Disease-a-month

Our medical research library holds 7 studies published in Disease-a-month (1982–2011). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 1 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it. For 2 studies PubMed has no abstract for, we give the abstract printed in the article or, where there is none, a summary we wrote from it, each labeled as such.

About the journal

• Publisher: Mosby
• Published: 1954 to the present, United States
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0011-5029 (print), 1557-8194 (electronic)
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2010s

• Asbestos and lung cancer. J. Suvatne, R.F. Browning. 2011;57(1):55-68. PubMed · Publisher

• Asbestos and lung diseases: introduction and epidemiology. J.A. Nations, A.A. Lazarus. 2011;57(1):7-13. Historical article PubMed · Publisher

• Asbestosis. A.A. Lazarus, A. Philip. 2011;57(1):14-26. Historical article · Review PubMed · Publisher

  Summary

  This narrative review described asbestosis, the pneumoconiosis caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. It covered the types of asbestos fiber, the history of recognition and regulation, the occupations at risk, pathogenesis, pathology, clinical features, imaging, diagnosis, management and mortality. The authors reported a typical latency of 20-30 years. In the USA, years of potential life lost from asbestosis rose from 146 per year in 1968-1972 to 239.6 per year in 2001-2005, and recorded asbestosis deaths rose from 77 in 1968 to 1265 in 1999. They described the hallmark asbestos bodies, a restrictive pattern with reduced diffusing capacity on lung function tests, and lower-lobe reticular opacities on chest radiographs. Radiographs were classified with the International Labour Office (ILO) system, which has low sensitivity in early disease. High-resolution CT was described as the test of choice when plain films are indeterminate. Diagnosis required a history of significant exposure, an appropriate latency and a radiograph of ILO 1/1 or greater. Pleural plaques supported the diagnosis. The authors stated that there is no effective therapy, so management focuses on stopping exposure, smoking cessation, vaccination, surveillance and supplemental oxygen when needed. Asbestosis deaths were not predicted to decline significantly over the next 10-15 years. The authors concluded that a thorough occupational history, chest radiographs and high-resolution CT are required to make a definitive diagnosis.

  PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

• Benign asbestos-related pleural disease. C. King, D. Mayes, D.A. Dorsey. 2011;57(1):27-39. Review PubMed · Publisher

• Mesothelioma. G. Fuhrer, A.A. Lazarus. 2011;57(1):40-54. Review PubMed · Publisher

  Summary

  This narrative review summarized the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging, prognosis and management of mesothelioma, with special attention to articles and guidelines published in the preceding three years. The authors described occupational exposure to asbestos fibers as the primary risk factor. They identified the amphibole fibers crocidolite, amosite and tremolite as the major carcinogens. They noted a latency of 20 to 40 years and about 2500 cases a year in the USA, and cited Italian Mesothelioma Registry data suggesting a median latency of 44.6 years. Other exposures and risk factors discussed included domestic asbestos exposure, erionite in Turkish villages, radiation therapy, simian virus 40 and genetic predisposition. Pathogenesis was described as chronic inflammation caused by fibers, leading to a cascade of gene mutations. The review covered symptoms and imaging with CT, MRI and PET-CT. It also covered pathologic diagnosis with immunohistochemical markers, and serum and pleural fluid markers, none of which had been shown to be accurate enough to replace pathologic examination. Treatments reviewed included extrapleural pneumonectomy, pleurectomy/decortication, intensity-modulated radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In a cited randomized trial, pemetrexed plus cisplatin gave a 12- versus 9-month median survival compared with cisplatin alone. The authors concluded that trimodality therapy appeared to be the most effective strategy, that prognosis remained poor, and that an increasing number of cases would likely appear over the next decade because of the long latency.

  PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

2000s

• The early diagnosis of lung cancer. T.L. Petty. 2001;47(6):204-64. Review PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Lung cancer is the most common fatal malignancy in both men and women, both in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Today, lung cancer is most often diagnosed on the basis of symptoms of advanced disease or when chest x-rays are taken for a variety of purposes unrelated to lung cancer detection. Unfortunately, in the United States no society or governmental agency recommends screening, even for patients with high risks, such as smokers with airflow obstruction or people with occupational exposures, including asbestos. The origins of this negative attitude toward lung cancer screening are found in 3 studies sponsored by the National Cancer Institute in the mid-1970s and conducted at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center. These studies concluded that early identification of lung cancer through chest x-rays and cytologic diagnosis of sputum did not alter disease-specific mortality. However, patients with earlier stage disease were found through screening, which resulted in a higher resectability rate and improved survival in the screening group compared with a control group of patients receiving ordinary care. Patients in the control group often received annual chest x-rays during the course of this study, which was the standard of care at the time. Thus no true nonscreening control group resulted. The patients at highest risk were not enrolled in this study. No specific amount of pack-years of smoking intensity was required. Only men were screened. The studies were inadequately powered to show an improvement in mortality rate of less than 50%. Ninety percent of lung cancer occurs in smokers. The prevalence of lung cancer is 4 to 6 times greater when smokers have airflow obstruction than with normal airflow, when all other background factors, including smoking history, occupational risk, and family history, are the same. Screening heavy smokers (ie, > or = 30 pack-years) with airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in one second < 70% of normal) will yield 2% or more patients with lung cancer (prevalence cases) and, over the course of 5 years, probably from 2% to 3% of patients with additional cancers, yielding an overall incidence of 5%. New technologies include low-dose helical computed tomographic scans for small peripheral adenocarcinomas that cannot yet be visualized by standard chest x-rays and cytologic diagnosis of sputum for central squamous cell lesions. These tests are complementary. A new health care initiative, the National Lung Health Education Program, recommends spirometric testing for all smokers 45 years or older, as well as for patients with symptoms of lung cancer. Screening for lung cancer in such patients will find many cancers at an early stage when they are amenable to cure. Today, we have the knowledge and the technology that could change the outcome of lung cancer.

1980s

• Asbestos and silica: their multiple effects on the lung. H.A. Dickie. 1982;28(12):1-79. Case report PubMed · Publisher

Browse every journal in the library or the library by type of article, or return to medical research.