Prognostic value of tumor size in non-small cell lung cancer larger than five centimeters in diameter

OBJECTIVES: The tumor size is an important prognostic factor in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, a criterion for tumor size has remained unchanged for the last 25 years in TNM classification. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between tumor size and survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. METHOD: Of 550 consecutive patients who underwent operation for NSCLC between 1994 and 1998, we reviewed the medical record of 509 patients. There were 470 men and 39 women. Survivals were compared according to groups of tumor size (Group I: < or = 3 cm, Group II: 3.1-4 cm, Group III: 4.1-5 cm, Group IV: >5 cm, Group A (II + III): 3.1-5 cm, and Group B (IV): >5 cm). The Cox proportional hazard model was used with same variables. RESULTS: The univariate analysis showed that poor pulmonary function test (P < 0.05), pneumonectomy (P < 0.05), limited resection (P < 0.001), tumor size larger than 5 cm (P = 0.006), T factor (P < 0.05), N status (P < 0.001), and advanced staged of disease (P < 0.001) were all significant prognostic factors. Further comparison of survival between tumor size groups demonstrated a significantly poor prognosis for larger tumors. There was a statistically significant difference between Group A (3.1-5 cm) and Group B (> 5 cm), with 5 years survivals of 45.9% and 31.4%, respectively (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: We emphasize that tumor size is an important prognostic factor in NSCLC. The 5 years survival with tumors larger than 5 cm (31.4%), is significantly less than the tumors 3.1-5 cm (45.9%) (P = 0.005). These initial results should strongly encourage additional studies in different countries on the interaction between tumor size and lung cancer characteristics to better clarity. In future revisions of the TNM classification, 5 cm may be a new threshold.     

Minute gastric cancers less than 5 mm in diameter

Minute gastric cancers with maximum dimensions of less than 5 mm were studied clinicopathologically. There were 49 intramucosal cancers among 46 patients and nine submucosal cancers among nine patients. No lymph node metastasis was found. Macroscopically, eight (13.8%) were evaluated, 12 (20.7%) were flat, and 38 (65.5%) were depressed. Most submucosal cancers were of the depressed type (8/9, 88.9%). Classification of cancers according to association with other large cancers into single group (22 cases) and multiple group (33 cases) revealed that (1) the majority of the minute gastric cancers (20/22, 90.9%) in the single group were the depressed type and (2) submucosal cancers in the single group were 8/22, accounting for 36.4%, a much higher incidence as compared with 1/36 (2.9%) in the multiple group. These facts indicate that gastric cancers should be detected when they are about 5 mm in maximum dimension and before they invade beyond the submucosal layer, especially in single and depressed type.     

Prognosis for resected lung cancer patients with tumors greater than ten centimeters in diameter

During the period 1962-1986, 43 lung cancer patients, 2.3% of the 1,832 patients who underwent pulmonary resections at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, had tumors greater than 10 cm in diameter. These 43 cancers were classified postsurgically according to the 1987 guidelines for TNM classification of malignant tumors established by Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC), and included 35 cases (81.0%) in stages IIIA, IIIB and IV. The histological tumor types were adenocarcinoma in 18 cases (41.9%), squamous cell carcinoma in 13 (30.2%), large cell carcinoma in 11 (25.6%) and adenosquamous cell carcinoma in one (2.3%). Twenty-two patients underwent pneumonectomy and 21, lobectomy. In terms of the radical extent of surgery, 16 patients underwent a curative operation (37.2%) and 27 received non-curative surgery (62.8%). Excluding one patient who died of an unknown postoperative cause, the overall cumulative five-year survival rate was 19.7%. There was, however, no significant difference in five-year survival rates between the patients who underwent a curative operation (21.5%) and those who received non-curative surgery (18.8%). There was no significant difference in five-year survival rates between patients with adenocarcinoma (21.2%), those with squamous cell carcinoma (15.4%) and those with large cell carcinoma (27.3%). There was little difference in five-year survival rates between patients with postoperative stage I or stage II tumors (25.0%), patients with stage IIIA tumors (9.5%), patients with stage IIIB tumors (30.0%) and patients with stage IV tumors (20.0%), while the five-year survival rates for patients with postoperative N0 disease were 33.3%, N1 disease 28.9% and N2 disease 0%. Among the 42 patients the survival study, there were eight long-term survivors (greater than 5 yr), all of whom had been in N0 or N1 stage and four of whom had undergone curative surgery. Two were classified as being in stage T4 with malignant pleural effusions, and the other two as being in stage M1 with intrapulmonary metastasis. Patients with N2 disease have an unfavorable prognosis and may be considered suitable for studies on adjuvant therapy, although the relative influence of other prognostic factors must be considered. Classifying the tumors according to whether or not they had reached 10 cm in diameter was of no importance.     

