Sex transition from female to male as a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing.

AIM: The female-to-male (FtM) sex transition requires lifelong supplementation with male sex hormones, resulting in high prevalence of weight gain, fat redistribution and other metabolic changes. Although sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) data for this group of patients are very limited, increased prevalence is expected. We report a mini-series of six case reports of FtM transsexuals treated in our centre. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All reported cases are consecutive patients referred to a department of respiratory diseases and tuberculosis of a university hospital from 2017 to 2022. The standard pulmonary examination was performed, followed by limited polysomnography. RESULTS: In all FtM subjects, SDB was present and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy was indicated. The sex transition process was completed in three individuals while the other three only took testosterone supplementation at the assessment time. The subjects' age ranged from 21 to 38 years, the apnoea-hypopnea index ranged from 17.3 to 104.1, and the BMI was 33.48-43.41. The CPAP therapy was effective in five patients, with one requiring bi-level positive airway pressure therapy. One subject committed suicide before the first check-up, four patients had a good level of compliance at one-year follow-up, and one had insufficient CPAP adherence. CONCLUSION: SDB decreases the quality of life and life expectancy of FtM individuals. Their prognosis is undoubtedly better with effective treatment. Hence, obese FtM subjects should be considered at risk and screened for SDB.

Care of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer stage III - the Central European real-world experience.

Background Management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is affected by regional specificities. The present study aimed at determining diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including outcome of patients with NSCLC stage III in the real-world setting in Central European countries to define areas for improvements. Patients and methods This multicentre, prospective and non-interventional study collected data of patients with NSCLC stage III in a web-based registry and analysed them centrally. Results Between March 2014 and March 2017, patients (n=583) with the following characteristics were entered: 32% females, 7% never-smokers; ECOG performance status (PS) 0, 1, 2 and 3 in 25%, 58%, 12% and 5%, respectively; 21% prior weight loss; 53% squamous carcinoma, 38% adenocarcinoma; 10% EGFR mutations. Staging procedures included chest X-ray (97% of patients), chest CT (96%), PET-CT (27%), brain imaging (20%), bronchoscopy (89%), endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) (13%) and CT-guided biopsy (9%). Stages IIIA/IIIB were diagnosed in 55%/45% of patients, respectively. N2/N3 nodes were diagnosed in 60%/23% and pathologically confirmed in 29% of patients. Most patients (56%) were treated by combined modalities. Surgery plus chemotherapy was administered to 20%, definitive chemoradiotherapy to 34%, chemotherapy only to 26%, radiotherapy only to 12% and best supportive care (BSC) to 5% of patients. Median survival and progression-free survival times were 16.8 (15.3;18.5) and 11.2 (10.2;12.2) months, respectively. Stage IIIA, female gender, no weight loss, pathological mediastinal lymph node verification, surgery and combined modality therapy were associated with longer survival. Conclusions The real-world study demonstrated a broad heterogeneity in the management o f stage III NSCLC in Central European countries and suggested to increase the rates of PET-CT imaging, brain imaging and invasive mediastinal staging.