American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
ReviewThe Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Immune Contexture: a Major Determinant of Tumor Characteristics and Patient Outcome.
Solid tumors, beyond mere accumulation of cancer cells, form a complex ecosystem consisting of normal epithelial cells, fibroblasts, blood and lymphatic vessels, structural components, and infiltrating hematopoietic cells including myeloid and lymphoid elements that impact tumor growth, tumor spreading, and clinical outcome. The composition of the immune microenvironment is diverse, including various populations of T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, neutrophils, or macrophages. ⋯ In lung cancer, which is the deadliest type of cancer, and particularly in non-small cell lung cancer, its most prevalent form, reports have described some of the interactions between the tumor and the host. These data, in addition to articles on various types of tumors, provide a greater understanding of the tumor-host microenvironment interaction and stimulate the development of prognostic and predictive biomarkers, the identification of novel target antigens for therapeutic intervention, and the implementation of tools for long-term management of patients with cancer.
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
Personalized Respiratory Medicine: Exploring the Horizon, Addressing the Issues.
This Pulmonary Perspective summarizes the content and main conclusions of an international workshop on personalized respiratory medicine coorganized by the Barcelona Respiratory Network ( www.brn.cat ) and the AJRCCM in June 2014. It discusses (1) its definition and historical, social, legal, and ethical aspects; (2) the view from different disciplines, including basic science, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and network/systems medicine; (3) the bottlenecks and opportunities identified by some currently ongoing projects; and (4) the implications for the individual, the healthcare system and the pharmaceutical industry. The authors hope that, although it is not a systematic review on the subject, this document can be a useful reference for researchers, clinicians, healthcare managers, policy-makers, and industry parties interested in personalized respiratory medicine.
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
ReviewBlue Journal Conference: Aging and the Susceptibility to Lung Disease.
The aging of the population in the United States and throughout the developed world has increased morbidity and mortality attributable to lung disease, while the morbidity and mortality from other prevalent diseases has declined or remained stable. Recognizing the importance of aging in the development of lung disease, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) highlighted this topic as a core theme for the 2014 annual meeting. The relationship between aging and lung disease was discussed in several oral symposiums and poster sessions at the annual ATS meeting. ⋯ A consistent theme that emerged from the conference was the need to apply novel, systems-based approaches to integrate a growing body of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data and elucidate the relationship between biologic hallmarks of aging, altered lung function, and increased susceptibility to lung diseases in the older population. The challenge remains to causally link the molecular and cellular changes of aging with age-related changes in lung physiology and disease susceptibility. The purpose of this review is to stimulate further research to identify new strategies to prevent or treat age-related lung disease.