A clinicopathological study in young patients with gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gastric carcinoma rarely affects young patients. This study was undertaken in order to clarify the clinicopathological features and prognosis of young patients with gastric carcinoma. METHODS: The resected 107 specimens from 105 patients younger than 30 years of age with gastric carcinoma were investigated using hematoxylin and eosin stain. RESULTS: The male:female ratio was 1:1.6. Histologically, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was the most common type (94/107, 87.9%) (P < 0.001). Most tumors were located in the middle third of the stomach (P < 0.001). All patients had depressed lesions. The 5-year survival rates of early and advanced gastric carcinoma were 100% (30/30) and 23.5% (8/34), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristic clinicopathological features in young patients, such as gender ratio, tumor location, macroscopic type, and histological type, were different from those in older ones. The prognosis of early gastric carcinoma in young patients was much better than that in older patients, although the prognosis of advanced gastric carcinoma in young patients was worse than that of older patients. These findings seem to indicate that young patients with early gastric carcinoma can tolerate radical treatments well; however, the aggressiveness of lesions are emphasized in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma.     

A clinicopathological study of asymptomatic gastric cancer.

The clinicopathological profiles of 419 patients with asymptomatic gastric cancer (AGC) first detected by gastric screening, were reviewed and compared with those of the 1727 patients with symptomatic gastric cancer (SGC). The incidence of AGC increased gradually and has amounted to 30% of the total resected cases in recent years. About 75% of AGC cases were of early cancer and 84% were negative for lymph node metastases. In contrast, only 33% of SGC cases were of early cancer and 57% were node positive. Curative resection was done in 97% of AGC and 75% of SGC. The cumulative 5 and 10 year survival rates of patients with curatively resected AGC were 85.2% and 72.2%, respectively, while those for patients with SGC were 66.8% and 55.4%. These data demonstrated that most patients with asymptomatic gastric cancers could expect a curative resection, i.e. have a better clinical outcome, than those with symptomatic cancer.     

Patients with multiple gastric cancers have poorer prognosis than patients with single gastric cancer

The postoperative survival of patients with multiple gastric cancers (MGC) was evaluated in a comparison with that of patients with single gastric cancer (SGC). During the past 30 years, 2,405 patients with gastric cancer underwent gastrectomy in our clinic. Of these patients, 2,241 (93.2%) had SGC and 164 (6.8%) had MGC. The survival of patients With MGC was significantly poorer than that of patients with SGC. The incidence of deaths caused by gastric cancer, by malignancies in organs other than the stomach and by nontumorous diseases other than malignancies was greater in each case in patients with MGC. While, there was no single, independent factor that explained the poorer prognosis of patients with MGC, the significantly greater age of patients with MGC might be responsible for an increased incidence of occurrence not only of other malignancies but also of nontumorous diseases associated with aging.     

The safe association of intraoperative evaluation of surgical margins and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer larger than 3 centimeters

OBJECTIVES AND BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to determine whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with breast cancer larger than 3 cm associated with breast-conserving surgery plus intraoperative evaluation of surgical margins is safe. METHODS: A total of 164 patients with breast cancer larger than 3 cm in diameter were submitted to neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 1992 and 1998 and followed until 2003. We used neoadjuvant chemotherapy in pulses at 21-day intervals with 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m2), epirubicin (50 mg/m2) and cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m2) (FEC). Initially, 3 cycles of chemotherapy were administered, followed by surgery and 6 additional chemotherhapy cycles. During surgery, an evaluation of the surgical margins was performed. RESULTS: Quadrantectomy was performed in 102 patients (62.2%) and mastectomy in 62 (37.8%). Local recurrence in 8 patients, metastasis in 37, and 21 deaths were observed. The curves of local recurrence for quadrantectomy and mastectomy were similar (P = 0.654 and P = 0.841, respectively), and so were the numbers of local recurrence (P = 0.4438). The curves of disease-free survival for quadrantectomy and mastectomy were different (P = 0.034 and P = 0.033, respectively). However, no statistically significant difference was observed in the number of events (P = 0.1283). A statistically significant difference was observed for the curves (P = 0.001 and P = 0.000) and the number (P = 0.0034) of deaths between patients undergoing quadrantectomy or mastectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can reduce surgery complexity and is safe when associated with intraoperative evaluation of the surgical margins, without changing the local recurrence rate, disease-free survival, and overall survival.     

