Breast conserving surgery for invasive breast cancer: Risk factors for ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences

To identify risk factors associated with an increasedrisk for ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence following breast-conservingsurgery, a cohort of 759 women with T₁–T₂tumors were studied. The majority of the patients(88%) had received postoperative radiation therapy to thebreast. Median follow-up time was 10 (range: 6–17)years. There was a 1–1.5% yearly increase inipsilateral breast tumor recurrences. For women < 50ys the cumulative recurrence rate at 10 yearswas 18% and for women 50 ys,9%. Node positive women had a cumulative breastrecurrence rate of 25% versus 10% for nodenegative women. Ten years postoperatively, irradiated patients hada cumulative recurrence rate of 11% versus 26%when no irradiation was given. The beneficial effectof radiotherapy was substantial during the first fourpostoperative years. The relative risk for an ipsilateralbreast tumor recurrence during this period was 4.5times higher than for non irradiated patients. However,the protective effect of radiotherapy decreased with time.After ten years the relative risk of ipsilateralbreast tumor recurrence was the same among irradiatedand non-irradiated patients although the number of eventsduring this period was low.Univariate analysis showed that seven factors were significantlyassociated with an increased risk of ipsilateral breasttumor recurrence, namely age < 50 ys, increasingtumor size, uncertain microscopic margins, axillary lymph nodemetastases, no postoperative tamoxifen treatment, premenopausal status, andno postoperative radiotherapy. Three factors remained independently significantafter multivariate analysis: age < 50 ys,no postoperative radiation therapy, and positive lymph nodes.In conclusion, radiotherapy reduced the breast recurrence rate,but the effect decreased with time. Node-negative women 50 were a low risk-group for ipsilateralbreast tumor recurrence, with a cumulative risk at10 years of 9% without radiation therapy and5% with breast irradiation.     

保乳治疗复发后的乳房再造研究现状

在全球范围内,保乳术及整形保乳术在乳腺癌外科治疗中逐渐被广泛应用。对于保乳术后同侧乳房局部复发患者,相当一部分因会选择补救性全乳切除,面临着乳房缺失问题。这部分患者因有胸壁放疗史,并多进行过系统治疗,因此行乳房再造时具有一定的特殊性,需引起手术医师的重视。为给予手术医师手术方案的制定提供线索与帮助,本文将从肿瘤学安全性、术后近远期并发症、术后美学效果方面对解救性乳房切除术联合即刻乳房再造进行综述。      

The role of chemotherapy in the treatment of Wilms' tumor.

The records of one hundred seventy-six patients with Wilm's tumor treated with transabdominal nephrectomy only or transabdominal nephrectomy, post-operative radiation therapy and several chemotherapy programs were reviewed. Three conclusions were reached: 1) The addition of postoperative radiation therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy has not improved the excellent, disease-free survival of patients with Stage I disease who were less than twenty-four months of age at diagnosis; 2) The addition of postoperative radiation therapy and adjuvant single agent chemotherapy has not improved the disease-free survival of patients with Stage II disease who were over twelve months of age at diagnosis; and 3) The use of combination chemotherapy with vincristine and actinomycin D has improved the disease-free survival of patients who present with Stage II disease.     

