CLINICAL PEARLS In advanced non−small cell lung cancer, when an actionable oncogenic driver is present, regardless of the PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS), targeted therapy is the preferred option. In the absence of an oncogenic driver, currently PD-L1 TPS drives…
CLINICAL PEARLS Locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a heterogeneous entity, which can be divided broadly into patients with resectable and unresectable disease. Select cases of locally advanced NSCLC (including superior sulcus tumors) are amenable to surgical resection,…
CLINICAL PEARLS Stage IV NSCLC is a heterogeneous disease, reflected in reclassifications seen in the eighth edition of the TNM staging system. Oligometastatic disease, described as an isolated metastasis or limited metastases in a single or limited number of organs,…
CLINICAL PEARLS Surgical resection plays a key role in curative-intent treatment of patients with stages I, II, and IIIA NSCLC. Prior to resection, patients should be assessed for mediastinal lymph node involvement by PET/CT, and pathological nodal assessment by EBUS…
CLINICAL PEARLS Resectability is determined by patient fitness to undergo surgery and tumor characteristics. Appropriate tumor staging, especially mediastinal nodal involvement, is fundamental to surgical planning. Pulmonary function testing must be performed to determine whether a patient can tolerate loss…
CLINICAL PEARLS The field of molecular pathology is rapidly moving toward noninvasive and digital methods of detection as theragnostic biomarkers are being used to guide cancer management. Biomarker testing has now become the pillar of treatment decision for advanced-stage non−small…
CLINICAL PEARLS Establishing an appropriate histological diagnosis and stage of lung cancer is critical to avoid delays in treatment. Noninvasive staging plays an important role in the initial clinical staging of lung cancer and includes imaging such as computed tomography…
CLINICAL PEARLS Lung cancer mortality has been declining since the 1990s, yet it remains the leading cause of cancer mortality and is still expected to cause more than 120,000 deaths in 2023 in the United States. National and local efforts…
The normal range for most hematologic parameters in infancy and childhood is different from that in adults. Dramatic changes occur during the first few weeks of life. The recognition of these differences in the pediatric age-group prevents unnecessary medical and…
Introduction Blood banking and transfusion medicine are often interchangeable terms for the medical practice of blood product procurement, storage, and administration. It also includes the science of immunohematology, blood component manipulation, and outlining of clinical transfusion guidelines. Hematologic pathologies in…