Annals of Surgical Oncology

We sought to identify the risk of axillary node involvement in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and to determine whether axillary node assessment is necessary in these patients. Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is replacing standard axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for surgical staging of invasive breast cancer. Its use in patients with DCIS versus local excision (LE), observation, and/or breast irradiation remains in question. We examined the records of 813 patients with localized DCIS and disease-negative margins after LE who were randomly assigned to no further therapy or to breast irradiation in National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trial B-17 and 1799 patients randomized to receive placebo or tamoxifen after LE + radiotherapy in NSABP trial B-24. An ALND was performed in 253 patients in NSABP B-17 and in 162 in NSABP B-24. We found that in NSABP trial B-17, seven patients developed ipsilateral nodal recurrence (INR). Overall INR rate was 0.83/1000 patient-years. In NSABP B-24, overall INR rate was 0.36/1000 patient-years. INR can be considered a surrogate for axillary involvement at the time of DCIS diagnosis. INR in patients with DCIS treated conservatively is extremely rare. Our findings do not support the routine use of SNB in patients with conservatively treated, localized DCIS.

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Background: Breast reconstruction following mastectomy has been shown to have a salutary effect on the overall psychological well-being of women being treated for breast cancer. Unfortunately, however, not every patient is an ideal candidate for reconstruction. Complications stemming from reconstructive surgery can cause significant morbidity, the most important of which may be the delay of subsequent adjuvant antineoplastic therapies, and therefore may not be in the best interests of the patient. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on a consecutive series of 123 breast reconstructions in 98 patients, performed by one of two plastic surgeons, in a university setting over a 5-year period, for all surgical outcomes. Specifically, wound-healing complications, infections, and reoperations leading to the potential delay of subsequent chemotherapy or radiotherapy were recorded, and possible risk factors leading to these were sought. Results: Three presurgical risk factors were found to have a statistically significant influence on the development of complications following breast reconstruction. These were: (1) increasing obesity, defined by the body mass index, (2) an active or recent (<5 year) history of cigarette smoking, and (3) a history of previous radiation exposure. Odds ratios were used to describe the magnitude of the effect of each factor for the development of complications. An ordinal regression analysis was used to create a nomogram based on this information that can be used to calculate any individual patient’s presurgical risk for developing major complications following breast reconstruction, based on the presence of these factors. Conclusions: It is possible, based on the presence of specific presurgical risk factors, to predict the probability of developing major complications following breast reconstruction. This information can be useful to the referring physician and plastic surgeon alike in determining which patients are the best candidates for breast reconstruction and which type of reconstruction would be best suited for each individual patient.

Conflicting data exist on the prognostic implication of signet-ring cell (SRC) histology in gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). All patients who underwent curative-intent resection of GAC from the seven institutions of the U.S. Gastric Cancer Collaborative between 2000 and 2012 were included. Primary end points were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Stage-specific analyses were performed. A total of 768 patients met the inclusion criteria. SRC was present in 40.6 % of patients and was associated with female sex (52.9 vs. 38.6 %; p < 0.001), younger age (61 vs. 67 years; p < 0.001), poor differentiation (94.8 vs. 50.3 %; p < 0.001), perineural invasion (PNI) (41.4 vs. 23 %; p < 0.001), microscopically positive resection margins (R1, 24.7 vs. 8.6 %; p < 0.001), distal location (82.2 vs. 70.1 %; p < 0.001), receipt of adjuvant therapy (63 vs. 51.2 %; p = 0.002), and more advanced stage (stage 3: 55.2 vs. 36.5 %; p < 0.001). SRC was associated with earlier recurrence (56.7 months vs. median not reached; p = 0.009) and decreased OS (33.7 vs. 46.6 months; p = 0.011). When accounting for other adverse pathologic features, PNI (hazard ratio [HR] 1.57; p = 0.016) and higher stage (HR 2.64; p < 0.001) were associated with decreased RFS, but SRC was not. Although PNI (HR 1.52; p = 0.007), higher stage (HR 2.11; p < 0.001), greater size (HR 1.05; p = 0.016), and adjuvant therapy (HR 0.50; p < 0.001) were associated with OS, SRC was not. Similarly, when accounting for adverse pathologic factors on multivariate analysis, stage-specific analyses showed no association between SRC and RFS or OS. SRC histology is associated with adverse pathologic features including poor differentiation, higher stage, and microscopically positive resection margins but is not independently associated with reduced RFS or OS. Identification of signet-ring histology during preoperative evaluation should not, in isolation, dictate treatment strategy.