A clinicopathological study of gastric stump carcinoma following proximal gastrectomy

Background  We aimed to clarify the frequency and clinicopathological characteristics of gastric stump carcinoma following proximal gastrectomy. Methods  Three-hundred and sixteen patients who had undergone curative proximal gastrectomy over a 21-year period from January 1984 through December 2004 were reviewed. Results  Gastric stump carcinoma was observed in 17 patients (5.4%). The time interval between the initial gastrectomy and the treatment of gastric stump cancer was within 5 years in 3 patients, within 5–10 years in 8, and after 10 years in 6. Treatment included endoscopic resection (n = 4), completion total gastrectomy of the remnant stomach (n = 11), pancreatoduodenectomy (n = 1), and nonsurgical resection (n = 1). Pathologically, 9 carcinomas were differentiated and 8 were undifferentiated. In a review of reconstruction methods associated with disease stage, stage I was found in 6 of the 7 patients with esophagogastrostomy or short-segment jejunal interposition. On the other hand, stage I was found in only 3, but stage II–IV was found in 7 of the 10 patients with reconstruction by double-tract or long-segment jejunal interposition; thus, the tumor was more likely to be detected at an advanced stage after long-segment interposition (P = 0.049). Conclusion  Gastric stump carcinoma following proximal gastrectomy occurred at a high frequency of 5.4% of initial resections. It is necessary to select a reconstruction method that facilitates postoperative endoscopic examination, as well as to follow up the patients after proximal gastrectomy in the long term for the early detection and early treatment of gastric stump carcinoma.     

A clinicopathological study of five cases of adenosquamous carcinoma of the stomach

Five cases of adenosquamous carcinoma with resected stomach were subjected to this study, and the clinicopathological characteristics of this condition were described. The five patients represented 0.8% of 589 cases of resected stomach. There were two men and three women ranging in age from 40 to 70 (average, 62.8). Macroscopically, the adenosquamous carcinomas were all advanced gastric cancer situated in the lower body along the lesser curvature of the stomach, averaging 7.6 cm in size. The characteristic finding was the histologically differentiated type, invading to the serosa. Lymph node metastasis was most prominent.     

早期胃癌78例的胃镜诊断与病理分析

目的：探讨早期胃癌的胃镜及病理特点,以提高早期诊断率。方法：回顾分析78例早期胃癌患者的临床资料。结果：78例患者中,77例术前胃镜及病理确诊为早期胃癌,1例术后病理确诊为早期胃癌。病灶分布以胃角及胃窦最多,为57例（73．1％）;Ⅱ型发病率最高,为52例（66．7％）;管状腺癌最多,为38例（48．7％）;病灶周围组织示萎缩性胃炎者33例（42．3％）,肠上皮化生37例（47．4％）,中重度不典型增生32例（41．0％）,幽门螺旋杆菌（Hp）阳性者70例（89．7％）。结论：早期胃癌Ⅱ型发病率最高,胃窦及胃角是好发部位,胃镜加多点黏膜活检是诊断早期胃癌的重要手段,癌前病变和Hp感染与早期胃癌关系密切。     

A clinicopathological study of early mucinous adenocarcinoma of the stomach

From 1963 to 1986, 1126 cases (1300 lesions) of early gastric carcinoma were treated at Fukui Prefectural Hospital. Mucinous adenocarcinomas comprised 16 lesions in this series. These cases of mucinous adenocarcinoma were younger than all the other early carcinomas of the stomach and they often were locted in the lower third of the stomach. Macroscopically, most were types "Iia + IIc". Dividing them into 3 grouping: papillary, tubular, and signet ring cell types, depending on the microscopic appearance of the intramucosal carcinoma, the signet ring cell group differed from the other two as to age, macroscopic appearance, and region it occupied. An immunochemical study showed that CA19-9 stained positively in a mucous lake, much like a carcinoma cell, but that CEA stained little.     

A clinicopathological study of advanced ovarian cancers without an enlargement of the ovaries

A clinicopathologic study of advanced ovarian carcinomas without an enlargement of the primary site has been performed. Cases studied were taken from 64 cases with a "common" epithelial tumor whose ovaries upon resection were directly measured for size. The ovaries of five cases (8%) were normal in size, and 3 (5%) of this number had been treated by chemotherapy prior to the resection of their ovaries. All three cases had been suspected to have an ovarian cancer at the start of treatment, one of these cases given a definite diagnosis of ovarian cancer, stage III, and the remaining two cases diagnosed as belonging to a special category. In these 3 cases, the ovaries had decreased in size and the primary cancerous site was difficult to determine, owing to the administered chemotherapy. A preoperative diagnosis of the remaining two of the 2 cases suspected an ovarian cancer in one, and a uterine corpus carcinoma, Ia in the other, associated with an ovarian cancer, stage III. These findings suggest that even though the enlargement of the ovaries was not to be remarkable, a laparotomy should be performed in cases strongly suspected of ovarian cancer, so as to ascertain the correct diagnosis by a careful inspection of the intraabdominal cavity, such as checking for the presence of ascites with malignant cells, or an elevated serum CA 125 without any other accountable primary foci.     