A Systematic Overview of Radiation Therapy Effects in Breast Cancer

A systematic review of radiation therapy trials in several tumour types was performed by The Swedish Council of Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU). The procedures for evaluation of the scientific literature are described separately (Acta Oncol 2003; 42: 357-365). This synthesis of the literature on radiation therapy for breast cancer is based on data from 29 randomized trials, 6 meta-analyses and 5 retrospective studies. In total, 40 scientific articles are included, involving 41 204 patients. The results were compared with those of a similar overview from 1996 including 285 982 patients. The conclusions reached can be summarized as follows: There is strong evidence for a substantial reduction in locoregional recurrence rate following postmastectomy radiation therapy to the chest wall and the regional nodal areas.There is strong evidence that postmastectomy radiation therapy increases the disease-free survival rate.There are conflicting data regarding the impact of postmastectomy radiotherapy upon overall survival.There is strong evidence that breast cancer specific survival is improved by postmastectomy radiotherapy.There is strong evidence for a decrease in non-breast cancer specific survival after postmastectomy radiotherapy.There is some evidence that overall survival is increased by optimal postmastectomy radiation therapy.There is strong evidence that postmastectomy radiotherapy in addition to surgery and systemic therapy in mainly node-positive patients decreases local recurrence rate and improves survival.There is moderate evidence that the decrease in non-breast cancer specific survival is attributed to cardiovascular disease in irradiated patients.There are conflicting data whether breast conservation surgery plus radiotherapy is comparable to modified radical mastectomy alone in terms of local recurrence rate.There is strong evidence that breast conservation surgery plus radiotherapy is comparable to modified radical mastectomy alone in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival.There is strong evidence that postoperative radiotherapy to the breast following breast conservation surgery results in a statistically and clinically significant reduction of ipsilateral breast recurrences followed by diminished need for salvage mastectomies.There is strong evidence that the omission of postoperative radiotherapy to the breast following breast conservation surgery has no impact on overall survival. In one meta-analysis including three randomized studies a survival advantage is demonstrated by Bayesian statistics.There is strong evidence that the addition of a radiation boost after conventional radiotherapy to the tumour bed after breast conservation surgery significantly decreases the risk of ipsilateral breast recurrences but has no impact on overall survival after short follow-up.There is strong evidence for the use of postoperative radiotherapy to the breast following breast conservation surgery for DCIS (ductal breast cancer in situ). Radiotherapy leads to a clinically and statistically significant reduction of both non-invasive and invasive ipsilateral breast recurrences.There is insufficient evidence to define the optimal integration of systemic adjuvant therapy and postoperative radiotherapy.There are limited data on radiotherapy-related morbidity in breast cancer. No conclusions can be drawn.     

A systematic overview of radiation therapy effects in breast cancer

A systematic review of radiation therapy trials in several tumour types was performed by The Swedish Council of Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU). The procedures for evaluation of the scientific literature are described separately (Acta Oncol 2003; 42: 357-365). This synthesis of the literature on radiation therapy for breast cancer is based on data from 29 randomized trials, 6 meta-analyses and 5 retrospective studies. In total, 40 scientific articles are included, involving 41 204 patients. The results were compared with those of a similar overview from 1996 including 285 982 patients. The conclusions reached can be summarized as follows: There is strong evidence for a substantial reduction in locoregional recurrence rate following postmastectomy radiation therapy to the chest wall and the regional nodal areas. There is strong evidence that postmastectomy radiation therapy increases the disease-free survival rate. There are conflicting data regarding the impact of postmastectomy radiotherapy upon overall survival. There is strong evidence that breast cancer specific survival is improved by postmastectomy radiotherapy. There is strong evidence for a decrease in non-breast cancer specific survival after postmastectomy radiotherapy. There is some evidence that overall survival is increased by optimal postmastectomy radiation therapy. There is strong evidence that postmastectomy radiotherapy in addition to surgery and systemic therapy in mainly node-positive patients decreases local recurrence rate and improves survival. There is moderate evidence that the decrease in non-breast cancer specific survival is attributed to cardiovascular disease in irradiated patients. There are conflicting data whether breast conservation surgery plus radiotherapy is comparable to modified radical mastectomy alone in terms of local recurrence rate. There is strong evidence that breast conservation surgery plus radiotherapy is comparable to modified radical mastectomy alone in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival. There is strong evidence that postoperative radiotherapy to the breast following breast conservation surgery results in a statistically and clinically significant reduction of ipsilateral breast recurrences followed by diminished need for salvage mastectomies. There is strong evidence that the omission of postoperative radiotherapy to the breast following breast conservation surgery has no impact on overall survival. In one meta-analysis including three randomized studies a survival advantage is demonstrated by Bayesian statistics. There is strong evidence that the addition of a radiation boost after conventional radiotherapy to the tumour bed after breast conservation surgery significantly decreases the risk of ipsilateral breast recurrences but has no impact on overall survival after short follow-up. There is strong evidence for the use of postoperative radiotherapy to the breast following breast conservation surgery for DCIS (ductal breast cancer in situ). Radiotherapy leads to a clinically and statistically significant reduction of both non-invasive and invasive ipsilateral breast recurrences. There is insufficient evidence to define the optimal integration of systemic adjuvant therapy and postoperative radiotherapy. There are limited data on radiotherapy-related morbidity in breast cancer. No conclusions can be drawn.     

