phrenic nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve, vagus nerve, or, characteristically, compression of a sympathetic ganglion resulting in a range of symptoms known as Horner's syndrome. Pancoast tumors are named for Henry Pancoast, a US radiologist, who described them in 1924 and 1932.The treatment of a Pancoast lung cancer may differ from that of other types of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Its position and close proximity to vital structures may make surgery difficult. As a result, and depending on the stage of the cancer, treatment may involve radiation and chemotherapy given prior to surgery. Surgery may consist of the removal of the upper lobe of a lung together with its associated structures as well as mediastinal lymphadenectomy. Surgical access may be via thoracotomy from the back or the front of the chest and modification. Careful patient selection, improvements in imaging such as the role of PET-CT in restaging of tumors, radiotherapy and surgical advances, the management of previously inoperable lesions by a combined experienced thoracic-neurosurgical team and prompt recognition and therapy of postoperative complications has greatly increased local control and overall survival for patients with these tumors.

Pancoast tumors: characteristics and preoperative assessment

Superior sulcus tumors (SSTs), or as otherwise known Pancoast tumors, make up a clinically unique and challenging subset of non-small cell carcinoma of the lung (NSCLC). Although the outcome of patients with this disease has traditionally been poor, recent developments have contributed to a significant improvement in prognosis of SST patients. The combination of severe and unrelenting shoulder and arm pain along the distribution of the eighth cervical and first and second thoracic nerve trunks, Horner's syndrome (ptosis, miosis, and anhidrosis) and atrophy of the intrinsic hand muscles comprises a clinical entity named as "Pancoast-Tobias syndrome". Apart NSCLC, other lesions may, although less frequently, result in Pancoast syndrome. In the current review we will present the main characteristics of the disease and focus on the preoperative assessment.

Classification of pain in cancer patients--a systematic literature review

One of the aims of the European Palliative Care Research Collaborative (EPCRC) is to achieve consensus on a classification system for cancer pain. We performed a systematic literature review to identify existing classification systems and domains/items used to classify cancer patients with pain. In a systematic search in the databases Medline and Embase, covering 1986-2006, 692 hits were obtained. 92 papers were evaluated to address pain classification. Six standardised classification systems were identified; three of them systematically developed and partially validated. Both pain characteristics and patient characteristics relevant for cancer pain classification were included in the classification systems. All but one of the standardised systems aim at predicting treatment response or adequacy of treatment. Several domains and items used to describe cancer pain but not formally described as part of a classification system were also identified and systematized. The existing approaches to pain classification in cancer patients are different, mostly not thoroughly validated, and none is widely applied. An internationally accepted classification system for cancer pain could improve research and cancer pain management. This systematic review suggests a need for developing an international consensus on how to classify pain in cancer patients.

Pancoast tumors

Pancoast tumors (superior sulcus tumors or apical lung tumors) typically invade structures at the thoracic outlet, including the inferior elements of the brachial plexus (C8, T1 nerve roots and lower trunk). Historically, these tumors are rapidly fatal, but newer treatment with induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy, followed by surgical resection of the tumor has resulted in improved patient survival. To accomplish oncologic excision, resection of the involved brachial plexus elements is still standard practice in most centers, resulting in loss of hand function and/or development of neuropathic pain. We present a modification of this protocol that incorporates induction chemoradiation, surgical resection of the lung tumor by a thoracic surgeon, and neurolysis and preservation of the brachial plexus by a neurosurgeon. Improved survival outcome, especially in patients demonstrating a pathologic complete response, with preservation of hand function, supports our hypothesis that involved brachial plexus does not need resection in these patients.

CT, positron emission tomography, and MRI in staging lung cancer

Lung cancer is a common malignancy and remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in the United States. Imaging plays an important role in the detection, diagnosis, and staging of the disease as well as in assessing response to therapy and monitoring for tumor recurrence after treatment. This article reviews the staging of the two major histologic categories of lung cancer-non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small-cell lung carcinoma-and emphasizes the appropriate use of CT, MRI, and positron emission tomography imaging in patient management. Also discussed are proposed revisions of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's terms used to describe the extent of NSCLC in terms of the primary tumor, lymph nodes, and metastases descriptors.

Imaging of non-small cell lung cancer of the superior sulcus: part 2: initial staging and assessment of resectability and therapeutic response

Imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and staging of superior sulcus tumors, assessment of their resectability, determination of the optimal approach to disease management, and evaluation of the response to therapy. Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and positron emission tomography (PET)/CT contribute important and complementary information. Whereas CT is optimal for depicting bone erosion and for staging of intrathoracic disease, MR imaging is superior for evaluating tumor extension to the intervertebral neural foramina, the spinal cord, and the brachial plexus, primarily because of the higher contrast resolution and multiplanar capability available with MR imaging technology. Use of PET/CT enables the detection of unsuspected nodal and distant metastases. However, imaging has only limited usefulness for evaluating the response of a tumor to induction therapy and detecting local recurrence, and surgical biopsy often is necessary to verify the results of therapy.

Pancoast tumor resection with preservation of brachial plexus and hand function

Object

Pancoast tumors are aggressive bronchogenic lesions of the lung apex that are rapidly fatal if untreated. Modern treatment includes induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy prior to resection, but many authors also resect the T-1 nerve root (with or without the C-8 nerve root and the lower trunk of the brachial plexus) as part of the therapy, causing significant loss of hand function in many patients. The current authors determined whether a different approach allowing preservation of the brachial plexus and hand function could be adopted without compromising patient survival. An extensive historical review of Pancoast tumors is presented as a baseline for clinical comparison.

