Impact of socioeconomic status on bladder cancer outcome

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To give an update on the possible influence of socioeconomic status on bladder cancer outcome. RECENT FINDINGS: Research to investigate the impact of socioeconomic status on bladder cancer outcome has increased during the past 2 years. The findings of these studies show that socioeconomic status is a significant predictor of survival in male and female patients presenting with bladder cancer, when death from all causes is considered. Very limited data on the effect of affluence on bladder cancer-specific survival, however, are available. Bladder cancer is the only common malignancy for which women have a worse prognosis than men. Recent evidence suggests that the finding of worse survival in women may be confined to those from more deprived areas. SUMMARY: Bladder cancer outcomes are directly influenced by social deprivation.     

l-Alanin-l-glutamine supplementation improves the outcome after colorectal surgery for cancer

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of l-alanine-l-glutamine (Gln) on postoperative complication rate and duration of hospitalization in patients operated for colorectal cancer. METHOD: A total of 109 patients operated with the diagnosis of colorectal cancer and given enteral nutrition between January 2001 and January 2005 were prospectively analysed. The patients were randomized and analysed in two groups; Gln group (n = 57): patients were given parenteral Gln (1 g/kg/day, Dipeptiven, Fresenuis Kabi, Germany) together with enteral nutrition (Ensure; Abbott, Zwolle, The Netherlands) and the control group (n = 52) only received enteral nutrition (Ensure; Abbott), which was a standard isonitrogenous and isocaloric formula. The supplemental enteral nutrition was provided for at least 5 days pre- and postoperatively according to the nutritional status of the patients. Age, gender, subjective global assessment (SGA), body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, protein, associated disorders, localization of pathology, techniques of anastomosis, postoperative complications and length of hospital stay were analysed for each patient. RESULTS: The duration of nutritional support in the Gln group was 6 +/- 2 and 5 +/- 1 days pre- and postoperatively; while it was 7 +/- 1 and 6 +/- 1 days for the control group, and there were no significant difference among the groups (P > 0.05). Age, gender, SGA, BMI, levels of serum albumin and protein, localization of pathology and techniques of anastomosis were also similar (P > 0.05). Wound infection (P = 0.038), intraabdominal abcess formation (P = 0.044) and wound dehiscence (P = 0.044) were significantly higher in the control group than in the Gln group. There was no significant difference in terms of anastomotic leakage and other complications between both groups (P > 0.05). Hospital stay was significantly shorter in the Gln group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Supplementation of parenteral Gln decreased the postoperative complications and hospital stay and in the patients undergoing the colorectal surgery for cancer.     

Factors influencing outcome after surgery for stage IV colorectal cancer

PURPOSE: According to the classification system of the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum, Stage IV colorectal cancer is characterized by distant metastasis, which is defined by four factors: liver metastasis (H factor), metastasis to organs other than the liver (M factor), peritoneal dissemination (P factor), and distant lymph node metastasis (N factor). We conducted this study to investigate the postsurgical prognosis of patients with Stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC), in reference to each of these four factors. METHODS: We analyzed the medical records of 73 patients who underwent surgery for Stage IV CRC at our hospital between 1991 and 2001. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that P0 or P1 CRC (P < 0.001), absence of the M factor (P = 0.024), well or moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (P < 0.001), resection of the primary tumor (P < 0.001), and curability B surgery (P < 0.0001) were associated with a better prognosis than other types of Stage IV CRC. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor differentiation and surgical curability affected cancer-specific survival significantly. CONCLUSION: Surgery with curative intent should be considered for patients with Stage IV CRC defined by the P1 factor or H factor.     