Selective combination of modalities in soft tissue sarcomas: limb salvage and survival

One hundred fifty-two consecutive patients with soft tissue sarcomas were operated in the period 1977 through 1985. Eighty-seven patients with minimum resection margin of 2 cm or greater had no further local therapy, whereas 65 patients with minimum margin less than 2 cm had adjuvant postoperative radiation. Of 121 patients with extremity sarcomas, only 5 (4%) were managed with amputation. The overall 5-year survival rate is 58%, and for patients with extremity tumors, 67%. The 5-year local recurrence rate in extremity sarcomas was 10% for patients with minimum surgical margins 2 cm or greater and no further local therapy, and 6% for those with lesser surgical margins and adjuvant postoperative radiation. With selective combination of modalities limb salvage can now be practiced in 96% of the patients with acceptable local control and survival rates.     

The role of radiation therapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract with positive surgical margins

One hundred four patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract and with histologically positive surgical margins were evaluated for this historically controlled study to determine the efficacy of postoperative radiation therapy. Positive margins were defined as the presence of one or more of the following: carcinoma in situ, tumor within 0.5 cm from the surgical margins, microscopic disease, or dysplasia. Patients received either surgery alone (44 cases) or surgery plus postoperative radiation therapy (60 cases) and were followed for a minimum of 2 years. Treatment strategies, stage by stage, were similar for all patients. Surgery varied from simple excision in T1 to composite resection and/or laryngopharyngectomy with radical neck dissection in advanced cases. Radiation therapy was given postoperatively with doses ranging from 4,500 to 7,500 cGy. The overall 2-year survival rate with no evidence of disease (NED) was consistently higher in the surgery plus radiation therapy group. Furthermore, when the subgroup of patients who had dysplasia at the surgical margins was excluded from the analysis, the 2-year NED survival rate difference became statistically significant (p = 0.05). This outcome favored combined therapy (36 of 58 patients) over surgery alone (13 of 32 patients). This favorable result was obtained despite the high percentage of T3-T4 stages (79 vs. 21%) and clinically positive lymph nodes (83 vs. 17%) in patients who had received postoperative radiation therapy. The significance of dysplasia at the surgical margins and the impact of radiation therapy on the tumor and nodal control in this group of patients needs further clarification.     

Stereotactic radiosurgery:a“targeted”therapy for cancer

The developments of medicine always follow innovations in science and technology.In the past decade,such innovations have made cancer-related targeted therapies possible.In general,the term "targeted therapy" has been used in reference to cellular and molecular level oriented therapies.However,improvements in the delivery and planning of traditional radiation therapy have also provided cancer patients more options for "targeted" treatment,notably stereotactic radiosurgery(SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy(SBRT).In this review,the progress and controversies of SRS and SBRT are discussed to show the role of stereotactic radiation therapy in the ever evolving multidisciplinary care of cancer patients.     

The treatment outcome of patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy: the clinical role of postoperative radiotherapy

BACKGROUND: Treatment outcome was evaluated in patients who underwent breast-conserving therapy and tangential irradiation. After verifying background factors including systemic therapy, the clinical efficacy of postoperative irradiation was investigated. METHOD: There were 708 study subjects, all of whom had early breast cancer treated between 1992 and 2002. The median follow-up period was 83 months. After breast-conserving surgery, in patients with negative surgical margins, only tangential irradiation at 48 Gy/24 fr was performed. In contrast, in those with positive surgical margins, 10 Gy of radiation boost to the tumor bed with electrons was administered after tangential irradiation with 50 Gy/25 fr. Treatment outcome was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: The disease-free survival and no-recurrence rates within the ipsilateral breast after 5 years were 93.4 and 97.2%, respectively. Risk factors for recurrence within the ipsilateral breast included younger age of patient, the number of positive lymph nodes, and no endocrine therapy. However, the surgical margin was not a risk factor. Risk factors for relapse outwith the ipsilateral breast included younger age, the number of positive lymph nodes, and recurrence within the ipsilateral breast. CONCLUSIONS: From our analysis of 708 Japanese women who received breast-conserving therapy, which can be regarded as a standard method in Japan, the treatment outcome was compatible with previous reports from other countries.     

Comparison of chemoradiation with radiation as postoperative adjuvant therapy in cervical cancer patients with intermediate-risk factors

Aims

In cervical cancer patients with intermediate-risk factors, the optimal adjuvant therapy is still controversial. We retrospectively compared the treatment outcome of chemoradiation with that of radiation.

Methods

From 1997 to 2005, 79 consecutive cervical cancer patients received postoperative adjuvant therapy indicated by intermediate-risk factors. Fifty-five women received chemoradiation and 24 women received radiation. Risk factors, recurrence-free survival (RFS), adverse events, and recurrence pattern were investigated and were compared between the chemoradiation and radiation groups. RFS was calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method and was compared by the log-rank test.

