Category Archives: Ann Surg Oncol

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S-100B: a stronger prognostic biomarker than LDH in stage IIIB-C melanoma.

Ann Surg Oncol. 2013 Aug;20(8):2772-9

Authors: Wevers KP, Kruijff S, Speijers MJ, Bastiaannet E, Muller Kobold AC, Hoekstra HJ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: In melanoma patients with nodal macrometastases, the distinction between good and poor prognosis is based on the presence of primary melanoma ulceration or metastatic involvement of 4 or more lymph nodes in the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classification. We hypothesized that biomarkers would increase the accurateness of staging in these patients. The aim was to assess and compare the prognostic impact of biomarkers S-100B and LDH and to determine the best timing of their measurement in stage IIIB-C melanoma.
METHODS: A total of 119 patients underwent therapeutic lymph node dissection (TLND) for nodal macrometastases with serum S-100B and LDH level measurements preoperatively. In 75 of them, S-100B and LDH were also measured on postoperative days 1 and 2. S-100B and LDH levels on days 0, 1, and 2 were compared for their association with disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).
RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 17 (range 1-89) months, S-100B levels at all time points were associated with DFS. In multivariable analysis, preoperative S-100B and S-100B measured on day 2 showed the strongest association with DFS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.55, P = 0.007 and HR 3.80, P = 0.01). For DSS, the preoperative S-100B level was the strongest independent predictor (HR 2.81, P = 0.01). LDH measurements showed a significant association with DSS in univariate analysis only when measured preoperatively (HR 2.46, P = 0.01). In multivariable analysis, LDH measurement was not associated with melanoma prognosis.
CONCLUSIONS: The S-100B level measured preoperatively is, in contrast to LDH, one of the most important independent predictors of melanoma prognosis in patients undergoing TLND for nodal macrometastases.

PMID: 23512078 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

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Breast-Conserving Surgery With or Without Radiotherapy in Older Breast Patients With Early Stage Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Ann Surg Oncol. 2013 Nov 23;

Authors: van de Water W, Bastiaannet E, Scholten AN, Kiderlen M, de Craen AJ, Westendorp RG, van de Velde CJ, Liefers GJ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: In early stage breast cancer, radiotherapy is an integral part of locoregional treatment with breast-conserving surgery. However, few older patients are included in the clinical trials upon which these recommendations are based. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate outcomes of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery in older patients.
METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed and Embase was undertaken. Inclusion was restricted to randomized controlled trials in postmenopausal breast cancer patients. Pooled odds ratios were calculated for locoregional recurrence, distant recurrence, and overall survival.
RESULTS: We included 5 randomized clinical trials comprising 3,190 patients. Overall, 39 % of the patients were ≥70 years old, and most had hormone receptor-positive T1 tumors without nodal involvement. All patients received adjuvant systemic therapy. Patients who received radiotherapy had a lower relative risk of locoregional recurrence (pooled odds ratio [OR] 0.36; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.25-0.50). The 5-year absolute risk was 2.2 % (95 % CI 1.6-3.1) among patients who received radiotherapy, versus 6.5 % (95 % CI 5.3-7.9) among patients who did not. The absolute risk difference was 4.3 % (95 % CI 2.9-5.7), corresponding with a number needed to treat of 24. No differences were observed for distant recurrence or overall survival.
CONCLUSIONS: Although patients who received radiotherapy had a lower relative risk of locoregional recurrence, the absolute risk was low, and overall survival was not affected. We propose that the debate should not only focus on the relative risk but also on the absolute benefit of radiotherapy and the number needed to treat. Both treatment options may be reasonable in clinical practice.

PMID: 24271158 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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Impact of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy on Postoperative Course after Curative-intent Transthoracic Esophagectomy in Esophageal Cancer Patients.

Ann Surg Oncol. 2013 Oct 8;

Authors: Bosch DJ, Muijs CT, Mul VE, Beukema JC, Hospers GA, Burgerhof JG, Plukker JT

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) improves locoregional control and overall survival in esophageal cancer patients. Although adverse events are relatively low during neoadjuvant CRT, severe postoperative adverse effects may occur, leading to morbidity and even mortality. We investigated the impact of a more frequently used neoadjuvant CRT regimen of 41.4 Gy/5 weeks radiotherapy with concurrent carboplatin and paclitaxel (CROSS schedule) on the postoperative course.
METHODS: Between 2006 and 2012, a total of 96 esophageal cancer patients (staged cT1N+/T2-4a/N0-3 and M0) were treated according to the above neoadjuvant scheme. To reduce bias in this single-center study, we performed a propensity score-matched analysis with patients who underwent surgery alone (n = 230) from a prospectively maintained database (n = 326).
RESULTS: Baseline characteristics between both groups were equally distributed in the matched cohort. In the neoadjuvant treated group, significantly more patients were diagnosed with pneumonia (27.1 vs. 51.0 %; p = 0.001), pleural effusion (12.5 vs. 24.0 %; p = 0.040), and arrhythmia (20.4 vs. 34.4 %; p = 0.008). In addition, in the multivariate analysis, neoadjuvant CRT was significantly associated with an increased risk of pneumonia (p = 0.001, odds ratio 2.896), pleural effusion (p = 0.041, odds ratio 2.268), and arrhythmia (p = 0.023, odds ratio 2.215). Despite these outcomes, no differences were detected in duration of intensive care unit or hospital stay. Short-term mortality did not differ between both groups.
CONCLUSIONS: We observed an increase of cardiopulmonary complications in the neoadjuvant CRT group, without any effect on hospital or intensive care unit stay and mortality. Further research is warranted on the limitation of chemoradiation-induced cardiopulmonary toxicity.

PMID: 24100962 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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Detection of recurrences during follow-up after liver surgery for colorectal metastases: both carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and imaging are important.

Ann Surg…

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Therapeutic lymph node dissection in melanoma: different prognosis for different macrometastasis sites?

Ann Surg Oncol. 2012 Nov;19(12):3913-8

Authors: …

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