One-stage versus two-stage lymph node dissection after investigation of sentinel lymph node in cutaneous melanoma: a comparison of complications, costs, hospitalization times, and operation times

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether complication rate, costs, operation times, and hospitalization times differed in two different patient groups: in group 1, frozen section analysis of the sentinel lymph node and lymph node dissection were carried out in the same operation. In group 2, normal investigation of the sentinel lymph node and lymph node dissection were done in a second operation. One hundred thirty-five patients with cutaneous melanoma were included. Hospitalization times, costs, complication rates, and operation times of two-stage and one-stage lymph node dissection of the draining area after detection of metastases in the sentinel lymph node were retrospectively compared. Lymph node metastasis in the sentinel lymph node was found in 23 patients. In 11 patients, removal of the sentinel lymph node and dissection of the lymph node basin was performed in the same operation. In 12 patients, a two-stage procedure was the treatment of choice. Operation times were not different in the two groups (p=0.87) while two-stage operation patients were hospitalized significantly longer (14.2 ± 9.7 vs 23.9 ± 24 days; p=0.01) and costs were significantly higher (7,836.90 ± 2,397.95 Swiss francs vs 5,279.40 ± 1,994.90 Swiss francs). In addition, more complications were found in the two-stage group.     

Lymphoscintigraphy as a predictor of lymphatic drainage from cutaneous melanoma

Background: If cutaneous lymphoscintigraphy (CL) is accurate in predicting the draining lymph node basins at risk from primary axial melanomas, then regional metastases should only occur in those lymph node basins identified by CL. Methods: This study is a retrospective review of patients undergoing CL for primary axial melanomas from June 1, 1985, until June 31, 1992. Data retrieved included age, gender, number of basins identified, location of basins identified, management of basins, recurrence in lymphatics, development of distant disease, and long-term follow-up. Results: A total of 181 patients underwent elective LND, and 48 patients (27%) had melanoma in the nodes within the dissected basin. Of these 181 patients, seven developed nodal metastases as their site of first recurrence. All seven recurrences were seen at sites dissected or at sites indicated by CL, which the primary surgeon elected not to treat initially. Of the 116 patients observed, 16 (14%) developed lymph node metastases as their first site of recurrence. Fifteen of these 16 patients had their site of lymph node metastases predicted by CL. In this study, CL predicted 98.6% of all lymph node metastases. Conclusions: The high overall reliability of CL as demonstrated by long-term follow-up indicates that the information obtained by CL can be reliably used to guide intervention. Initial evaluation of patients with high-risk cutaneous melanomas at sites with ambiguous lymphatic drainage must include CL in order to determine the draining lymph node basins and to plan therapy. Presented at the 47th Annual Cancer Symposium of The Society of Surgical Oncology, Houston, Texas, March 17–20, 1994.     

Chy-3 mice are Vegfc haploinsufficient and exhibit defective dermal superficial to deep lymphatic transition and dermal lymphatic hypoplasia.

Recent advances in molecular lymphology and lymphatic phenotyping techniques in small animals offer new opportunities to delineate mutant mouse models. Chy-3 mutant mice were originally named for their chylous ascites, but the underlying lymphatic disorder was not defined. We now re-examined these mice and applied advanced genotyping and lymphatic phenotyping techniques to pinpoint the specific lymphatic defect in this mouse model. We demonstrated that Chy-3 mice carry a large chromosomal deletion that includes Vegfc and narrowed this region by monitoring the heterozygosity of genetic markers. We found that Chy-3 mice not only exhibited chylous ascites but also lymphedema of the hind paws and, in approximately half of the males, lymphedema of the penis. Visual lymphangiography and immunofluorescence staining showed a hypoplastic dermal lymphatic network, whereas the blood vasculature appeared unaffected. This hypoplastic lymphatic network was functional, and all adult Chy-3 mice exhibited a lateral lymphatic pathway directly connecting the inguinal to the axillary lymph node. The dermal superficial to deep lymphatic connections in upper limbs and in all cervical regions were intact and functionally drained the upper body. Lymphatic tracer was not transported from the dermal to the deep truncal lymphatic system in the lower limbs, even though the deep lymphatic vessels and nodes were present and patent. These findings further delineate the lymphatic phenotype of Chy-3 mice, identify a collateral lymph drainage pathway previously undescribed in other genetic models of lymphedema, and demonstrate a predilection for lymphatic abnormalities of the lower limbs.     

