Thesis equivalent (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1947.

No description available.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1997. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1997. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Typewritten copy / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physiology, 1954

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.N.)--Marshall University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains vi, 57 p. Includes bibliographical references p. 39-41.

Background: Survival for people with lung cancer is poor and inequalities in access to care have been demonstrated. Methods: Primary care data from The Health Improvement Network, secondary care data from Hospital Episodes Statistics and the National Lung Cancer Audit, and death records from the Office for National Statistics, were used to investigate clinical questions in lung cancer. Matched case-control methodology was used to investigate the association between sex, smoking quantity, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), and lung cancer. Case control and cohort studies were performed to investigate early mortality after lung cancer surgery and treatment decisions in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Multivariate logistic regression was used to generate a predictive score for early mortality after lung cancer surgery. Results: Sex significantly modified the effect of smoking on lung cancer with women at higher risk for the same quantity smoked. COPD was strongly associated with lung cancer in univariate analysis however this was heavily confounded by smoking and strongly related to timing of diagnosis. For people with non-small cell lung cancer, 90-day mortality after surgery was 5.9%. Age, co-morbidity index, performance status, procedure type and stage were significantly associated with this outcome and therefore make up the predictive score. 70% of people with SCLC were treated with chemotherapy however this varied according to several factors including referral method and socioeconomic status. Survival after chemotherapy for people with SCLC was similar to that reported in clinical trials. Conclusions: The work in thesis provides further evidence that women are at higher risk of lung cancer per quantity of cigarettes smoked, and challenges the commonly held belief that COPD is a strong independent risk factor for lung cancer. In addition it produced a predictive score for early mortality following lung cancer surgery, and provides information on treatment decisions and outcomes for SCLC.

No description available.

As the first line of defence against external stimuli, the airway epithelium undergoes frequent injury during an adult life. This is countered by repair mechanisms that ensure the integrity of the epithelium. It has been established that there are resident stem/progenitor cells localized within specific niches throughout the respiratory tract. Stem/progenitor cells are activated according to the severity of the insult and are thought to be responsible for repairing the airway epithelium. It has been difficult to isolate those stem cells. In this study, an in vitro human bronchial epithelial model was adapted and characterised. In culture, a pseudostratified epithelium was observed, with basal, ciliated, and secretory cells. Mucus production was also seen in this model. A scrape-wound of the model was employed to study the responses of the airway epithelium to injury. It was observed that migration and then proliferation, of CD44 expressing basal cells, are the first events that take place after scrape-wounding. Up-regulation of CD44 was also observed at the edge of the wounds early post-wounding. This suggested a key role for CD44-expressing basal cells in migration and proliferation after wounding, also suggesting this population may contain a progenitor cell population. Investigation of the secretory profile of the airway epithelium post-wounding revealed an increase in a number of cytokines and growth factors. In particular, IL-6, IL-8, ENA-78, and RANTES were all elevated compared with unwounded cultures. A side population (SP) was identified in differentiated and undifferentiated human bronchial epithelial cells in at least some cultures accounting for 0.1-1.15% of cells present. In summary, the epithelium is important in airway wound repair with basal cells appearing to contain the progenitor population in this human bronchial epithelial cell (HBEC) model. Moreover, SP studies suggested the presence of SP in at least some cultures, which might contribute to airway regeneration. The secretory profile of the airway epithelium post-wounding indicates up-regulation of specific cytokines, which may be important in the pathogenesis of lung diseases such as asthma and COPD. This model should prove useful to assess wound repair pathways and may be of use in the future for proof of concept studies on novel therapeutic agents.