The present Supplement of the European Respiratory Journal assembles a number of reviews on “Early detection” and it is the product of a symposium held in Barcelona on June 22 2002. The symposium was organised by the European Institute of Healthcare, which was set up by AstraZeneca. It was the fourth symposium of this kind organised by this Institute. The goals of the Institute were extensively discussed inSupplement nos. 34, 35 and 36 1–3.
The programme of this symposium was designed byan independent programme committee. The core ofthis committee comprises the two editors of the present Supplement and other members of the committee include: C. Brambilla (Grenoble, France), R. Loddenkemper (Berlin, Germany), R. Rodriguez-Roisin (Barcelona, Spain), O. Van Schayck (Maastricht, the Netherlands) and M. Woodhead (Manchester, UK). The cornerstones of the commitment of AstraZeneca to these symposia are basically fourfold: 1) the symposia are not product related; 2)the company has no influence on the scientific programme; 3) scientific excellence is the goal; 4) the symposia consist of a mixture of basic science and clinical medicine. They are primarily directed at chest physicians who are able to cascade down the information distributed at the symposia in their respective countries. They carry the interest of the European Respiratory Journal because of the clear commitment to scientific excellence and independence.
Early detection is without question a significant issue in respiratory disease. There is now overwhelming evidence that many cases of airflow obstruction are undiagnosed in the general population 4–6. Office spirometry in general practice may contribute to a better detection of airflow obstruction 7. Earlier detection is likely to improve outcome in asthma 8, as postponing treatment with inhaled corticosteroids may cause deterioration in airway inflammation 9. Whether this is also associated with irreversible effectson lung function is not yet clear. At present, it is not clear whether early detection and treatment will improve outcome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Indeed, the only treatment at present that has been shown to affect the progression of COPD is smoking cessation 10. Smoking cessationis indicated even if not for COPD, for the risk oflung cancer or ischaemic heart disease. Although several treatments affect the health status of COPD patients 11–13 or the occurrence of exacerbations 11, a hard core demonstration of a better outcome after early treatment is still missing. Although, on average, respiratory scientists still tend to be sceptical, indirect evidence indicates that COPD treatment has resulted in improved survival over the last 20 yrs 14. Strictly, however, a demonstration of the usefulness of early therapeutic intervention is not available at present. It is likely that this question will be an important area of research in years to come.
Likewise, early detection of lung cancer appears an attractive strategy. Indeed, the prognosis of stage III lung cancer remains poor despite the clear progress that has been made with chemotherapy. Earlier detection appears a logical approach to improving the overall outcome of treatment. Early detection could be achieved through spiral computed tomography (CT) for peripheral lesions or sputum cytology for central lesions 15. The latter technique unfortunately has a low sensitivity and is time consuming. Fluorescent bronchoscopy may increase the detection rate of microinvasive lesions. Biomarkers in blood andsputum appear interesting, but still lack validation 15. Differentiation from benign lesions remains a serious problem and limits the current clinical usefulness of spiral CT 16. Progress in imaging techniques and processing may be of help in this differentiation. They may be some important evolutions in this field in the years to come. Further development of new techniques, such as endobronchial ultrasonography, optical coherence tomography, confocalmicro-endoscopy, positron emission tomography in combination with video-assisted thoracic surgery and intraluminal bronchoscopic treatments, isalso expected to play an important role 17.
The present supplement covers several aspects of early detection. It begins with an overview of the general principles of screening and early detection by Boyle 18. Early detection of asthma and COPD in general practice is then addressed by van Schayck and Chavannes 8. As asthma and COPD are often first diagnosed in general practice, an improvement intreatment largely depends upon whether or not general practitioners follow asthma and COPD guidelines. Partridge 19 discusses the general principles involved in adherence to guidelines and the general obstacles for general practitioners with guidelines. Here, it is important to note that physicians, on average, do not appear to follow guidelines 20, 21 and that publication of a guideline alone is not enoughfor implementation 22. Buist 23 then puts early treatment into the perspective of the current treatment of COPD and asthma.
Next, the early detection of lung cancer is addressed. Brambilla et al. 15 discuss the use of biomarkers in the early detection of lung cancer. HenscHke et al. 24 discuss the use of low-dose computed tomography and new imaging procession methods in the early detection of lung cancer. Spiro 25 discusses the current treatment of lung cancer with emphasis on early treatment and finally Sutedja 17 discusses new techniques, primarily endoscopic innature, for the detection and treatment of lung cancer.
- Received August 20, 2002.
- Accepted August 26, 2002.
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