高频彩超对颈部淋巴结囊性病变的诊断价值

①目的探讨高频彩超对颈部淋巴结囊性病变的诊断价值。②方法回顾性分析25例颈部淋巴结囊性病变的高频彩超表现。③结果颈部淋巴结囊性病变见于颈淋巴结囊性转移瘤、化脓性淋巴结炎及淋巴结结核。其中13例为颈部淋巴结囊性转移瘤，其特征性超声表现为颈部淋巴结囊性肿大，伴囊壁实性结节；较大囊壁结节内常可探及动脉血流信号，部分囊壁结节可见微钙化。7例为颈部急性化脓性淋巴结炎，其主要超声表现为上颈部淋巴结呈单发、圆形囊性肿大；囊壁略厚，且较均匀；囊液呈细密点状回声。5例为颈部淋巴结干酪脓肿型结核，其主要超声表现为单侧或双侧中下颈部淋巴结呈多发、椭圆形囊性肿大，部分可融合成团；内壁毛糙，囊液内散在分布点状高回声。④结论高频彩超检查对颈部淋巴结囊性病变的诊断和鉴别诊断具有重要价值。     

前哨淋巴结活检术应用于外阴癌的初步研究

目的 探讨前哨淋巴结活检术(SLNB)应用于外阴癌的可行性.方法 选择2004年10月-2008年4月间于中国医学科学院肿瘤医院接受手术治疗、术中采用SLNB的外阴癌患者21例,其中处于研究前期(即2005年5月前)的11例患者采用染料法识别前哨淋巴结(SLN)、处于研究后期的10例患者采用核素-染料联合法识别SLN,术后行常规病理检查.以病理检查结果为金标准,观察SLNB的检测效果;并观察与SLNB相关的并发症的发生情况.结果 21例患者中,20例(95%)检出SLN,其中8例为单侧腹股沟、12例为双侧腹股沟.20例SLN阳性患者共检出83枚SLN,每例患者平均检出4.2枚(1～9枚),每侧腹股沟平均2.6枚(1～6枚).其中,染料法每例患者平均检出4.4枚、每侧腹股沟平均2.5枚,核素-染料联合法每例患者平均检出3.9枚、每侧腹股沟平均2.7枚,分别比较,差异均无统计学意义(t=0.459,P=0.652;t=-0.421,P=0.717).20例SLN阳性患者腹股沟浅组淋巴结中均检出SLN,其中1例双侧腹股沟深组淋巴结中也检出SLN.20例SLN阳性的患者中,8例(10侧腹股沟)术后病理检查显示腹股沟淋巴结转移,其中7例患者(9侧腹股沟)的转移淋巴结中均包括有SLN、1例(1侧腹股沟)出现假阴性.以SLN识别预测同侧腹股沟淋巴结转移的假阴性率为10%(1/10),阴性预测值为96%(22/23).未发现与SLNB相关的损伤及不良反应.结论 SLNB应用于外阴癌安全、可行,以SLN预测同侧腹股沟淋巴结转移具有较高准确性.     

Lymphatic drainage from the skin of the back to retroperitoneal and paravertebral lymph nodes in melanoma patients

Background: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy (LS) with^99mTc antimony sulphide colloid is now part of the routine management of patients with intermediate thickness melanoma at the Sydney Melanoma Unit. Over a 13-year period, 1375 patients have been examined using LS, and we have observed many unusual lymphatic drainage pathways, including direct drainage through the body wall to retroperitoneal and paravertebral lymph nodes from the skin of the back. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of such drainage in the 542 patients who had primary melanoma sites on the posterior trunk. Methods: The lymphoscintigrams performed on these patients were examined for the presence of direct lymphatic drainage through the posterior body wall to sentinel nodes in the retroperitoneal and paravertebral regions. Results: Lymphatic drainage directly through the body wall to such lymph nodes occurred in 14 of these 542 patients. Conclusions: Preoperative knowledge of the presence of this lymph drainage pattern may influence surgical management, and follow-up investigations in these patients can be tailored to ensure that the relevant areas are examined with anatomic imaging or F18-FDG PET scans.     

