TY - JOUR T1 - Hot topics from the assemblies JF - Breathe JO - Breathe SP - 510 LP - 511 DO - 10.1183/20734735.960413 VL - 9 IS - 6 A2 - , Y1 - 2013/12/01 UR - http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/9/6/510.abstract N2 - Authors: Church TR, Black WC, Aberle DR, et al. N Engl J Med 2013; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1209120 Summary: Screening with low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) has been shown to reduce lung cancer mortality more than chest radiography. Using data from 53,439 participants (55–74 years old with a history of at least 30 pack-years of smoking), the screening, diagnosis and treatment results from the initial round of screening in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) were assessed. 27.3% of patients in the CT screening group and 9.2% in the radiography screening group had a positive screening result and >90% in each group had thereafter additional follow-up diagnostic procedures such as imaging and surgery. Lung cancer was diagnosed in 1.1% in the low-dose CT group (54% in stage I, 41.1% in stages II–IV) versus 0.7% in the radiography group (36.8% in stage I, 58.9% in stages II–IV). Specificity and sensitivity for low-dose CT were 73.4% and 93.8%, and were 91.3% and 73.5% for chest radiography, respectively. Discussion: Screening with low-dose chest CT scan can achieve earlier diagnosis of lung cancer. Whether this screening method can reduce lung cancer mortality is still to be proved and therefore new data are awaited. Reviewed by: Georgia Hardavella (Greece, Assembly 11) Authors: Lu KD, Breysse PN, Diette GB, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j. jaci.2012.12.1570. Summary: The increasing prevalence of asthma has been most pronounced in westernised countries, and has paralleled that of obesity. Some of the highest prevalence estimates for asthma have been found in low-income urban settings, where obesity is prevalent and air pollution levels are high. The present study examined the possibility of interactions between weight and air pollution on asthma health in children. A … ER -