Gene expression analysis of early and advanced gastric cancers

Gastric carcinoma is one of the major causes of cancer mortality worldwide. Early detection results in excellent prognosis for patients with early cancer (EGC), whereas the prognosis of advanced cancer (AGC) patients remains poor. It is not clear whether EGC and AGC are molecularly distinct, and whether they represent progressive stages of the same tumor or different entities ab initio. Gene expression profiles of EGC and AGC were determined by Affymetrix technology and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Representative regulated genes were further analysed by in situ hybridization (ISH) on tissue microarrays. Expression analysis allowed the identification of a signature that differentiates AGC from EGC. In addition, comparison with normal gastric mucosa indicated that the majority of alterations associated with EGC are retained in AGC, and that further expression changes mark the transition from EGC to AGC. Finally, ISH analysis showed that representative genes, differentially expressed in the invasive areas of EGC and AGC, are not differentially expressed in the non-invasive areas of the same tumors. Our data are more directly compatible with a progression model of gastric carcinogenesis, whereby EGC and AGC may represent different molecular stages of the same tumor. Finally, the identification of an AGC-specific signature might help devising novel therapeutic strategies for advanced gastric cancer.     

Detection and Diagnosis of Small Peripheral Lung Cancers Less than 15mm in Diameter

OBJECTIVE To assess the value of chest X-ray film, conventional CT (CCT), Spiral CT (SCT) and high resolution CT (HRCT) for detection and diagnosis of small peripheral lung cancers less than 15 mm in diameter. METHODS Chest X-ray film, CCT, SCT and HRCT were taken in 59 cases of peripheral lung cancers less than 15 mm in diameter confirmed by pathological examination following an operation. The value of these procedures for diagnosis was analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS In 47% of chest X-ray films and 17% of CCT, small lung cancers were not detected. However no tumor escaped detection by SCT. HRCT was superior for showing density and detailed image signs compared to chest films and CCT. The HRCT features of small peripheral lung cancers were quite different from those of larger peripheral lung cancers. CONCLUSION The SCT is the best method for detection, and HRCT for diagnosis of small peripheral lung cancers less than 15 mm in diameter. CT guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy should be advocated.     

15?mm以下周围型小肺癌的影像学检出和诊断

目的 评价胸部平片、常规CT（CCT）、螺旋CT（SCT）和高分辨率CT（HRCT）等各种影像学手段对15mm以下周围型小肺癌的检出和诊断能力。方法 回顾性分析59例经手术病理证实的15mm以下周围型小肺癌的临床表现及胸部平片、CCT、SCT和HRCT等的检查结果。因咳唔、咯血等症状就医发现5例,由健康体检发现37例,因其他疾病检查发现17例。病理Ⅰ期53例,Ⅱ期以上6例。结果 胸部平片的假阴性诊断率为47．5％,CCT的假阴性诊断率为17．6％,只有SCT可以检出全部病例而未发生漏诊。HRCT在显示肿瘤密度和各种征象细节的能力和准确性方面均优于胸部平片和CCT。15mm以下周围型小肺癌在HRCT征象方面与较大肺癌比较有明显差别。结论 SCT、HRCT是检出和诊断15mm以下周围型小肺癌的最佳影像学手段。应当提倡CT引导下的经皮肺穿刺活检技术。     

A retrospective study of clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of Krukenberg tumor with gastric origin

