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To capture the breadth of the past year's discussions, HCPLive presents this Lungcast 2025 recap episode, highlighting a selection of standout conversations from across the series. While far from exhaustive, this collection reflects the themes, questions, and breakthroughs that defined the year in respiratory medicine and underscores Lungcast’s ongoing role as a forum for informed, forward-looking dialogue in pulmonary care. The episodes sampled are listed below: Race-Neutral Approach to Pulmonary Function Testing with Meredith McCormack, MD, and Loretta Que, MD (00:17) After the Smoke: Wildfire Cleanup & Air Quality Concerns with Afif El-Hasan, MD (01:51) Lung Cancer Screening: A Decade of Lessons Learned with Mary Pasquinelli, DNP (03:14) 2025 State of the Air: Dangers of the Air We Breathe with George Thurston, ScD (04:17) Going for GOLD: Updated COPD Guidelines with Gerard Criner, MD (05:43) The Lung-Gut Axis - Where Nutrition & Lung Health Intersect with Neal Barnard, MD (07:32) Resilience and Sustainability: Preparing Healthcare for the Future with Elizabeth Cerceo, MD (08:20)

In this episode, we are joined by Elizabeth Cerceo, MD to explore the critical role of resilience and sustainability in the healthcare industry. The discussion highlights how healthcare systems can adapt to crises like extreme weather events and pandemics while maintaining quality care. It also examines how sustainability efforts can reduce environmental impacts and safeguard health for future generations.

While major advances in screening, targeted treatment and immunotherapy have transformed outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer, progress against small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has lagged behind. In this episode,  Jacob Sands, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School joins us to share insights into the present state of SCLC treatment, from staging and standard therapies to new research on vaccines that could one day change the course of this aggressive disease.

Microbiome is a mysterious medical frontier with more questions than answers. In this episode, nutrition expert Neal Barnard, MD, of George Washington University explores the connection between diet, gut microbiome and lung health. While fiber and plant-based diets have been shown to shape a healthier microbiome, this conversation sheds light on the growing evidence that what we eat may have far-reaching effects beyond the gut—including in our lungs.

This episode featuring clinician-scientist and expert in liquid biopsy development, Dr. Lindsey Cotton, who explores the evolving science of lung cancer biomarkers and their role in early detection. Listen in to learn more about the current landscape, benefits and challenges of both organ-specific and multi-cancer tests. The highly informative discussion aims to clarify what these tests can and cannot tell us today, along with a forecast for tomorrow.

Earlier this year, the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines were updated to include a new emphasis on cardiovascular disease and pulmonary hypertension in COPD, among much more. Rejoining us for an episode exploring these revisions is Gerard Criner, MD, of Temple University, a foremost COPD expert who serves on the GOLD Board of Directors and GOLD Science Committee. He spells out the improvements, from interventions like smoking cessation and pulmonary rehabilitation to the heightened importance of spirometry for diagnosis.

This special episode features 2 interviews on-site at the 2025 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in San Francisco: Harold P. Wimmer, CEO of the American Lung Association, and Francesca Polverino, MD, PhD, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine and spokesperson for the ALA. View the latest conference coverage from this meeting here: https://www.hcplive.com/conference/ats #Lungcast #HealthNews

An internationally recognized leader in air quality, epidemiology and exposure assessment, George Thurston, ScD, of New York University headlines this important episode analyzing the Lung Association’s 2025 “State of the Air” report. With nearly half of the people living in the U.S. breathing unhealthy amounts of air pollution, Thurston delves into the acute and accumulative health impacts on communities across the country. Listen in to learn more about the report’s key learnings, from adverse effects of exposure to ground-level ozone pollution to the decade-long worsening trend of particle pollution.Want more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

It has been more than a decade since lung cancer screening guidelines via low-dose CT, based on the USPSTF’s B recommendations, have been put into place. To discuss the guidelines’ ambitions and obstacles, we are joined by the University of Illinois Health System’s Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, who specializes in lung cancer, lung cancer screening and pulmonary nodule management. While a lifesaving procedure for at-risk individuals, the uptake of screening on a population-level—though increasing—has been slower than expected.Want more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

