This study aims to evaluate the incidence of non-thyroid illness syndrome (NTIS) among patients diagnosed as lung cancer and its association with the stage of the disease, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score, nutritional parameters, and survival. We enrolled 120 patients that 71 of them with newly diagnosed and staged non-small cell lung cancer and 49 of them small-cell lung cancer. The cases were examined for thyroid function tests, ECOG performance score, and nutritional evaluation before treatment. Also, cases were evaluated for their overall survival rates. NTIS was identified in 30 (42 %) of the 71 non-small cell lung cancer patients and 22 (44 %) of the 49 small-cell lung cancer patients. NTIS was more frequent among advanced stage of cases. Serum albumin level, cholesterol level, lymphocyte level, and body mass index were detected to be significantly low and ECOG performance score was significantly high in cases with NTIS when compared to cases without NTIS. NTIS was found to be negatively correlated with body mass index, ECOG performance score, and serum albumin level, and it was positively correlated with disease stage. NTIS was detected significantly as a poor prognostic factor for lung cancer. NTIS was frequently seen in cases with non-small cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer. NTIS can be used as a predictor of poor prognosis for lung cancer patients.

Objective: To investigate the symptoms of lung cancer in Turkey and to evaluate approaches to alleviate these symptoms. Subjects and Methods: This study included 1,245 lung cancer patients from 26 centers in Turkey. Demographic characteristics as well as information regarding the disease and treatments were obtained from medical records and patient interviews. Symptoms were evaluated using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and were graded on a scale between 0 and 10 points. Data were compared using the χ², Student t, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Potential predictors of symptoms were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Results: The most common symptom was tiredness (n = 1,002; 82.1%), followed by dyspnea (n = 845; 69.3%), appetite loss (n = 801; 65.7%), pain (n = 798; 65.4%), drowsiness (n = 742; 60.8%), anxiety (n = 704; 57.7%), depression (n = 623; 51.1%), and nausea (n = 557; 45.5%). Of the 1,245 patients, 590 (48.4%) had difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep. The symptoms were more severe in stages III and IV. Logistic regression analysis indicated a clear association between demographic characteristics and symptom distress, as well as between symptom distress (except nausea) and well-being. Overall, 804 (65.4%) patients used analgesics, 630 (51.5%) received treatment for dyspnea, 242 (19.8%) used enteral/parenteral nutrition, 132 (10.8%) used appetite stimulants, and 129 (10.6%) used anxiolytics/antidepressants. Of the 799 patients who received analgesics, 173 (21.7%) reported that their symptoms were under control, and also those on other various treatment modalities (dyspnea: 78/627 [12.4%], appetite stimulant: 25/132 [18.9%], and anxiolytics/antidepressants: 25/129 [19.4%]) reported that their symptoms were controlled. Conclusion: In this study, the symptoms progressed and became more severe in the advanced stages of lung cancer, and palliative treatment was insufficient in most of the patients in Turkey.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the factors affecting the quitting smoking success of the patients followed in the smoking cessation outpatient clinic and the rate of quitting smoking in this clinic. Methods:From the 320 cases who applied to the smoking cessation clinic, 241 cases with a 12 month follow-up completed between June 2011 and June 2012 were included in the study. Routine biochemical and hematological tests, respiratory function test, electrocardiography, and posteroanterior chest radiography were requested from the cases. Moreover, the cases were requested to complete the Fagerstrom nicotine dependence test, anxiety and depression assessment scale and the outpatient clinic's form, including demographic data. The medicines taken and the duration of use were recorded. The quitting smoking success of the patients and the factors affecting this success were evaluated.Results: Generally, at the end of the first year, the rate of quitting smoking was 37.3%. The demographic characteristics of the groups who quit smoking and who failed to quit smoking were similar. Fagerstrom dependence degree (p<0.001) and the number of cigarettes smoked at the workplace (p<0.001) were higher. The individuals included in the group who quit smoking put on more weight. Overall, 27.4% of the patients received behavioural education (BE), 56% of them received behavioural education and nicotine replacement therapy (BE+NRT), 9.5% of them received BE+Bupropion, 2.5% of them received BE+Varenicline, and 4.6% of them received BE+Bupropion+NRT treatments. The rates of quitting smoking were 15.2%, 43.7%, 52.2%, 66.7% and 45.5%, respectively. With the administration of pharmacological treatment for a sufficient time, the rates of quitting smoking rose meaningfully (p<0.001). Conclusion:Quitting smoking is a difficult process that has to be evaluated individually for every case. In this process, the administration of sufficient behavioural education and pharmacological treatment with sufficient time for appropriate individuals will increase the success rate.

Tracheobronchial amyloidosis is a rare presentation and accounts for about 1% of benign tumors in this area. The diagnosis of disease is delayed due to nonspecific pulmonary symptoms. Therapeutic approaches are required to control progressive pulmonary symptoms for most of the patients. Herein, we report a case of a 68-year-old man admitted with progressive dyspnea to our institution for further evaluation and management. He was initially diagnosed with and underwent management for bronchial asthma for two years but had persistent symptoms despite optimal medical therapy. Pulmonary computed tomography scan revealed severe endotracheal stenosis. Bronchoscopy was performed and showed endotracheal mass obstructing 70% of the distal trachea and mimicking a neoplastic lesion. The mass was successfully resected by mechanical resection, argon plasma coagulation (APC), and Nd-YAG laser during rigid bronchoscopy. Biopsy materials showed deposits of amorphous material by hematoxylin and eosin staining and these deposits were selectively stained with Congo Red. Although this is a rare clinical condition, this case indicated that carrying out a bronchoscopy in any patient complaining of atypical bronchial symptoms or with uncontrolled asthma is very important.

PET-CT FDG uptake may, together with TTF-1 expression, help diagnosis in lung adenocarcinoma cases when evaluating for EGFR mutation status.