BackgroundKrukenberg tumor (KT) of gastric origin has a poor prognosis. The present study of KTs are mainly case reports and clinical analysis with few samples. Therefore, it is urgent to explore the clinicopathologic characteristics of KTs through large sample studies. To improve the understanding of the clinical diagnosis and treatment of KT, this paper retrospectively analyzed 10 years of gastric cancer (GC) database data, including clinicopathological and prognostic features, aiming to provide a clinical reference for the diagnosis and treatment of the tumor.MethodsThe clinicopathological characteristics, treatments, and survival data were collected and analyzed from 130 patients with KTs of GC. Clinicopathological data included clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, imaging reports, pathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) reports. We collected treatment regimens information on whether they had undergone surgery and chemotherapy and performed survival follow-up. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to investigate the risk factors of KTs with gastric origin.ResultsThe median age of the patients was 41 years. A total of 63.1% of patients had synchronous ovarian metastasis, 70.8% had bilateral ovarian metastasis, 68.5% had peritoneum metastasis, and 98.5% had pathologically poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. The positive rate of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) was 1.8%. The follow-up rate was 90.8%, and the median overall survival (mOS) of ovarian metastasis was 13.0 months. Univariate analysis showed statistically significant prognostic factors including menstrual status, size of the gastric lesions and ovarian metastases, number of lymph node metastasis, interval to ovarian metastasis, resection of gastric lesions, peritoneal metastasis, oophorectomy, chemotherapy after ovarian metastases, two-drug regimen chemotherapy, albumin, serum cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels, platelet count, D-dimer, fibrinogen, and high pretreatment platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). Fibrinogen [hazard ration (HR) =0.483; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.300–0.777; P=0.003], size of ovarian metastasis (HR =1.808; 95% CI: 1.178–2.776; P=0.007), chemotherapy after ovarian metastasis (HR =0.195; 95% CI: 0.101–0.379; P=0.000), peritoneal metastasis (HR =2.742; 95% CI: 1.606–4.682; P=0.000) and oophorectomy (HR =1.720; 95% CI: 1.066–2.778; P=0.026) were independent prognostic factors.ConclusionsGC patients with KTs have some unique clinical features. Hypercoagulable states, peritoneal metastasis, and untimely chemotherapy and oophorectomy might be a worse predictor for KTs derived from gastric origin.     

A clinicopathologic study on multiple gastric cancers with special reference to distal gastrectomy

Simultaneous multiple gastric cancer was seen in 49 (5.8%) of 852 resected stomachs. Patients with multiple cancers were older than those with single gastric cancers (P less than 0.01) and the incidence of multiple gastric cancer was significantly higher in male patients than in female patients (P less than 0.05). The incidence rates of multiple carcinomas were 9.6% of early gastric carcinomas and 4.0% of advanced gastric carcinomas. With regard to histologic type, the incidence rate of the differentiated type was 71% and the incidence rate of the undifferentiated type was 29%. In 68 serially resected stomachs, 5 (7.4%) new multiple cancers were detected microscopically, whereas 4 (5.9%) had already been diagnosed grossly. The incidence rate of multiple carcinoma increased to 13.2% by this procedure. The cases that were cut serially showed that most of the multiple cancers were located distally from the F-line presenting the line along which intestinal metaplasia appeared. This study suggests that the surgeon is required to resect the area including the F-line at the time of distal gastrectomy so as not to leave another cancer in the gastric remnant.     

Clinical diagnosis of minute gastric cancer less than 5 mm in diameter

When 58 minute gastric cancers less than 5 mm in diameter from 55 patients were classified into 22 of the single group (minute gastric cancer alone) and 36 of the multiple group (associated with other large gastric cancers), the preoperative correct diagnostic rate by x-ray was 22.7% and 11.1% in the single group and in the multiple group, respectively, with a total rate of 15.5%. The diagnostic rate by endoscopy, aided by endoscopic biopsy, was 95.5%, 13.9%, and 44.8%, respectively. Therefore, it appears that endoscopy and endoscopic biopsy are most efficient diagnostic tools for the detection of such minute gastric cancers. Since the detection of the depressed type (IIc) of minute gastric cancers is considered most significant because of their frequent submucosal invasion, their characteristic endoscopic findings are emphasized: (1) irregular and polygonal shape, (2) distinct depression, (3) clear demarcation, (4) nodular margins, and (5) moth-eaten appearance and abrupt thinning of the mucosal folds.     

A clinicopathological study of recurrent gastric cancer cases treated by a resection of the remnant stomach

Seventeen cases of a recurrent gastric cancer that were treated by a resection of the remnant stomach have been studied retrospectively. For first management 12 cases were given a Billroth 2 procedure, 4 cases a Billroth 1 procedure and 1 case a fundectomy. For the recurrent cancer, 13 cases were given a total resection of the gastric remnant and 4 cases a partial resection. The overall mortality rate was 12% and the survival rate was 58% at 1 year, and 8% at 5 years. We thus have concluded that a resection of the remnant stomach should be carried cut in cases of a recurrent gastric cancer whenever possible.     

直径小于2厘米胃癌预制因素分析

Objective  

The aim of our study was to identify clinicopathological characteristics as predictive factors for gastric cancer tumours of less than 2 cm in diameter.