ATS Breathe Easy

 Lung cancer is commonly associated with smoking. However, among people diagnosed with lung cancer, the proportion who have never smoked has been increasing, and there are many reasons why a person who has never smoked may develop this disease. Lori Sakoda, PhD, MPH, ATSF, a research scientist and epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, explains what factors may come into play, what the ongoing research shows, and what knowledge gaps exist on this topic. Patti Tripathi hosts. 

The lung Composite Allocation Score (CAS) was implemented in 2023, and has shown to increase lung transplant rates and lower waitlist mortality. Host Alice Gallo de Moraes, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, interviews experts Mary Raddawi, MD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Amy Skiba, of the Lung Transplant Foundation, on the importance of CAS and how it has changed outcomes for lung transplant patients. 

 This Giving Tuesday, we have a special episode of the ATS Breathe Easy podcast. Wildfires are a destructive phenomenon that decimates communities, infrastructure, and wildlife. But wildfires and wildfire smoke are also severely damaging to human health, especially for those who have lung disease. Stacie Reveles, of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Institute, talks about her struggles living in wildfire country with a child who has cystic fibrosis. She discusses everything from dealing with medications and evacuations, the mental toll, and the importance of continued research into these illnesses. Air Health Our Health podcast creator Erika Moseson, MD, MA, of Legacy Health in Oregon hosts. Donate to the ATS Research Program today to help families like Stacie's: https://aeugmntn.donorsupport.co/page/Stacie The ATS Wildfire Disaster Guidance sheet: https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/wildfires.pdf  Listen to the Our Health in Wildfire Season episode of Air Health Our Health for how to prepare your home and community: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/airhealthourhealth/episodes/Our-Health-in-Wildfire-Season-e162en9/a-a2ata11 

 Smoking is the main risk factor for COPD in the United States and many other countries. However, it is important to recall that there are other causes of COPD, from birth experiences to environmental exposures. COPD expert Meilan K. Han MD, MS, University of Michigan Health, discusses non-smoking causes of COPD, what patients can do to manage their symptoms, and how clinicians and communities can help. Air Health Our Health podcast creator Erika Moseson, MD, MA, of Legacy Health in Oregon hosts. Patient resources: - ATS COPD resources: https://site.thoracic.org/patient-resources/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd - GOLD COPD resources: https://goldcopd.org/patients-advocacy-groups/ - American Lung Association COPD resources: https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/resource-library  - UpToDate COPD resources: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/stable-copd-overview-of-management 

Exercise is key for managing symptoms for COPD patients. On World COPD Day, host Amy Attaway, MD, Cleveland Clinic, talks to Rachel Evans, MD, University of Leicester, and Russell Winwood, a patient advocate known as the "COPD Athlete", about how exercise can improve patient outcomes. They also discuss the annual Big Baton Pass, an international COPD awareness event, the importance for pulmonary rehabilitation, and the community built around COPD advocacy and support for patients. Learn more about the COPD Baton Pass: https://copdbatonpass.org/ 

As new studies uncover better treatments and practices, it is important to develop new clinical practice guidelines to ensure patients receive the best care. Julio A. Ramirez, MD, Norton Healthcare and University of Louisville, and co-lead of the guideline panel, dives into the process of creating an update clinical practice guideline for community-acquired pneumonia with host Eddie Qian, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as well as the importance to the medical community and patients when making key care decisions. Check out the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Clinical Practice Guideline: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202507-1692ST

 This episode was created in collaboration with, and first posted on, The Itch podcast. Mucus plugging is a challenge in asthma care. It’s thick, sticky mucus that blocks the airways and doesn’t respond to regular inhalers. Even when inflammation improves, these plugs can lower lung function, limit how well medicine works, and make asthma harder to control. In this episode, The Itch breaks down the study: “Effect of Dupilumab on Mucus Burden in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Asthma,” published Oct. 28, 2025. The analysis looks at whether dupilumab (Dupixent), a biologic that blocks IL-4 and IL-13, can lower mucus burden and improve lung function, especially in people who start with a high “mucus plug score.” Read the paper: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1164/rccm.202410-1894OC 

 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that cause airflow obstruction and other respiratory problems. There are various options for treating COPD, including the highly effective controller medication that helps improve a patient's lung function in the long-term. But as Antonio R. Anzueto, MD, professor of pulmonary and critical care at the University of Texas Health, San Antonio, explains, it is not easy for patients to use these medications. Listen as Dr. Anzueto and host Amy Attaway, MD, Cleveland Clinic, discuss the effectiveness of different COPD treatments, how COPD can affect other organs, and how AI might play into diagnosing COPD as technology advances. Support for this podcast is brought to you by Viatris and Theravance BioPharma. 

Vaping and e-cigarettes are often incorrectly thought of as thought of as safe, but research has proven this to be untrue. They are particularly unsafe for the developing brain of children and adolescents. Laura Crotty Alexander, MD, from the University of California, San Diego, explains to host Erika Moseson, MD, MA, that not only does vaping often lead to users moving on to traditional tobacco products, but it also has a major impact on mental health and mood that could be deadly. Check out the ATS Clinical Practice Guideline on treating smoking in adolescents: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.202507-1577ST 

Learning how to perform procedures on patients is an important part of medical training, but how do programs decide what to teach? And how do they integrate the latest technology? Host Eddie Qian, MD, from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, talks to Meredith Pugh, MD, MSCI, and Kaele Leonard, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Together, they discuss how they think about working with trainees and fellows when it comes to teaching important procedures.