Are outcomes after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin affected by substaging of high grade T1 transitional cell carcinoma?
Substaging of T1 tumors did not affect response to BCG in regard to recurrence or progression. Therefore, intravesical BCG is effective for stages T1a and T1b disease.
Neutrophils, macrophages and mast cells are more prominent in the SA indicating that these cells are involved in the development of small airway dysfunction in smokers. Among these cell types, the best correlation was found for mast cells with lung function parameters and inflammatory markers in exhaled breath. Furthermore, the observed predominant expression of IL-17A in mast cells warrants further investigation to elucidate their role in smoking-induced lung injury, despite the lack of correlation with lung function and exhaled breath parameters.