Impact of anastomotic leakage on long-term prognosis after colorectal cancer surgery

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. Despite significant improvements in surgical technique, postoperative complications still occur in a fair percentage of patients undergoing colorectal surgery. The most feared complication is anastomotic leakage. It negatively affects short-term prognosis, with increased post-operative morbidity and mortality, higher hospitalization time and costs. Moreover, it may require further surgery with the creation of a permanent or temporary stoma. While there is no doubt about the negative impact of anastomotic dehiscence on the short-term prognosis of patients operated on for CRC, still under discussion is its impact on the long-term prognosis. Some authors have described an association between leakage and reduced overall survival, disease-free survival, and increased recurrence, while other Authors have found no real impact of dehiscence on long term prognosis. The purpose of this paper is to review all the literature about the impact of anastomotic dehiscence on long-term prognosis after CRC surgery. The main risk factors of leakage and early detection markers are also summarized.     

The impact of age on outcome after surgery for colorectal adenocarcinoma

INTRODUCTION

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) increases with age. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of age and age-related factors on post-operative mortality and survival following CRC resections.

METHODS

A prospectively collected database of 459 CRC resections was analysed.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 70 years (range: 25–95 years) and 54% were male. The relative proportion of female patients increased with age so that for patients aged over 77 more women were treated than men. The probability of undergoing an emergency resection (25%) did not change with age. In older patients the proportion of rectal cancers resected decreased and the proportion of hemicolectomies and Hartmann''s operations performed increased. The 30-day mortality rate was 4% after elective and 11% after emergency resections. Most deaths were caused by medical complications, reflecting increased co-morbidity in the elderly. Post-operative mortality was 1% in patients under the age of 59. This increased by 3 percentage points every 10 years after elective resections and by 8 percentage points every 10 years after emergency resections. CRC-specific survival was independent of age whereas overall survival decreased so the likelihood of dying from CRC decreased with age: at age 50 half the deaths were from CRC, at age 70 a third and at age 80 a quarter.

CONCLUSIONS

CRC stage and the probability of presenting as an emergency did not change with age but older patients were more likely to be female and have colon cancer. Post-operative mortality progressively increased with age. Most deaths were caused by medical complications, reflecting increased co-morbidity. Older patients were less likely to die from CRC.     

Effects of obesity on the outcome of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer

Purpose

This study evaluated the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic colorectal surgery for cancer in obese patients based on the short-term outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 561 patients with colorectal cancer treated from April 2007 to October 2010. The surgical outcomes were compared between non-obese (BMI <25 kg/m²) and obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m²) patients.

Results

All of the enrolled patients were classified as non-obese (n = 421) or obese (n = 140). The obese group had a significantly higher proportion of male patients (72.1 vs. 57.0 %; P = 0.002), a higher incidence of left colon cancer (49.3 vs. 36.8 %; P = 0.033), and more systematic comorbidities (P < 0.001) than did the non-obese group. The length of the surgery was significantly longer in obese than in non-obese patients (221 vs. 207 min; P = 0.025). There was no significant difference in the overall incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups; however, surgical wound infections were more common in obese patients (12.1 vs. 5.2 %; P = 0.005). Obesity was not a significant-independent risk factor for total postoperative complications (odds ratio 1.330; P = 0.289).

Conclusion

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is technically feasible and safe for obese patients and provides all the benefits of a minimally invasive approach.     

Local recurrence after radical surgery for colorectal cancer

Local recurrence of colorectal cancer after curative surgery is a major clinical problem. The aim of our study was to present our experience in this field. Between January 1990 and December 2000, 572 patients underwent resection for colorectal cancer in our department; 66 of them had local recurrence within the first 2 years. Most of those patients had Dukes' stage B (n = 24) or stage C (n = 37) tumors, which were located mainly in the rectum (n = 40) and sigmoid colon (n = 18). The incidence of local recurrence was 11% and 15.9% for tumors that were Dukes' stages B and C, respectively. Thirty-five of 66 patients received palliative treatment, and 28 of them died within 9 months. The remaining 31 patients underwent radical excision of the recurrent tumor: 11 of these patients died within 2 years, and 20 were still alive after 30 months. The only hope for long-term survival for patients presenting with local recurrence from colorectal cancer after primary radical treatment is to identify local recurrence at an early stage and treat it in a radical manner.     

