We acknowledge some restrictions of this study.
First of all, the number of patients included in the
study is limited. Also, the effect of atelectasis and
shunts on the nutrition of tumor tissue would be
better shown if we had measured some cytokines
and hormones secreted by the cancer cells. Lastly,
we did not consider patients who developed atelectasis
after the first presentation, i.e. during follow-up.
Because of these limitations, a complete analysis of all
factors that may be related to atelectasis and prognosis
should be considered in a prospective study.