长链非编码RNA lnc-CCDC33-1:1在甲状腺乳头状癌中的表达及临床意义

目的：检测lnc-CCDC33-1:1在甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC）中的表达,并分析其临床意义。方法：选取2021年11月至2022年3月杭州市萧山区第一人民医院收治的120例PTC患者,收集120例PTC组织及30例癌旁正常甲状腺组织。采用qRT-PCR检测lnc-CCDC33-1:1在PTC组织及癌旁组织中的表达。分析本地队列和TCGA队列中lnc-CCDC33-1:1表达水平与PTC患者临床病理因素的相关性。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线评价lnc-CCDC33-1:1对PTC的诊断价值。结果：与癌旁正常甲状腺组织比,lnc-CCDC33-1:1在PTC组织中表达明显升高（P ＜0.001）。ROC曲线显示曲线下面积为0.803（95%CI =0.736～0.869,P ＜0.001）。本地队列显示lnc-CCDC33-1:1 表达与PTC肿瘤大小（P =0.048）、腺外侵犯（P =0.019）、T分期（P =0.011）和淋巴结转移（P =0.009）相关,TCGA组数据显示lnc-CCDC33-1:1表达水平与PTC腺外侵犯（P =0.036）和淋巴结转移（P ＜0.001）相关。结论：lnc-CCDC33-1:1在PTC中表达异常升高,与PTC高危特征相关,可能是潜在的诊断标志物和治疗靶点。     

胃癌术前淋巴结转移评估方法研究进展

胃癌在我国的发病率及病死率较高,目前,手术仍然是胃癌的主要治疗方式。术前诊断淋巴结转移对于胃癌手术方式的选择有着重大意义。目前,临床中对于胃癌术前淋巴结转移的诊断尚没有金标准。本文对胃癌术前淋巴结转移评估方法的研究进展进行综述。     

Intraoperative frozen section examination of axillary sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

The study presents the results from intraoperative frozen section assessment of axillary sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer. Routine histological frozen sections from one level were used, two sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Immunohistochemistry for cytokeratins was applied to the permanent SLN paraffin sections only. Axillary dissection was performed on all SLN-positive cases regardless of the size of the metastatic deposits. With a detection rate of 83%, 272 patients entered the study over a period of 46 months. A total of 61 cases were SLN positive by frozen section analysis. The paraffin sections gave an additional 23 SLN-positive cases. The false-negative rate for frozen sections was then 27% (23/84). Micrometastases were found in 28 of 84 cases, and macrometastases in 56. The false-negative rate of frozen sections for micrometastases was 71% (20/28), and for macrometastases 5% (3/56). A total of 73% (61/84) of the patients underwent axillary surgery as a one-step procedure.     

Gaps and fragmentation of the superficial cortex in the abdominal and pelvic lymph nodes of elderly Japanese

Gaps and fragmentation of the superficial lymph node cortex are considered to provide intranodal shunt flow between the afferent and efferent vessels. Using serial sections of 205 nodes obtained from 27 donated cadavers more than 70 years of age, we examined the histological architecture of the abdominal and pelvic nodes in elderly Japanese. Secondary follicles were rare in the specimens. Cortex gaps were, to a greater or lesser degree, found in all nodes. We classified these nodes into three types according to how often the gap occurred. Type 1 nodes, with a relatively complete shield for the afferent lymph, were most frequently found in gastric nodes, whereas type 3 nodes, with numerous gaps, were often observed in the colic, para-aortic and pelvic nodes. The type 3 nodes showed a specific architecture characterized by a fragmented superficial cortex, three-dimensionally assembled cords and a common sinus between them. Primary follicles were located in the assembled cord structures as well as at the superficial cortex. Irrespective of the type, B and T lymphocyte areas were intermingled in the cortex-like areas. The present results reveal region-specific histological heterogeneity in aged human visceral nodes. Due to increased surface areas, the type 3 architecture seemed to accelerate systemic immunity rather than act as a local barrier in the para-aortic and pelvic nodes, which are located centrally along the lymphatic drainage routes. However, thick trabeculae often seemed to develop in the type 3 sinus to decrease nodal function with aging.