Results

Risk factors were well-balanced between the two groups. Four patients recurred in the chemoradiation group and eight patients recurred in the radiation group. RFS rate of the chemoradiation group was significantly higher than that of the radiation group (P = 0.01). Hematologic toxicity was more common in the chemoradiation group than in the radiation group (P < 0.01). However, non-hematologic toxicity was similar between the two groups and most of the patients (97%) completed postoperative adjuvant therapy. Recurrence pattern was similar between the two groups.

Conclusion

In cervical cancer patients with intermediate-risk factors, chemoradiation was well-tolerated and more effective than radiation as a postoperative adjuvant therapy.     

Radiation therapy after radical prostatectomy: a review of the issues and options

The role of postoperative radiation therapy after radical prostatectomy is controversial. Radiation can be delivered as an adjuvant therapy in the immediate postoperative period for high-risk patients or as salvage therapy in the setting of a rising prostate-specific antigen. There are important issues that must be addressed when considering radiation therapy after prior prostatectomy. One issue is the determination of whether a patient has local disease amenable to salvage pelvic radiation or whether the patient has occult metastatic disease. In addition, the radiation oncologist must decide if an acceptable dose of radiation therapy can be administered safely to the prostate bed. There are no published randomized clinical trials on the topic of postprostatectomy radiation therapy, although several have completed accrual or are in progress. Based on the available literature, postoperative radiation is a safe option in the patient at high risk for local recurrence based on adverse pathology or clinical features (eg, extensive extracapsular disease, positive margins, high volume Gleason score >7, and so on). Administration of an adequate dose of prostate bed radiation (ie, >64 Gy) in men with these adverse prognostic features appears to effectively reduce prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence rates. The protracted natural history of prostate cancer requires longer follow-up to determine if survival will be ultimately affected by adjuvant or salvage radiation therapy. Some urologists have advised a "wait and watch policy" for high-risk postprostatectomy patients. Administration of radiation therapy is done only if and when the PSA rises. However, data suggest this approach may have limited durability in high-risk prostate cancer and could reduce the likelihood of prolonged progression-free survival. This review summarizes published retrospective and prospective data to guide decision making in selecting appropriate candidates for postprostatectomy radiation therapy.     

Carcinoma of the superior pulmonary sulcus treated with surgery and/or radiation therapy

This is a retrospective analysis of 50 patients with carcinoma of the superior pulmonary sulcus, treated with curative intent at the University of Florida between October 1964 and October 1981. Treatment groups included preoperative radiation therapy and surgery (40 patients), radiation therapy alone (7 patients), and surgery with postoperative radiation therapy (3 patients). There was a minimum 2-year follow-up. Local control was obtained in 8 of 26 evaluable patients (31%) treated with preoperative radiation therapy and surgery, 2 of 6 patients treated with radiation therapy alone, and 0 of 2 patients treated with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy. Twelve (30%) of 40 patients receiving planned preoperative radiation therapy did not undergo definitive surgery. Absolute survival free of disease at 5 years by treatment group for patients at risk was 3 of 30 (10%) with preoperative radiation therapy and surgery, 0 of 3 with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy, and 2 of 7 with radiation therapy alone. Since one third of the patients who received low- to moderate-dose preoperative radiation therapy did not undergo definitive surgery, and since there is a small but significant survival with radiation therapy alone, it seems unwise to give moderate-dose preoperative radiation therapy, which implies an unfavorable radiation technique for the unresectable cases. The recommendation is to treat patients with lesions believed to be resectable by initial surgical resection followed by high-dose radiation therapy in selected patients with questionable margins or positive lymph nodes. Those patients with borderline or apparently unresectable lesions are recommended to be treated with radiation therapy alone.     

T3N0 rectal cancer: radiation for all?

The optimal oncologic management for patients with T3N0 rectal cancer is currently controversial. Patients with pathologic T3N0 disease may have an "intermediate" risk of disease recurrence, suggesting that perhaps trimodality therapy may not be indicated for all patients. Adverse prognostic features, including a greater depth of perirectal fat invasion, poor tumor differentiation, the presence of lymphovascular invasion, abnormally elevated pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen levels (>5 ng/mL), circumferential margin involvement, and a low-lying position may identify T3N0 patients at high risk for local recurrence who may benefit from the addition of radiation therapy. However, recent randomized data suggest an improvement in local control and disease-free survival with preoperative radiation therapy compared with selective postoperative radiation therapy in all patient subgroups, arguing in favor of routine preoperative therapy. Additionally, rates of clinical understaging may exceed 20%, representing the percentage of patients who would require the delivery of postoperative radiotherapy with its associated sequelae. Future prospective randomized studies of T3N0 patients with upfront stratification by known prognostic factors and studies evaluating the molecular profile of rectal cancers hold the promise of better classifying patients at high risk of local and systemic recurrence, and thus, in need of adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy.     

