A novel surgical method involving a double lung transplant is offering hope to certain patients with advanced forms of cancer for whom traditional treatments have proven ineffective. Euronews reports on the successful application of this approach, citing medical professionals from the United States.
One of the patients granted a chance at a new life through this innovation is 40-year-old Cornelia Tischmacher from Berlin. In 2018, she was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. Despite treatment, the cancer recurred, and by mid-2024, her lungs began to fail, making breathing without an oxygen tank impossible. Upon learning about a clinical trial in the United States – the only one of its kind – Cornelia decided to try it, understanding that she had no other options.
Developed within the Northwestern Medicine healthcare system in Chicago under the DREAM program (Double Lung Transplant Registry Aimed at Malignancies confined to the Lungs), the new approach is intended for patients with advanced cancer localized solely in the lungs.
As explained by Dr. Ankit Bharat, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine, during a standard lung transplant, the lungs are transplanted one at a time, and even a brief period of clamping can be sufficient for the spread of cancer cells. The American surgeons' solution involves the simultaneous removal of both cancerous lungs, thorough cleaning of the airways and chest cavity, and only then the implantation of new lungs. This minimizes the risk of cancer cells entering the patient's body during the operation. "These patients can have billions of cancer cells in their lungs, so we must be extremely careful" noted Dr. Bharat.
In December, Cornelia underwent the surgery in Chicago. Almost five months later, her health has significantly improved, and most importantly, there are no signs of cancer. The patient herself states, "Without this procedure, I would have died. That is perfectly obvious." Thanks to the surgery, she has been able to return to a full life, spend time with her children, and do things that were previously impossible without oxygen support.
Since the launch of the DREAM program three years ago, approximately 70 such operations have been performed. According to Dr. Bharat, cancer has only recurred in five patients, and in those cases, the disease was much more limited, allowing for the resumption of systemic therapy and a significant extension of life. The physician emphasized that, to their knowledge, their program is the only one in the world offering this approach.
This operation is applicable to a limited group of patients – those whose cancer is localized exclusively in the lungs, but who also have sufficiently healthy hearts and kidneys, and for whom other treatment options have been exhausted. Cornelia's case, as the first patient from Germany to be operated on using this method at Northwestern Medicine (although there have been patients from other countries previously), serves as an important testament to the potential of this new technique.
Despite the rarity of lung transplants in general (approximately 7,800 worldwide in 2023) and the complexities of organ donation, the new approach developed in Chicago opens a new perspective and offers much-needed hope for a specific category of cancer patients worldwide.
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