For this hot topic, asthma and lung health expert Dr. Afif El-Hasan of Kaiser Permanente in California joins host Dr. Albert Rizzo to discuss the acute effects of wildfire smoke on air quality. The enlightening conversation also covers the massive cleanup efforts from the recent Los Angeles wildfires and how related exposures may pose health risks.Want more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

In this episode, Dr. Meredith McCormack of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Loretta Que of Duke University to discuss “race-based normal values” in medicine, particularly in regard to pulmonary function tests (PFT). The controversial practice of using a patient’s self-reported race to adjust a standard “normal” range has been shown to lead to potential misdiagnosis and healthcare disparities. Drs. McCormack and Que talk at length about their key roles in the growing movement to phase out a reliance on race in PFT interpretation. Want more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

Ever since the show first launched, Lungcast has provided pulmonologists and health care providers in general a chance to take part in ongoing conversations regarding lung health between experts, patients, and patient advocates.In this recap episode, the Lungcast team reflects on these conversations by highlighting some of the many interviews featured in 2024. The following are a set of examples of this year’s interviews, though several other memorable episodes are not on this list. We hope you enjoy this set of highlights.For more, view a summary here: https://www.hcplive.com/view/this-year-in-pulmonology-a-2024-lungcast-recapWant more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

For a probing discussion detailing the American Lung Association’s recent 2024 “State of Lung Cancer” report, we are joined by esteemed thoracic medical oncologist Dr. Jacob Sands of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Offering insight into actionable targeted mutations, Dr. Sands addresses how precision oncology is fundamentally changing lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.The novel immunotherapy drugs, though proven to be safe and effective with significant improvements in response and survival rates, have challenges as well—this episode covers the gamut.Episode Highlights0:00 Start1:00 Topic of discussion2:42 Introducing Jacob Sands, MD3:39 NCCN guidelines for lung cancer6:51 Recently-approved drugs for lung cancer13:46 Patient responses to targeted mutations17:58 Off-target side effects with drugs21:34 State of Lung Cancer report23:04 Estimated number of candidates for targeted therapies26:13 Insurance coverage for biomarker testing28:12 Other issues with ordering biomarkers31:20 Closing comments32:36 OutroWant more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

In this episode, multiple points of view are presented regarding Asthma Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (AERD). Lungcast host Albert Rizzo, MD, was joined by allergist and immunologist Mitchell Grayson, MD, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as patient advocate Rhonda Nelson and her husband Wayne Nelson of The Little River Band. This discussion delves into the trials and tribulations of diagnosing—and living with—AERD, from disease misconceptions to daily management.Join the discussion as these guests focus specifically on the role of AI in chest imaging and uncover how these advancements are improving the future of patient care.Episode Highlights0:00 Start1:00 Focus of each guest2:55 Sampter’s triad and AERD6:30 Patient experiences with AERD10:18 Delayed diagnosis and recent changes11:35 Therapy for AERD16:32 Resources for patients with asthma19:01 Day-to-day AERD management24:14 Importance of keeping a medical journal27:42 OutroWant more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast

Episode Highlights0:15 Intro1:10 Introducing the Lung Health Cohort Research Study3:49 The enrollment strategy7:10 Seeking “the cholesterol of lung disease”11:50 The role of industry support14:09 Imaging strategies for long-term lung assessment17:59 Recruitment challenges23:05 Final thoughts26:20 OutroFor our 50th episode, Ravi Kalhan, MD, of Northwestern Medicine, George Washko, MD, of Harvard University, and Amy Olson, MD, Executive Director of Medical Affairs for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc, join us for a panel discussion around improving patient outcomes through innovative lung health research, such as with the American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort Research Study. Tune in to learn more about their collaborative efforts to help identify biomarkers and lifestyle patterns for more accurate identification of disease processes, ideally at onset. Want more Lungcast? Visit us at HCPLive.com/podcasts/lungcast or www.lung.org/professional-education/lungcast