Screening tests for pheochromocytoma involve measuring levels of catecholamines in the urine or plasma, which have significant false-positive rates. We reviewed patients with adrenal masses and elevated levels of catecholamines to determine the value of different preoperative tests in diagnosing pheochromocytomas. A retrospective chart review identified patients who underwent adrenalectomy between 1997 and 2011 with elevation of urine or serum catecholamines. A database of clinicopathologic factors was created including preoperative urine and plasma metanephrines, normetanephrines, vanillylmandelic acid, and fractionated catecholamines, and tumor dimensions on imaging and pathology. A total of 70 patients underwent adrenalectomy because of presence of an adrenal mass and elevation of catecholamines or normetanephrines or metanephrines. Of these, 46 had pathologically confirmed pheochromocytomas. To improve our ability to discriminate between pheochromocytoma and other pathology, we examined different combinations of clinicopathologic factors and catecholamine levels and found the best test was a scoring system. Points are awarded for a hierarchy of elevated normetanephrine, norepinephrine, metanephrines, with additional points received for age <50 and size on imaging >3.3 cm. A score of 2 is suggestive of pheochromocytoma, with a positive predictive value of 86–87 %, while a score of 4 is diagnostic with positive predictive value of 100 %. We found that urine/serum normetanephrine levels were the most valuable screening tool; however, a score examining the size of adrenal mass on preoperative CT, age, and either plasma or urine norepinephrine, metanephrine, and normetanephrine values leads to a higher positive predictive value, making this scoring system superior to individual lab tests.

Background:For patients with potentially resectable pancreatic cancer, the poor outcome associated with resection alone and the survival advantage demonstrated for combined-modality therapy have stimulated interest in preoperative chemoradiotherapy. The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of different preoperative chemoradiotherapy schedules, intraoperative radiation therapy, patient factors, and histopathologic variables on survival duration and patterns of treatment failure in patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. Methods:Data on 132 consecutive patients who received preoperative chemoradiation followed by pancreaticoduodenectomy for adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head between June 1990 and June 1999 were retrieved from a prospective pancreatic tumor database. Patients received either 45.0 or 50.4 Gy radiation at 1.8 Gy per fraction in 28 fractions or 30.0 Gy at 3.0 Gy per fraction in 10 fractions with concomitant infusional chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, or gemcitabine). If restaging studies demonstrated no evidence of disease progression, patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy. All patients were evaluated with serial postoperative computed tomography scans to document first sites of tumor recurrence. Results:The overall median survival from the time of tissue diagnosis was 21 months (range 19–26, 95%CI). At last follow-up, 41 patients (31%) were alive with no clinical or radiographic evidence of disease. The survival duration was superior for women (P = .04) and for patients with no evidence of lymph node metastasis (P = .03). There was no difference in survival duration associated with patient age, dose of preoperative radiation therapy, the delivery of intraoperative radiotherapy, tumor grade, tumor size, retroperitoneal margin status, or the histologic grade of chemoradiation treatment effect. Conclusion:This analysis supports prior studies which suggest that the survival duration of patients with potentially resectable pancreatic cancer is maximized by the combination of chemoradiation and pancreaticoduodenectomy. Furthermore, there was no difference in survival duration between patients who received the less toxic rapid-fractionation chemoradiotherapy schedule (30 Gy, 2 weeks) and those who received standard-fractionation chemoradiotherapy (50.4 Gy, 5.5 weeks). Short-course rapid-fractionation preoperative chemoradiotherapy combined with pancreaticoduodenectomy, when performed on accurately staged patients, maximizes survival duration and is associated with a low incidence of local tumor recurrence.