Randomized study of preoperative versus postoperative radiation therapy in advanced head and neck carcinoma: long-term follow-up of RTOG study 73-03

This is a report of a 10-year median follow-up of a randomized, prospective study investigating the optimal sequencing of radiation therapy (RT) in relation to surgery for operable advanced head and neck cancer. In May 1973, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) began a Phase III study of preoperative radiation therapy (50.0 Gy) versus postoperative radiation therapy (60.0 Gy) for supraglottic larynx and hypopharynx primaries. Of 277 evaluable patients, duration of follow-up is 9-15 years, with 7.6% patients lost to follow-up before 7 years. Loco-regional control was significantly better for 141 postoperative radiation therapy patients than for 136 preoperative radiation therapy patients (p = 0.04), but absolute survival was not affected (p = 0.15). When the analysis was restricted to supraglottic larynx primaries (60 postoperative radiation therapy patients versus 58 preoperative radiation therapy patients), the difference for loco-regional control was highly significant (p = .007), but not for survival (p = 0.18). In considering only supraglottic larynx, 78% of loco-regional failures occurred in the first 2 years. Thirty-one percent (18/58) of preoperative patients failed locally within 2 years versus 18% (11/60) of postoperative patients. After 2 years, distant metastases and second primaries became the predominant failure pattern, especially in postoperative radiation therapy patients. This shift in the late failure pattern along with the increased number of unrelated deaths negated any advantage in absolute survival for postoperative radiation therapy patients. The rates of severe surgical and radiation therapy complications were similar between the two arms. Because of an increased incidence of late distant metastases and secondary primaries, additional therapeutic intervention is required beyond surgery and postoperative irradiation to impact significantly upon survival.     

Treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar trigone

Cancer of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar trigone is an uncommon head and neck tumor, which has historically been shown to be associated with poor prognosis. In this retrospective study, we reviewed our experience with primary surgery followed by postoperative radiation therapy in order to determine the impact of our treatment protocols on patients' outcome. Between January 1994 and December 1998, 31 patients with histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar trigone were treated in our department. Surgical excision of the primary lesion and ipsilateral neck dissection were performed in all patients. Reconstruction was accomplished using masseter muscle flap or tongue flap. Postoperatively, most patients (90%) received radiation therapy (51-58 Gy) to the primary side and neck. Adjuvant chemotherapy was offered if histologic signs of aggressive behavior were identified. Four out of 31 patients were initially seen at stage I or II and 27 patients at stage III or IV of the disease. Metastatic disease was demonstrated in 78% of ipsilateral neck nodes. Occult metastases were found in 64% of clinically N0 necks. The 3-year loco-regional recurrence rates were 44.8%. SCC of retromolar trigone is considered as an aggressive and insidious tumor. The reconstruction of the deficit of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar area with masseter muscle flap is a reliable, safe and absolutely functional method.     

Hematologic parameters in the adjustment of chemotherapy doses in combined modality treatments involving radiation

The differential white blood cell count of a group of patients with Stages I and II infiltrating ductal carcinoma who underwent treatment in the preadjuvant chemotherapy era have been evaluated. All patients received a modified radical mastectomy followed by postoperative radiation therapy to the chest wall and draining regional lymph node chains (ipsilateral internal mammary, axillary,and supraclavicular regions). When the levels of circulating neutrophils, band cells, and lymphocytes were compared for the period beginning prior to surgery and ending 1 year after the completion of radiotherapy, it was found that radiation induced a significant lymphopenia. However, all patients maintained a neutrophil count at least twice that needed for full-dose conventional chemotherapy. Based on these observations and related preclinical and clinical information, it is proposed that future clinical trials utilizing even local radiotherapy as a component of therapy must have their chemotherapy doses based on appropriate hematologic parameters (neutrophil + band count) in order to avoid spurious and quite possibly erroneous results.     