Methods

Five patients harboring Pancoast tumors with brachial plexus involvement underwent surgery performed by both a neurosurgeon and thoracic surgeon. In all cases the tumor was resected from the brachial plexus using neurolysis while preserving the C-8 and T-1 nerve roots and lower trunk of the brachial plexus.

Results

One patient died 3 years posttreatment; the other four patients remain alive and well 2 to 5 years postoperatively. Hand function improved or remained normal in all four survivors, with postoperative intrinsic hand muscle function being Louisiana State University Medical Center Grade 5 in each patient. These results (2-year survival rate of 100%) compare favorably with the Southwest Oncology Group Data (overall 2-year survival rate of 55%; 70% in patients who had undergone complete resection). With a minimum 2-year follow-up, 80% of patients remained alive and well, with normal hand function.

Conclusions

Although this patient series is small, the findings are extremely encouraging and suggest that the described treatment paradigm preserves survival as well as hand function in patients with Pancoast tumors.

Multimodality therapy for Pancoast tumor

The management of Pancoast tumors has challenged surgeons and radiation and medical oncologists over several decades. Retrospective studies have raised a greater awareness of the importance of positive N2 lymph nodes in terms of prognosis and treatment decision making. While patients with positive N2 lymph nodes have generally been excluded from trials of preoperative chemoradiation for superior sulcus tumors, the potential of surgery for these patients is still being evaluated. The role of PET for initial staging as well as for assessment of disease response to induction therapy continues to evolve. The use of combined treatment modalities has enhanced the progress in successfully treating Pancoast tumors. The historical data showing improved results with a combination of surgery and radiation compared with surgery alone for patients with positive N2 nodes provides the basis for several important clinical trials that integrate the use of chemotherapy into the treatment paradigm. The Southwest Oncology Group and Japanese Clinical Oncology Group have shown dramatic improvements in complete resection rates following a neoadjuvant course of combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy compared with historical series. We discuss relevant ongoing clinical trials that include consolidative taxane-based chemotherapy and the role of prophylactic cranial irradiation in complete responders. Future potential areas of investigation, including the role of surgery for patients with N2-positive disease and the use of imaging to assess response after induction therapy, are discussed.

Delay by patients and doctors in treatment of Pancoast tumor

PURPOSE

Long delays in diagnosis and treatment of Pancoast tumor have been reported but the reasons for these delays have yet to be fully considered. The aim of this study was to assess recent delays in diagnosis and treatment of Pancoast tumor and to determine the reasons for the delays.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We identified Pancoast tumors in patients with lung cancer referred to the radiation department of a city hospital between September 1999 and August 2004. From interviews conducted by a radiation oncologist and review of the medical records, delay due to a patient was calculated as the interval between the onset of symptoms and presentation to a physician, and delay due to a doctor as the interval between the presentation and the definitive treatment. The overall treatment delay was calculated as the sum of those delays. Radiological workups were also reviewed for errors, and the effect of any errors on the delays was estimated.

RESULTS

The study population included 42 men and six women with a median age of 65.5 years at presentation. Treatment delay ranged widely from 38 to 400 days (mean 164.0): delay due to patients ranged from 0 to 371 days (mean 55.8), accounting for 34% of the mean treatment delay; delay due to doctors ranged from 14 to 349 days (mean 108.2), and accounted for the remaining (66%) mean treatment delay. In 166 radiological studies reviewed, 98 radiological errors (59%) were identified in 28 patients (58%). These patients waited an additional mean of 88.4 days for correct radiological interpretation, accounting for 48% of the mean doctors' delay. Thus, the mean doctors' delay with radiological errors was significantly longer than that without radiological errors (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment delay for Pancoast tumor was relatively long, and approximately two-thirds of the delay was due to doctors, mainly because of errors in radiology.

Contemporary management of superior pulmonary sulcus (Pancoast) lung tumors

For more than three decades following the initial report by Shaw et al. in 1961, the standard treatment of Pancoast lung tumors consisted of induction radiotherapy followed by en bloc resection through a posterolateral thoracotomy. Overall 5-year survival rates with this regime were typically 30 to 40%, with poor prognosis in patients with positive mediastinal lymph nodes, T4 involvement, or incomplete resection. During the past decade, advancements in surgical technique and adjuvant therapy have improved the safety and completeness of resection as well as the probability of long-term survival. Alternative surgical approaches have been developed to facilitate more complete resection of tumors involving subclavian vessels and brachial plexus, and aggressive vertebral body resection has been performed in conjunction with neurosurgeons. Arguably the most important advance in the treatment of Pancoast tumors has been the recognition that induction chemoradiation substantially improves both the rate of complete resection and medium-term survival.

Therapy for stage I and stage II non-small cell lung cancer

Despite complete resection of what seems to be all evident tumor, one third to three quarters of patients with stages I and II NSCLC ultimately succumb to this neoplasm. Patients who are cured of an original NSCLC or small cell cancer remain at risk for a new primary lung cancer. Although the importance of lifelong surveillance is clear, the extent and timing of optimal follow-up remain undefined. Although clinicians refer to the development after treatment of clinically discernible sites of tumor as "recurrence," it is probably more accurate to consider these foci as "persistence"--that is, the locoregional site was not sterilized by surgery, and the distant implants were present from the outset but undetected. Although data are sparse, induction and improved adjuvant therapy for early NSCLC may be helpful. Much further experience is needed. Further study and application of biologic indicators in addition to TNM staging likely will help identify patients at high risk for surgical failure who may benefit by combination treatment.