Tissue genotyping is a more useful approach than using blood genomic DNA, because the tumor tissues can reflect the effects of somatic mutations in cancer. We investigated the value of the human oxoguanine glycosylase (hOGG1) genotype determined in tumor tissues as a prognostic indicator for bladder cancer (BC) using a novel technological approach. A total of 335 DNA samples from patients with primary BC were analyzed by peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-mediated real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) clamping to characterize the association between genetic polymorphisms within hOGG1 codon 326 and the clinicopathological characteristics of primary BC patients. Tumor stage and number were significantly associated with the hOGG1 codon 326 genotype in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients. Compared with Cys326Ser and Ser326Ser, the Cys326Cys genotype had a greater progression-free survival benefit in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that the hOGG1 Cys326Cys genotype has a protective effect against progression in MIBC (hazard ratio, 0.360 and 0.314, respectively). The hOGG1 tissue genotype is associated with aggressive clinicopathological features in NMIBC and with progression in patients with MIBC. Results suggest that the hOGG1 tissue genotype represents a promising marker for assessing BC prognosis in the clinical setting.

D3 lymphadenectomy is important for accurate staging and provides long-term benefits, especially for T3–4/N + tumors.1,2 Both D3 lymphadenectomy as well as complete mesocolic excision (CME) require central ligation of vessels at their origins to ensure radical resection.3 Currently, superior mesentery vein (SMV) is navigated by ileocolic vessels while its sheath is dissected stepwise from caudal to cranial.4–6 This report describes a new medial-to-lateral approach for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with D3 + CME. The patient was a 47-year-old man with diagnosis of hepatic flexure cancer (cT4N1M0). First, the pedicle of the middle colic vessels and ileocolic vessels were both grasped, then the sheath of SMV was dissected at its left side as there are fewer blood vessels entering here compared with its right side. Second, after identification of middle colic artery (MCA), SMV was skeletonized from medial to lateral and no. 213 and no. 203 lymph nodes were dissected. Third, MCA and ileocolic vein and artery (ICV and ICA) were ligated at their roots. After separating the transverse mesocolon from the duodenum, the branches of the Henle trunk were exposed and no. 223 lymph nodes were dissected. Accessory right colic vein, right colic vein, and middle colic vein were ligated respectively. Fourth, the ascending mesocolon was separated from the retroperitoneal tissues through the front side of Toldt’s fascia, the mesocolon was mobilized completely, and the tumor was removed en bloc. The operation time was 175 min, with estimated blood loss of 50 ml. The patient recovered well without bleeding complications and was discharged on postoperative day 7. Histology revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with 5 of 24 lymph nodes involved (pT3N2M0). The medial-to-lateral approach presented in the video might be helpful for standardization of laparoscopic D3 + CME for right-sided colon cancer.

Curative gastrectomy followed by adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy for 12 months is one of the standard treatments for patients with pathological stage (p-stage) II or III gastric cancer. Although some patients have difficulty maintaining compliance with adjuvant S-1, the risk factors for poor compliance are unknown. We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients at 21 institutions who underwent curative gastrectomy followed by adjuvant S-1 for p-stage II or III gastric cancer. Patients who had a recurrence within 12 months after surgery were excluded from the analysis. Associations between clinicopathological factors and both 12-month compliance and the cumulative continuation rate of S-1 were analyzed. Of 359 patients, 252 (70.2%) continued adjuvant S-1 until 12 months after surgery. Older age (>65 years) and postoperative infectious complications (Clavien–Dindo grade III or higher) were significantly correlated with low compliance with S-1 for 12 months (p = 0.008 and p = 0.042). These two factors also showed significant associations with low cumulative continuation rate (log-rank p < 0.001 and p = 0.018). Continuation rates at 12 months after surgery in patients aged ≤60 years, 61–65, 66–70, 71–75, and 76–80 years were 81.5, 75.9, 65.4, 58.7, and 62.9%, respectively. Type of gastrectomy or body weight loss at 1 month after surgery did not affect either 12-month compliance or the cumulative continuation rate of S-1. Older age, especially over 65 years, and postoperative infectious complications were independent risk factors for poor compliance with adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy for gastric cancer.