Pulmonology

This phase III trial studies combination chemotherapy and atezolizumab to see how well it works compared with combination chemotherapy alone in treating patients with stage III colon cancer and deficient deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mismatch repair. Drugs used in combination chemotherapy, such as oxaliplatin, leucovorin calcium, and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving combination chemotherapy with atezolizumab may work better than combination chemotherapy alone in treating patients with colon cancer.

Heated, humidified high-flow air (HHHFA) devices improve airway clearance. HHHFA use for an average of 1.6 hours a day in COPD patients with chronic bronchitis improves health-related quality of life, lung function, and delays the first respiratory exacerbation. However, HHHFA for an average of 1.6 hours a day had no effect on COPD exacerbation frequency or hospitalization, dyspnea, or exercise capacity, likely due to short duration of the treatment. Conversely, the effect of HHHFA for longer time periods on chronic bronchitis patients has not been studied. Moreover, the effect of HHHFA on sleep quality has not been studied. A prior study in COPD patients showed that use of HHHFA for more than 7 hours during sleep can be achieved. The overall objective of this research is to examine the effect of HHHFA during sleep on COPD patients with chronic bronchitis. In this pilot study, the study team will examine the effect of HHHFA during sleep on clinically relevant short-term outcomes including: respiratory symptoms, quality of life and sleep, lung function and exercise capacity.

Subjects will be recruited and consented. Once a subject agrees to be in the study the baseline visit will occur. The first test will be the Pulmonary Function testing. If the subject qualifies based on the PFT's they will complete the remainder of the baseline visit. During this visit subjects will complete questionnaires, have a physical, 6 minute walk test and CT scan. Subjects will receive device training on the heated, humidified high-flow air device.

Subjects will have a followup call between 3-7 days to check in on how the subject is doing with the device. After 6 weeks the subject will return for another round of testing as was done at baseline. This will be the final study visit.

The primary aims of this study is to determine the efficacy and tolerability of Extracorporeal Photopheresis (ECP) for the treatment of either Refractory Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS) patients (258 at cessation of enrollment April 7, 2022) or Newly Diagnosed (22 as of enrollment Hold February 2022) Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome patients after lung transplantation. In compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) decision, the study will collect specified demographic, comorbidity, treatment, and outcome data exclusively for Medicare beneficiaries who are treated with ECP for either refractory or New BOS.

Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes has been identified by the CF community as one of the top ten priorities for CF research. In CF clinical decline due to dysglycemia begins early, prior to diagnosis of diabetes and increases mortality from pulmonary disease. There is presently no way to determine who, of those with dysglycemia, will experience clinical compromise. However, the CF Center in Milan has found that measurable age- and sex-dependent variables on oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) predict β-cell failure-the primary driver of decline in CF. the investigators propose a multi-center trial to develop nomograms of age and sex dependent reference values for OGTT-derived measures including glucose, insulin, c-peptide, and the resultant OGTT-derived estimates of β-cell function, β cell sensitivity to glucose, and oral glucose insulin sensitivity (OGIS) and to determine correlation of these with clinical status (FEV-1, BMI z score, number of pulmonary exacerbations over the past 12 months). In a subset of the cohort the investigators will perform additional studies to determine possible mechanisms driving abnormal β cell function, including the role of lean body mass (as measured by DXA), impact of incretin (GLP-1, GIP) and islet hormones (glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide) on β cell function and the relationship of reactive hypoglycemia and catecholamine responses to β cell function, as well as the relationship of β cell sensitivity to glucose as determined by our model to abnormalities in blood glucose found in a period of free living after the study (determined by continuous glucose monitoring measures (Peak glucose, time spent \>200 mg/dl, standard deviation). the investigators will also develop a biobank of stored samples to allow expansion to the full cohort if warranted and to enable future studies of dysglycemia and diabetes in CF. the investigator's eventual goal is utilization of the nomograms to determine the minimum number of measures to accurately predict risk for clinical decline from dysglycemia in CF.

This study will use dual energy x-ray computed tomography (DECT) to evaluate the relationship between heterogeneous perfusion, hypoxia (low oxygen in inspired gas) and induction of pulmonary vascular dilatation to characterize emphysema susceptibility in a normal smoking population. The investigators will correlate DECT measures of perfusion with lung injury measured by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The investigators will study the effect of pulmonary arterial vasodilation to see if it eliminates indices of persistent lung injury in smokers that are susceptible to emphysema

An early feasibility study (EFS) to assess the safety and clinical utility of RheOx on patients with chronic bronchitis in the United States.

Study ROR-PH-301, ADVANCE OUTCOMES, is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of ralinepag when added to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) standard of care or PAH-specific background therapy in subjects with World Health Organization (WHO) Group 1 PAH.

The investigators will study the effect of pulmonary arterial vasodilation to see if it eliminates indices of persistent lung injury in smokers that are susceptible to emphysema.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an inflammatory lung disease that is caused by exposure of susceptible individuals to organic materials in the environment. It is also known by various names depending on the exposure and some of these names include farmer's lung, pigeon breeder's lung, hot tub lung to name a few. HP can cause lung scarring that impairs breathing and oxygenation. Early detection and avoidance of triggers can stop and reverse the disease but a significant number of patients continue to have active disease requiring treatment in spite of avoiding the trigger. The current choice of therapies is based on clinical experience and not on rigorous clinical trials. Not fully understanding the type of inflammation that is seen in HP and the cells involved in this inflammatory response limits health care providers' ability to choose drugs to study in HP that can stop the inflammation and limit scar formation. The goal of the investigators' study is to better understand the type of cells that are involved in the inflammatory response in the lungs of HP patients and what drives these cells to be active. By better understanding the type of cells and what drives them, health care providers can begin to choose and study drugs that can limit the inflammation and subsequent scarring. The investigators' will recruit HP patients and with their consent perform a scope of the lungs (bronchoscopy) with a limited lung wash to get the inflamed cells out of the lungs to further study them in the lab. The investigators' study will provide us with preliminary results to guide us in performing a more detailed study in the future to better understand the disease.