The effect of epidural analgesia on postoperative outcome after colorectal surgery

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review was to determine the effects of epidural analgesia as it relates to outcome after colorectal surgery. METHOD: We searched and reviewed studies that included colorectal surgery and epidural method of analgesia listed on the Pubmed, Medline, Embase and the Cochrane library database. RESULTS: The majority of data demonstrate a superior effect of epidural analgesia on pain control after colorectal surgery. Well designed randomized controlled trials (RCT's) have also shown that epidural analgesia reduces the duration of ileus after colorectal surgery. Limited data suggest the additional benefit may be minimal after laparoscopic surgery or when epidural analgesia is used as part of a multimodal regime. Data does not convincingly show either a clear harmful or beneficial effect of epidural analgesia on rates of anastomotic leakage. Epidural analgesia may have beneficial effects on postoperative lung function, however due to low numbers, the effects on cardiovascular and thromboembolic complications are indeterminate. Length of hospital stay has not been shown to be shortened by sole use of an epidural and, although epidural analgesia may be apparently more costly, alternatives may incur higher indirect costs and decreased patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Randomized controlled trials have shown a benefit for epidurals on postoperative pain relief, and ileus, and possibly respiratory complications. There is no proven benefit with regard to length of stay. There are a number of unresolved issues which further focussed RCT's may help clarify such as effects of epidural on complication rates after colorectal surgery.     

既往腹部手术史对腹腔镜结直肠癌手术影响的临床非随机对照研究

目的 探讨既往腹部手术史对腹腔镜结直肠癌手术的影响及腹腔镜的再次手术技术在结直肠癌治疗中的可行性及安全性.方法 按纳入、排除及剔除标准,将2002年3月至2009年3月期间连续收治的653例腹腔镜结直肠癌手术病例分成3组,即上腹部手术组(n=48)、中下腹部手术组(n=110)和无既往腹部手术史组(n=495).比较组间人口统计学、病理解剖学及手术相关数据上的差异.结果 上腹部手术组、中下腹部手术组和无既往腹部手术史组间在人口统计学、病理解剖学及术后相关并发症方面比较差异均无统计学意义.中下腹部手术组(11.8%)较其他两组存在更高的中转开腹率(上腹部手术组和无既往腹部手术史组分别为4.2%、3.8%),其差异与腹腔内粘连相关.三组在手术时间[(132±36)、(141±42)、(132±36)min]、术中失血量[(58±50)、(81±99)、(57 ±57)ml]、输血率(6.3%、10.9%、7.9%)、低位保肛(47.1%、44.7%、55.2%)、肛门排气时间[(2.5±1.4)、(2.9±1.7)、(2.5±2.1)d]、摄食时间[(5±4)、(5±4)、(4 ±3)d]、术后住院时间[(17±9)、(15±8)、(16±10)d]等方面差异均无统计学意义(P均>0.05).结论 既往腹部手术史因素并不是再手术时运用腹腔镜技术治疗结直肠癌的禁忌证,腹腔镜的再次手术技术在结直肠癌的治疗中安全、可行.     

Thirty-day mortality after surgery for colorectal cancer in Denmark

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the 30-day mortality after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery in Denmark. Mortality was compared to other studies, and between departments, unadjusted and adjusted for case-mix. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients in Denmark with a first-time colorectal adenocarcinoma operated between 1 May 2001 and 31 December 2002 were eligible, 5187 patients were included. Mortality was adjusted for age, sex, urgency, tumour location, Dukes' stage and ASA-score. RESULTS: The 30-day mortality in Denmark after CRC-surgery was 9.9%. Adjusted for case-mix, four departments had significantly higher mortality than average. The variation between the 44 departments was significant both for radically operated (P = 0.02) patients and for all operated patients (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The 30-day mortality in Denmark seems to be higher than in studies from other countries, but the lack of comparable nationwide studies makes it difficult to evaluate. To uncover the reasons for the departments to diverge significantly from average, further studies are needed.