Current medical and surgical management of lung cancer

CT: Computer Tomography; EBUS TBNA: Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration; FDG:Fluorodeoxyglucose; IALT: International Adjuvant Lung Cancer Trial; LDCT: Low Dose Computer Tomography; NSCLC: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer; PET: Positron Emission Tomography; RATS: Robot-Assisted Thoracic Surgery; SABR: Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy; TKI: Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor; VATS: Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery

for patients with suspected lung malignancy and will result in a CT of the thorax for those patients who were found to have an abnormal chest radiograph [3]. Accurate staging is then vital as this guides treatment options and ultimately determines prognosis [4]. Major changes in the lung cancer pathway include the widespread introduction of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans for mediastinal and hilar nodal staging and has allowed for this to become the fi rst diagnostic and staging investigation for patients potentially suitable for curative treatment [3]. The gold standard for pre-operative mediastinal lymph node staging is still mediastinoscopy with reported sensitivity of 81.8% (95% CI:63-82) and accuracy of up to 97% with the advantage of providing samples for histological analysis [5]. Mediastinoscopy is recommended for Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avid nodes or lymph nodes larger than 1cm in the short axis [2]. Another less invasive approach to lymph node sampling includes the use of the endobronchialultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration [2].
Endobronchial ultrasound in combination with endoscopic ultrasound is reported to have a diagnostic accuracy of 97% [6].
Another important development is the wider acceptance of the lung cancer screening programmes. The National Lung Screening Trial in the US demonstrated a 20% reduction in mortality associated with lung cancer in patients screened with low dose CT (LDCT) [8]. The screening trial NELSON randomised patients to LDCT for lung cancer screening and compared this with chest radiography in the control arm [9]. The majority of lung malignancies were identifi ed at an (earlier) stage 1 in the group screened with LDCT (69.4%) compared with less than 10% of lung cancer cases diagnosed in stage 1 in the control arm Citation: Ajab [9]. Lung cancer screening has also resulted in the detection of increased numbers of peripheral pulmonary lesions [10]. These lesions were historically sampled using CT needle biopsy, however over the last ten years advances in interventional pulmonology have resulted in a movement towards the use of modalities such as radial EBUS and navigational bronchoscopy [10]. Radial EBUS utilises a transducer which rotates 360  and can be inserted through the bronchoscopic working channel, which allows for obtaining high resolution, real time images of lesions surrounding the airways [10]. The use of the radial probe provides the advantage over fl exible bronchoscopy of allowing visualisation of distal small airways with greater diagnostic yield, which was reported to range between 56 to 78% [10][11][12]. Minimally invasive technology such as electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy and virtual bronchoscopy have also demonstrated high diagnostic yield for pulmonary lesions.
Virtual bronchoscopy produces reconstructed 3D images of the airways using thin slice CT imaging and in combination with the radial probe EBUS has shown to further increase diagnostic yield to 94.4% and allowed for 77% of peripheral pulmonary lesions to be localised [10,[13][14][15]. Electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy uses an electromagnetic emitter and tracking board to create external magnetic fi elds for bronchoscopic guidance [16]. A 4-D map is produced using the navigational software and the CT images allow for the fl exible bronchoscope with a sensor probe to localise the lesions [13,15]. Following localisation brushings and biopsies can be performed by removing the probe and inserting instruments through a sheath [15]. The prospective, multicentre, cohort study NAVIGATE lobectomy has been the gold standard surgical approach for early stage non-small cell lung cancer for more than 30 years.
In certain cases there is evidence to support parenchymal sparing procedures including sub-lobar resections in the form of segmentectomy [19]. Segmentectomy has been accepted as a surgical approach for ground glass opacity dominant early stage non-small cell lung cancer and is associated with a good prognosis [20]. The use of segmentectomy for solid dominant lung tumours with radical intent however remains controversial [21]. A recent meta-analysis of 28 studies has shown superior results with VATS lobectomy compared with segmentectomy for tumours in stage I and IA whereas there were no signifi cant differences in oncological outcomes (hazard ratios, overall survival and cancer-specifi c survival) in tumours less than 2 cm [20]. A recent metanalysis demonstrated a higher risk of recurrence in the segmentectomy group compared with lobectomy though there was no statistical difference observed in overall survival [21]. To date there are three randomised control trials that compare lobectomy with segmentectomy.
Ginsberg and Rubinstein concluded that limited pulmonary resection was associated with higher locoregional recurrence and mortality compared with lobectomy [22]. More recent randomised trials however have reported no difference in postoperative measures including major complications and 30 and 90 day mortality between patients having undergone lobectomy versus segmentectomy [23,24]. the greatest benefi t in patients with stage IIIa disease at 16% [28]. Whilst surgery remains fi rst line treatment an alternative therapeutic option is in the form of radical external beam radiotherapy with evidence that it offers high local control rates and low toxicity [29]. In fact, Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) has become the standard of care for inoperable early stage lung cancer located peripherally and less than 5cm in maximum diameter [29]. In addition to SABR there are other thermal ablative modalities including laser, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation and cryoablation which have a role in the management of NSCLC [20]. The most commonly used laser Nd-YAG allows for coagulation and vaporisation used in combination with a fl exible or rigid bronchoscope [30]. Microwave ablation has potential advantages over RFA including larger ablation zones and can used for lesions close to vascular structures with a reduced heat sink effect [31]. with demonstrable palliative effi cacy and safety for patients with airway obstruction due to advanced malignancy [34].
Clinical trials are currently assessing the effi cacy and safety of novel photosensitizers including water-soluble palladiumbacteriochlorophyll and Fotolon [34].
Despite wider use of advanced staging modalities including PET scanning and EBUS there still remains a small proportion of patients in whom lung cancer upstaging is reported on resection pathology who may require additional treatment options. The recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend the use of sequential or concurrent chemoradiotherapy for patients with IIIA-N2 disease and R1 resection and concurrent chemotherapy for R2 resection which has been demonstrated to improve overall survival [35]. Locally advanced NSCLC therefore demands a multimodality approach in the form of concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, however the prognosis remains poor with a median survival of up to 28 months [36,37]. Patients that are unlikely to tolerate the substantial toxicity of concurrent chemo-radiotherapy can be offered a sequential approach with accelerated radiotherapy resulting in an improved overall survival and an absolute benefi t of 2.5% at 5 years compared to conventional schedules [38]. Radiotherapy also has a role in palliative management of advanced and metastatic lung cancer offering symptomatic relief and improvement in quality of life. Advances in immunotherapeutic agents for NSCLC stem from studies investigating the immune checkpoint pathways with a substantial focus on the programmed death-1 (PD-1) pathway comprised of the PD-1 receptor and reciprocal ligands programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed death-ligand 2 (PD-L2) [40]. In addition, the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) pathway has also been heavily studied [40]. These studies have led to a new group of agents available for the treatment on NSCLC by targeting these pathways, the immune checkpoint inhibitors, which allow the intrinsic immune response to protect against tumour antigens through an uninhibited T cell response [40].

Conclusion
The last decade has seen tremendous growth in the investigations and therapeutic options for patients with lung cancer. There have been signifi cant surgical developments including minimally invasive thoracic surgery as well advances in the medical treatments for lung cancer with a focus on more targeted therapies with less systemic toxicity. For this reason a multi-disciplinary approach remains vital for the optimal management of patients with lung cancer and remains one of the most important driving forces responsible for better outcomes in these patients.