PDF icon Download PDF
Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2022; 43(04): 512-529
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748187
Review Article

Malignant Central Airway Obstruction: What's New?

Brian D. Shaller
1   Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
,
Darius Filsoof
1   Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
,
Jorge M. Pineda
1   Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
,
Thomas R. Gildea
2   Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
   Permissions and Reprints
Preview

Abstract

Malignant central airway obstruction (MCAO) is a debilitating and life-limiting complication that occurs in an unfortunately large number of individuals with advanced intrathoracic cancer. Although the management of MCAO is multimodal and interdisciplinary, the task of providing patients with prompt palliation falls increasingly on the shoulders of interventional pulmonologists. While a variety of tools and techniques are available for the management of malignant obstructive lesions, advancements and evolution in this therapeutic venue have been somewhat sluggish and limited when compared with other branches of interventional pulmonary medicine (e.g., the early diagnosis of peripheral lung nodules). Indeed, one pragmatic, albeit somewhat uncharitable, reading of this article's title might suggest a wry smile and shug of the shoulders as to imply that relatively little has changed in recent years. That said, the spectrum of interventions for MCAO continues to expand, even if at a less impressive clip. Herein, we present on MCAO and its endoscopic and nonendoscopic management-that which is old, that which is new, and that which is still on the horizon.

Keywords

malignant airway obstruction - central airway obstruction - lung cancer - interventional pulmonology - bronchoscopy


Publication History

Article published online:
02 June 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA