Patterns of failure for stage I ampulla of Vater adenocarcinoma: a single institutional experience

Background

Ampullary adenocarcinoma is a rare malignancy associated with a relatively favorable prognosis. Given high survival rates in stage I patients reported in small series with surgery alone, adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has traditionally been recommended only for patients with high risk disease. Recent population-based data have demonstrated inferior outcomes to previous series. We examined disease-related outcomes for stage I tumors treated with pancreaticoduodenectomy, with and without CRT.

Methods

All patients with stage I ampullary adenocarcinoma treated from 1976 to 2011 at Duke University were reviewed. Disease-related endpoints including local control (LC), metastasis-free survival (MFS), disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

Forty-four patients were included in this study. Thirty-one patients underwent surgery alone, while 13 also received adjuvant CRT. Five-year LC, MFS, DFS and OS for patients treated with surgery only and surgery with CRT were 56% and 83% (P=0.13), 67% and 83% (P=0.31), 56% and 83% (P=0.13), and 53% and 68% (P=0.09), respectively.

Conclusions

The prognosis for patients diagnosed with stage I ampullary adenocarcinoma may not be as favorable as previously described. Our data suggests a possible benefit of adjuvant CRT delivery.     

Impact of adjuvant treatment modalities on survival outcomes in curatively resected pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma

Background

We examined the impact of adjuvant modalities on resected pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma (PAC).

Methods

A total of 563 patients who were curatively resected for PAC were retrospectively analyzed between 2003 and 2013.

Results

Of 563 patients, 472 received adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) alone, chemoradiotherapy (CRT) alone, and chemoradiotherapy plus chemotherapy (CRT-CT) were analyzed. Of the 472 patients, 231 were given CRT-CT, 26 were given CRT, and 215 were given CT. The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were 12 and 19 months, respectively. When CT and CRT-CT groups were compared, there was no significant difference with respect to both RFS and OS, and also there was no difference in RFS and OS among CRT-CT, CT and CRT groups. To further investigate the impact of radiation on subgroups, patients were stratified according to lymph node status and resection margins. In node-positive patients, both RFS and OS were significantly longer in CRT-CT than CT. In contrast, there was no significant difference between groups when patients with node-negative disease or patients with or without positive surgical margins were considered.

Conclusions

Addition of radiation to CT has a survival benefit in patients with node-positive disease following pancreatic resection.     

α-Smooth muscle actin expression and desmoplastic stromal reaction in pancreatic cancer: results from the CONKO-001 study

Background:

Previous investigations in pancreatic cancer suggest a prognostic role for α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and stromal density in the peritumoural stroma. The aim of this study was to further validate the impact of α-SMA expression and stromal density in resectable pancreatic cancer patients treated with adjuvant gemcitabine compared with untreated patients.

Methods:

CONKO-001 was a prospective randomised phase III study investigating the role of adjuvant gemcitabine as compared with observation. Tissue samples of 162 patients were available for immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays to evaluate the impact of α-SMA expression and stromal density impact on patient outcome.

Results:

High α-SMA expression in tumour stroma was associated with worse patient outcome (DFS: P=0.05, OS: P=0.047). A dense stroma reaction was associated with improved disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in the overall study population (DFS: P=0.001, OS: P=0.001). This positive prognostic impact was restricted to patients with no adjuvant treatment (DFS: P<0.001, OS: P<0.001). In multivariable analysis, α-SMA and stromal density expression were independently predictive factors for survival.

Conclusions:

Our data confirm the negative prognostic impact of high α-SMA expression in pancreatic cancer patients after curatively intended resection. In contrast to former investigations, we found a positive prognostic impact for a dense stroma. This significant influence was restricted to patients who received no adjuvant therapy.     

Factors influencing response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation and outcomes in rectal cancer patients: tertiary Indian cancer hospital experience

Background

In the treatment of rectal cancers several randomized trials have demonstrated benefits of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) in downstaging as well as survival among these patients. We investigated the patient and tumor related variables dictating the outcomes in these patients.

Methods

Biopsy proven treatment naive 182 rectal cancer patients underwent NACRT from June 2006 to December 2010. The entire patients received long course conventionally fractionated external beam radiotherapy with concurrent oral Capecitabine. At 6 weeks from completion of NACRT clinico-radiological assessment was carried out for surgical feasibility. All patients were given postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy either single agent or multi drug regimen depending upon biopsy report.

Results

Among 182 patients, 131 (72%) underwent surgery and initial T stage and signet ring cell morphology were major determinant of operability. Among the 131 operated patients at median follow up of 36 months, 94 (72%) are alive and disease free. With a median follow up of 42 months the 5-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was 60% and 77%. The majority of the failures were distal but with more advanced disease at presentation both local and distal failures were similar. While assessing survival by multivariate analysis patients having positive nodes post-surgery had a significantly poorer DFS (P=0.001), while signet ring cell morphology and pre-treatment carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) levels strongly influenced OS (P=0.03).

Conclusions

The outcome of our patients were similar to World Literature and signet ring cell morphology, pre-treatment CEA level, and pathological nodal staging all were influential in determining survival. Besides this, the study also highlights the fact that tumours with signet ring cell morphology appearing in younger population with poor survival needs prospective evaluation for more intense CRT regimen and aggressive surgical resections.     

Single centre outcomes from definitive chemo-radiotherapy and single modality radiotherapy for locally advanced oesophageal cancer

Background

Definitive chemo-radiotherapy (dCRT) has been advocated as an alternative to surgical resection for the treatment of locally advanced oesophageal cancer (OC). We have retrospectively reviewed 4 years’ experience of patients (pts) who underwent contemporary staging and were treated with concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (dCRT) or single modality radical radiotherapy (RT) with curative intent.

Methods

Retrospective analysis permitted identification of consecutive patients who underwent contemporary staging prior to non-surgical treatment for locally advanced oesophageal carcinoma. The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), adjusted for baseline differences in age, tumour staging and histological cell type. All patients were treated with either dCRT or single modality RT within a single centre between 2009 and 2012.

Results

We identified 235 patients in total [median age 69.8 years, male =130 pts, female =105 pts, adenocarcinoma (ACA) =85 pts, squamous =150 pts]. A total of 190 pts received dCRT and 45 patients were treated with RT. All patients were staged with CT of chest, abdomen and pelvis, 226 patients underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and 183 patients had PET-CT. Patients treated with dCRT demonstrated longer OS (27 vs. 25 months respectively, P=0.02) and DFS (31 vs. 16 months respectively, P=0.01) compared to those treated with RT. More advanced tumour stage (stage 3 vs. stage 1/2) at presentation conferred poorer OS (32 vs. 38.2 months, P=0.02) and DFS (11 vs. 28 months, P=0.013). We demonstrated an acceptable toxicity profile with only 77 patients (32.8%) suffering grade 3 toxicity and 9 patients (4.2%) experiencing grade 4 toxicity by CTC criteria. The NG/PEG feeding rates were 4% across all treated patients.

Conclusions

This retrospective analysis is in keeping with current treatment paradigms emphasising the importance and safety of concurrent CRT in maximising curative potential for patients undergoing non-surgical treatment of OC. Although retrospective, in comparison to similar retrospective series from both our centre and historical literature, this data suggest improvements in OS and DFS, possibly due to improved patient selection through the use of more effective tumour staging.     

Incidence and prognostic impact of high-risk HPV tumor infection in cervical esophageal carcinoma

Background

Cervical esophageal carcinoma (CEC) is an uncommon malignancy. Limited data supports the use of definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as primary treatment. Furthermore, the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) tumor infection in CEC remains unknown. This study retrospectively analyzes both outcomes of CEC patients treated with CRT and the incidence and potential role of HPV tumor infection in CEC lesions.

Methods

A total of 37 CEC patients were treated with definitive CRT at our institution between 1987 and 2013. Of these, 19 had tumor samples available for high-risk HPV (types 16 and 18) pathological analysis.

Results

For all patients (n=37), 5-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and loco-regional control (LRC) rates were 34.1%, 40.2%, and 65.6%, respectively. On pathological analysis, 1/19 (5.3%) patients had an HPV-positive lesion.

Conclusions

Definitive CRT provides disease-related outcomes comparable to surgery. Moreover, HPV tumor infection in CEC is uncommon and its prognostic role is unclear. Our data contribute to the construction of an anatomical map of HPV tumor infection in squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the upper aerodigestive tract, and suggest a steep drop in viral infection rates at sites distal to the oropharynx, including the cervical esophagus.     

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy following null-margin resection is associated with improved survival in the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background

The current study is the first to examine the effectiveness and toxicity of postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) abutting the vasculature. Specifically, we aim to assess the role of IMRT in patients with ICC undergoing null-margin (no real resection margin) resection.

Methods

Thirty-eight patients with ICC adherent to major blood vessels were included in this retrospective study. Null-margin resection was performed on all patients; 14 patients were further treated with IMRT. The median radiation dose delivered was 56.8 Gy (range, 50-60 Gy). The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Results

At a median follow-up of 24.6 months, the median OS and DFS of all patients (n=38) were 17.7 months (95% CI, 13.2-22.2) and 9.9 months (95% CI, 2.8-17.0), respectively. Median OS was 21.8 months (95% CI, 15.5-28.1) among the 14 patients in the postoperative IMRT group and 15.0 months (95% CI, 9.2-20.9) among the 24 patients in the surgery-only group (P=0.049). Median DFS was 12.5 months (95% CI, 6.8-18.2) in the postoperative IMRT group and 5.5 months (95% CI, 0.7-12.3) in the surgery-only group (P=0.081). IMRT was well-tolerated. Acute toxicity included one case of Grade 3 leukopenia; late toxicity included one case of asymptomatic duodenal ulcer discovered through endoscopy.

Conclusions

The study results suggest that postoperative IMRT is a safe and effective treatment option following null-margin resections of ICC. Larger prospective and randomized trials are necessary to establish postoperative IMRT as a standard practice for the treatment of ICC adherent to major hepatic vessels.     

Outcomes of resected pancreatic cancer in patients age ≥70

Objective

To determine outcomes of patients ≥70 years with resected pancreatic cancer.

Methods

A study was conducted to identify pancreatic cancer patients ≥70 years who underwent surgery for pancreatic carcinoma from 2000 to 2012. Patients were excluded if they had neoadjuvant therapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS).

Results

We identified 112 patients with a median follow-up of surviving patients of 36 months. The median patient age was 77 years. The median and 5 year OS was 20.5 months and 19%, respectively. Univariate analysis (UVA) showed a significant correlation for increased mortality with N1 (P=0.03) as well as post-op CA19-9 >90 (P<0.001), with a trend towards decreased mortality with adjuvant chemoradiation (P=0.08). Multivariate analysis (MVA) showed a statistically significant increased mortality associated with N1 (P=0.008), post-op CA19-9 >90 (P=0.002), while adjuvant chemoradiation (P=0.04) was associated with decreased mortality.

Conclusions

These data show that in patients ≥70, nodal status, post-op CA19-9, and adjuvant chemoradiation, were associated with OS. The data suggests that outcomes of patients ≥70 years who undergo upfront surgical resection are not inferior to younger patients.     

Exploring the use and impact of adjuvant Trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer patients in a large UK cancer network Do the results of international clinical trials translate into a similar benefit for patients in South East Wales?

Background:

Trastuzumab was approved in the United Kingdom for adjuvant treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)+ breast cancer in 2006 at significant economic cost and with limited evidence in smaller T1N0 tumours. The South East Wales Cancer Network covers a population of 1 420 000 and maintains a database of treatments used. We examined this database to ensure the outcome of Trastuzumab use is as expected, especially in patients with T1N0 cancers.

Ethods:

M Case notes of patients with HER2+ disease eligible for adjuvant Trastuzumab over 2005–2008 were reviewed. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated with the Kaplan–Meier method using SPSS (version 16.0.01 for Windows, SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA).

Results:

A total of 239 of 338 (70.7%) eligible HER2+ patients received treatment. At 3 years, the DFS of the treated group was 90.3% vs 73.3% and the OS was 98.5% vs 87.6%. In all, 47 of 92 stage I patients received Trastuzumab. Despite a trend towards worse prognostic factors in the treated group the DFS was 100% vs 84.1% and the OS was 100% vs 93.3%.

Conclusion:

Our results are comparable to those from landmark Trastuzumab trials. As evidence continues to emerge that smaller HER2+ cancers may behave aggressively our analysis of stage I tumours adds further support to the use of Trastuzumab in these patients.     

Proteins of the VEGFR and EGFR pathway as predictive markers for adjuvant treatment in patients with stage II/III colorectal cancer: results of the FOGT-4 trial

Background

Unlike metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) there are to date few reports concerning the predictive value of molecular biomarkers on the clinical outcome in stage II/III CRC patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of proteins related with the EGFR- and VEGFR- signalling cascades in these patients.

Methods

The patients'' data examined in this study were from the collective of the 5-FU/FA versus 5-FU/FA/irinotecan phase III FOGT-4 trial. Tumor tissues were stained by immunohistochemistry for VEGF-C, VEGF-D, VEGFR-3, Hif-1 α, PTEN, AREG and EREG expression and evaluated by two independent, blinded investigators.Survival analyses were calculated for all patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy in relation to expression of all makers above.

Results

Patients with negative AREG and EREG expression on their tumor had a significant longer DFS in comparison to AREG/EREG positive ones (p< 0.05). The benefit on DFS in AREG-/EREG- patients was even stronger in the group that received 5-FU/FA/irinotecan as adjuvant treatment (p=0.002). Patients with strong expression of PTEN profited more in terms of OS under adjuvant treatment containing irinotecan (p< 0.05). Regarding markers of the VEGFR- pathway we found no correlation of VEGF-C- and VEGFR-3 expression with clinical outcome. Patients with negative VEGF-D expression had a trend to live longer when treated with 5-FU/FA (p=0.106). Patients who were negative for Hif-1 α, were disease-free in more than 50% at the end of the study and showed significant longer DFS-rates than those positive for Hif-1 α (p=0.007). This benefit was even stronger at the group treated with 5-FU/FA/irinotecan (p=0.026). Finally, AREG-/EREG-/PTEN+ patients showed a trend to live longer under combined treatment combination.

Conclusions

The addition of irinotecan to adjuvant treatment with 5-FU/FA does not provide OS or DFS benefit in patients with stage II/III CRC. Nevertheless, AREG/EREG negative, PTEN positive and Hif-1 α negative patients might profit significantly in terms of DFS from a treatment containing fluoropyrimidines and irinotecan. Our results suggest a predictive value of these biomarkers concerning adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-FU/FA +/− irinotecan in stage II/III colorectal cancer.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-014-0083-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Effect of (Neo)adjuvant zoledronic acid on disease-free and overall survival in clinical stage II/III breast cancer

Background:

Despite neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy, women with resectable stage II/III breast cancer (BC) have high risk of recurrent disease. Recent data suggest that zoledronic acid (ZOL) therapy concurrent with adjuvant treatments may improve cancer-related outcomes in patients with BC.

Methods:

Disease-free survival (DFS; secondary end point) and overall survival (OS; tertiary end point) were evaluated in 119 women with stage II/III BC randomised to intravenous ZOL 4 mg every 3 weeks for 1 year or no ZOL (control) starting with the first chemotherapy cycle.

Results:

At 61.9 months'' median follow-up, there was no significant difference in recurrence or survival between study arms. However, time to recurrence or death (DFS) was significantly different between subgroups defined by oestrogen receptor (ER) status (interaction P=0.010 for DFS and 0.025 for OS). Hazard ratios (HRs) for disease recurrence and death were significantly less among patients with ER-negative (ER⁻) tumours who received ZOL vs no ZOL (DFS: HR=0.361, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.148, 0.880; OS: HR=0.375, 95% CI 0.143, 0.985).

Conclusion:

ZOL administered with chemotherapy may improve DFS and OS in a subset of BC patients with ER⁻ tumours. This study was not powered to compare subgroups of patients; thus, these findings should be considered hypothesis generating.     

Peritoneal dissemination from high-grade appendiceal cancer treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)

Background

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) have shown variability in survival outcomes when used to treat peritoneal surface disease (PSD) from appendiceal and colorectal cancers. The primary goal of this study was to examine outcomes for high-grade appendiceal (HGA) and high-grade colonic primaries after CRS-HIPEC to determine if a significant difference exists between the two groups.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of patients with peritoneal dissemination from appendiceal and colonic primaries were identified in a prospectively maintained database of 1,223 CRS-HIPEC procedures performed between 1991 and 2015. Patient demographics, performance status resection status, tumor grade, nodal status, morbidity, mortality, and survival were reviewed with biopsy-proven PSD being classified according to primary site. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed, and outcomes compared.

Results

The study identified 171 CRS-HIPEC procedures for 165 patients: 110 (66.7%) for HGA and 55 (33.3%) for high-grade colonic lesions. Observed median disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) for both groups were the same at14.4 and 18 months, respectively. Median survival according to resection status for R0/R1, R2a, and R2b/c were 36, 15.6, and 8.4 months (P<0.0001). Median OS for those who received preoperative chemotherapy versus those who did not were 14.4 and 20.4 months, respectively (P=0.01). For those who received preoperative chemotherapy, no difference was apparent in the DFS interval (P=0.34). Multivariate predictors of OS included resection status (P<0.0001) and lymph node involvement (P=0.0005).

Conclusions

Preoperative chemotherapy offered no clear DFS or OS benefit, for HGA or high-grade colon cancer patients. Complete cytoreduction offered the greatest survival benefit to both groups with a correlating drop in survival to resection status. Outcomes for high grade appendiceal cancer are remarkably similar to colon cancer.     

Survival analysis of endometrial cancer patients with cervical stromal involvement

Objective

Stage II endometrial cancer is relatively uncommon. There is no consensus for appropriate adjuvant therapy in endometrial cancer patients with cervical stromal involvement (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics [FIGO] stage II). This study investigates how adjuvant treatments and tumor characteristics influence overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in stage II patients in order to establish better treatment guidelines.

Methods

This multi-institution, Institutional Review Board approved, study is a retrospective review of 40 endometrial cancer patients with cervical stromal involvement treated from 1993 to 2009. Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to evaluate OS and DFS.

Results

OS was 85% at three years and 67% at five years. There were no significant differences in age, histology, depth of invasion, comorbid conditions, surgical staging or recurrence between patients who received radiation therapy (RT) and those who did not. However, patients with FIGO grade 1 cancers were less likely to receive RT (p=0.007). Patients treated with RT had a similar 5 year OS (n=33, 69%) to those treated with surgery only (n=7, 60%, p=0.746). There were no OS differences when evaluating by grade, histology, or depth of invasion between patients who did and did not receive RT. Four patients recurred: three were locoregional failures only, and one failed locally and distant.

Conclusion

Patients receiving RT had higher grade tumors. Despite this, OS was comparable between the RT and the no RT cohorts. Local failure was the predominant pattern of failure. Endometrial cancer patients with cervical stromal involvement likely receive better locoregional control with the addition of adjuvant RT and we continue to advocate for RT in most cases.     

Prognostic Factors in Patients with Stage II/III Breast Cancer Treated with Adjuvant Extension of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study with Ten-Years of Follow-Up Data

Purpose

The aim of this retrospective study was to identify the reliable long term prognostic factors in patients with stage II/III breast cancer who were treated with an adjuvant extension of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC).

Methods

Women under the age of 70-years, with previously untreated clinical stage II and III breast cancer, were treated with NC, which was comprised of three cycles of FEC (5-FU, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide every 3 weeks) or MMM (methotrexate, mitoxantrone, and mitomycin-C every 3 weeks) with an adjuvant extension of three cycles of the same regimen.

Results

Cumulative 10-years disease-free survival (DFS) was 87.3% for patients with a good response and 55.5% for patients with no response (p=0.032); 92.9% for node negative patients, 75.0% for 1-3 positive nodes, 50.0% for 4-9 positive nodes and no survival for 10 or more positive nodes (p<0.001). Cumulative 10-years overall survival (OS) was 89.1% for patients with good response and 55.5% for patients with no response (p=0.024); 95.2% for node negative patients, 80.0% for 1-3 positive nodes, 50.0% for 4-9 positive nodes and no survival for 10 or more positive nodes (p<0.001). No significant difference was observed in DFS and OS between the FEC and MMM treated groups.

Conclusion

Based on a review of data with a long follow-up, only the clinical response to NC and the absolute number of metastatic axillary lymph node identified at surgical staging were independent predictors of both DFS and OS in patients with stage II/III breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant extension of NC.     

Prognostic implication of mucinous histology in colorectal cancer patients treated with adjuvant FOLFOX chemotherapy

Background:

There have been controversies in prognostic impact of mucinous histology on colorectal cancer, and its implication in patients treated with adjuvant 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) is unclear.

Methods:

Stage II and III colorectal cancer patients who underwent curative resection followed by adjuvant FOLFOX were included. Patients were grouped according to the mucinous content: >50%, mucinous adenocarcinoma (MAC); <50%, adenocarcinoma with intermediated mucinous component (AIM); and without any mucinous component, non-MAC (NMA). Clinicopathological features and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared.

Results:

Among a total of 521 patients, 27 patients (5.2%) had MAC, 41 patients (7.9%) had AIM, and 453 patients (86.9%) had NMA. Mucinous adenocarcinoma and AIM had higher frequency of proximal location and microsatellite instability, but lower frequency of angiolymphatic invasion. Disease-free survival was significantly worse in the MAC compared with NMA (3-year DFS 57% and 86%, respectively; P<0.001) and AIM (3-year DFS 87%, P=0.01 vs MAC). Multivariate analysis revealed MAC as an independent negative prognostic factor of DFS (adjusted hazard ratio 7.96, 95% confidence interval 3.76–16.8).

Conclusion:

Adenocarcinoma with intermediated mucinous component and MAC have distinct clinicopathological features compared with NMA. Mucinous adenocarcinoma has an adverse prognostic impact on stage II or III colorectal cancer treated with adjuvant FOLFOX.     

Comparison of CVF (Cyclophosphamide+Vinorelbine+5-Fluorouracil) and CMF (Cyclophosphamide+Methotrexate+5-Fluorouracil) Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Early Breast Cancer

Purpose

Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of adjuvant cyclophosphamide/vinorelbine/5-fluorourail (CVF) chemotherapy as an alternative to cyclophosphamide/methotrexate/5-fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy for treating early breast cancer.

Methods

One hundred and forty-nine patients were randomly assigned to CMF or CVF adjuvant chemotherapy for treating their early stage breast cancer between September 2000 and December 2007. The disease-free survival (DFS), the overall survival (OS), and the toxicity profiles of both groups were compared.

Results

Sixty-seven patients underwent CMF chemotherapy whereas 82 patients underwent CVF chemotherapy. The DFS and OS were 88 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 76-101 months) and 94 months (95% CI, 83-104 months), respectively for the CMF group, and 97 months (95% CI, 93-101 months), and 101 months (95% CI, 98-104 months), respectively for the CVF group. However, those survival gains of the CVF group were not statistically significant (p-value=0.069 for the DFS and 0.99 for the OS). The CVF group showed a favorable toxicity profile in terms of the grade 3/4 hematologic toxicities as compared to that of the CMF group.

Conclusion

Clinical outcome of CVF chemotherapy was comparable to CMF with a favorable toxicity profiles. However, it is difficult to conclude the feasibility of CVF regimen because of small number of studied patients.     

The survival outcome and patterns of failure in node positive endometrial cancer patients treated with surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy with curative intent

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patterns of failure, overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and factors influencing outcome in endometrial cancer patients who presented with metastatic lymph nodes and were treated with curative intent.

Methods

One hundred and twenty-six patients treated between January 1996 to December 2008 with surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy were identified from our service''s prospective database. Radiotherapy consisted of 45 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions to the whole pelvis. The involved nodal sites were boosted to a total dose of 50.4 to 54 Gy.

Results

The 5-year OS rate was 61% and the 5-year DFS rate was 59%. Grade 3 endometrioid, serous, and clear cell histologies and involvement of upper para-aortic nodes had lower OS and DFS. The number of positive nodes did not influence survival. Among the histological groups, serous histology had the worst survival. Among the 54 patients relapsed, only three (6%) failed exclusively in the pelvis and the rest of the 94% failed in extrapelvic nodal or distant sites. Patients with grade 3 endometrioid, serous and clear cell histologies did not influence pelvic failure but had significant extrapelvic failures (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Majority of node positive endometrial cancer patients fail at extrapelvic sites. The most important factors influencing survival and extrapelvic failure are grade 3 endometrioid, clear cell and serous histologies and involvement of upper para-aortic nodes.     

Prognostic effect analysis of molecular subtype on young breast cancer patients

Objective

To make a prognostic effect analysis of molecular subtype on young breast cancer patients.

Methods

Totally 187 cases of young breast cancer patients less than 40 years old treated in Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University between June 2005 and June 2011 were included in our study. We described their clinical-pathological characteristics, disease-free survival (DFS) rate, and overall survival (OS) rate after a median follow-up period of 61 months. The factors associated with prognosis were also evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

All patients were premenopausal, with an average age of 35.36±3.88 years old. The mean tumor size was 2.43±1.53 cm. Eighty-one cases had lymph node metastasis (43.3%), 126 cases had lymphovascular invasion (67.4%), and 125 cases had histological grade III (66.8%) disease. Twenty-seven cases (14.4%) were Luminal A subtype, 99 cases (52.9%) were Luminal B subtype, 29 cases (15.5%) were human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) overexpression subtype, while 32 cases (17.1%) were triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype according to 2013 St Gallen expert consensus. One hundred and thirty-five cases underwent mastectomy whereas 52 cases had breast-conserving surgery. One hundred and seventy-eight cases underwent adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Recurrence or metastasis occurred in 29 cases, 13 of which died. The 5-year DFS and OS rates were 84% and 92%. Multivariate analysis showed that nodal status (P=0.041) and molecular subtype (P=0.037) were both independent prognostic factors of DFS, while nodal status (P=0.037) and TNBC subtype (P=0.048) were both independent prognostic factors of OS.

Conclusions

Molecular subtype is an independent prognostic factor of young breast cancer patients. TNBC has a high risk of relapse and death.     

Nomogram to predict ypN status after chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer

Background:

Pelvic lymph node (LN) status after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an important indicator of oncologic outcome in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to develop a nomogram to predict LN status after preoperative CRT in locally advanced rectal cancer patients.

Methods:

The nomogram was developed in a training cohort (n=891) using logistic regression analyses and validated in a validation cohort (n=258) from a prospectively registered tumour registry at Asan Medical Center. The model was internally and externally validated for discrimination and calibration using bootstrap resampling. Model performance was evaluated by the concordance index (c-index) and calibration curve.

Results:

Pretreatment ypT stage, patient age, preCRT tumour differentiation, cN stage, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion were reliable predictors of LN metastasis after preoperative CRT. The nomogram developed using these parameters had c-indices of 0.81 (training) and 0.77 (validation). The calibration plot suggested good agreement between actual and nomogram-predicted LN status after preoperative CRT.

Conclusions:

This nomogram improves prediction of LN status after preoperative CRT in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. It will be useful for counselling patients as well as for the design and stratification of patients in clinical trials.