Expression of HER/erbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases and induction of differentiation by glial growth factor 2 in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells

Because of the uncertainties regarding the efficacy of postoperative radiation therapy for early prostate cancer, treatment strategies following radical prostatectomy include: (1) observation alone in high-risk patients, (2) adjuvant radiation therapy (PSA undetectable) in high-risk patients, or (3) salvage radiation therapy for biochemical and clinical recurrence. Fifty-two patients treated with postoperative radiation therapy in either an adjuvant setting (13) or for salvage (39) were retrospectively reviewed. The actuarial biochemical disease-free survival (bNED) rates following radiation therapy were calculated using the life-table method. Univariate and multi variate analyses were used to define the clinical factors that predict biochemical failure following postoperative radiation therapy. In addition, the bNED survival rate for 36 high-risk surgery patients who were simply observed following prostatectomy was determined. The 3-year bNED survival rate for the adjuvant radiation group was 85% compared with 27% for salvage radiation and 43% for the observation group. These results are statistically significant. Factors that predict biochemical failure following postoperative radiation therapy include preoperative PSA level, pre-radiation therapy PSA level, and seminal vesicle involvement. At our institutions, adjuvant radiation therapy was a superior strategy compared with either observation alone or salvage radiation therapy for high-risk postoperative prostate cancer patients. Int. J. Cancer (Radiat. Oncol. Invest.) 90, 29-36 (2000).     

Intrathoracic latissimus dorsi muscle transposition: a reliable technique for prevention of bronchopleural fistula developing after extrapleural pneumonectomy and external beam radiotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Objective

Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a life threatening complication after pneumonectomy. Extra thoracic skeletal muscle transposition especially latissimus dorsi muscle flap (LDMF) had been used to prevent this complication. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of LDMF in preventing BPF developing after extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and external radiation therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Methods

Between May 1999 and Dec. 2008, 37 patients with MPM were operated upon by EPP using LDMF prophylactically to reinforce the bronchial stump, and then received external radiation therapy with or without postoperative chemotherapy.

Results

The mean age of all patients was 46.7 (range 26–57) years. Twenty five patients were males and 12 patients were females. Twenty three patients had MPM of the right side and 14 patients had MPM of the left side. The peri-operative mortality was 2.7% and only few flap related postoperative morbidity were reported in the form of minor seroma and subcutaneous surgical emphysema. The median follow up was 17 (range 9–43) months. All cases completed their postoperative external radiation therapy with no reported cases of early or late BPF.

Conclusion

Intrathoracic pedicled LDMF transposition is proved to be effective in prevention of BPF developing after EPP and external radiation therapy in MPM and it is advised to be a routine step in EPP in these cases and to use more sophisticated technique of postoperative external beam radiotherapy (3D conformal or IMRT) to minimize this complication.     

Standardization for postoperative irradiation of cervical uterine cancer

Three hundred and ten patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix received postoperative radiation therapy and the relationship between the extent of lymph node metastases and the prognosis was analysed. Patients with lymph node metastases showed a markedly lower five-year survival rate (42.1%) than those without such metastases (91.9%). The prognosis for patients with lymph node metastases was inversely correlated to the number of nodes involved. Bilateral lymph node involvement or para-aortic node metastases gave a much poorer prognosis than unilateral involvement. From these data, standardization for postoperative irradiation of cervical uterine cancer were discussed and summarized.     

Adjuvant therapy in high-risk early endometrial carcinoma: a retrospective analysis of 46 cases

Objective

We assessed the prognostic factors and the efficacy of adjuvant therapy and reviewed randomized studies carried out on patients receiving adjuvant therapy with early endometrial carcinoma.

Methods

One hundred and five patients that received primary surgical treatment for stage IB, IC and II endometrial cancer were enrolled in this study. The clinical outcomes were compared among the patients with variable prognostic factors and adjuvant treatments.

Results

One hundred and five patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria and 46 patients (43.8%) underwent adjuvant therapy. Disease recurrence occurred in nine patients within a median time of 24 months. Cervical involvement was an independent prognostic factor for the disease-free survival rates. Eight of 16 patients with FIGO stage II disease received adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and etoposide (or cyclophosphamide) or combined chemoradiation. The 5-year disease-free survival rate for these patients was 87.5%, a value significantly higher than for patients that received radiation therapy alone (30%).

Conclusion

Adjuvant chemotherapy or combination chemo-radiotherapy might be superior to radiation therapy alone in high-risk early endometrial cancer patients.