Novel Interventional Pulmonology Procedures for Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018
Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York are pioneering novel approaches to interventional pulmonology techniques that provide advantages over standard surgery and minimally invasive palliative therapies for patients with malignant airway, pleural space, and lung parenchymal diseases. Such procedures may be associated with less postoperative pain, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery times.
“Interventional pulmonology procedures can relieve symptoms in patients with advanced lung cancers, in some cases allowing them to be taken off ventilators or improving their quality of life, so they can receive additional cancer treatment that may extend survival,” reported Mohit Chawla, MD, FCCP, Director of Interventional Pulmonology at MSK.
Since the inception of the Interventional Pulmonary Section, researchers at MSK developed evidence-based techniques and clinical practice guidelines for symptom management in patients with lung cancer. In the Thoracic Disease Management Team, they also collaborate with thoracic surgeons, interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists to develop diagnostic and treatment plans to minimize the need for multiple invasive procedures.
Research into the development and implementation of novel tools continues. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved MSK-IMPACT (integrated mutation profiling of actionable cancer targets), a tool used to rapidly assess a range of tumor types and match patients with targeted treatments or clinical trials for new agents. In addition, MSK is working to implement new robotic technologies for bronchoscopy, which are currently under FDA review.
