Hand metastasis from melanoma: a case study.

Metastases to the hand are rare. Most frequently they result from carcinomas of the lung, breast or kidney. This is a case report of a rare peripheral metastatic lesion in a 24-year-old man with melanoma. There are no previously reported hand metastases from melanoma. Because of the extremely poor prognosis for patients with osseous metastases from melanoma, treatment should be palliative.     

Melanoma anorrectal. Revisión de conjunto

Anorectal melanoma is an uncommon and aggressive disease. Because the patients often present with non specific complaints, a high clinical suspicion is important to avoid a delayed diagnosis. Patients undergoing radical surgery have no significant survival difference compared to those undergoing wide local excision. Abdominoperineal resection should be reserved for selected patients in whom local excision is not technically possible or cannot obtain a clear margin. The indiscriminate use of groin dissection is not advisable in anorectal melanoma and should be use in selected cases. Systemic chemotherapy is generally a non effective treatment and continues be studied. Radiation therapy can be used as hypofractionated radiation therapy combined with local excision or in a palliative setting. The oncological outcomes in anorectal melanoma are very poor. The aim of the present study is to review clinicopathology features and management of anorectal melanoma.     

Synchronous gastric and colonic metastases of invasive lobular breast carcinoma: case report and review of the literature

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and the main cause of cancer death in the UK. Gastrointestinal (GI) tract metastasis and carcinomatosis from primary breast cancer are rare but breast cancer is the second most common primary malignancy to metastasise to the GI tract after malignant melanoma. The metastatic patterns of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) have been shown to differ considerably. Liver, lung and brain metastases are more common in IDC. Most series report a greater prediliction for lobular carcinoma to metastasise to the GI tract, gynaecological organs or peritoneum. The presentation of GI metastasis due to breast cancer is typically vague and the clinical, radiological, endoscopic and histopathologic findings are often difficult to distinguish from primary gastric carcinoma. Such a patient is more likely to present to a luminal surgeon or gastroenterologist than a breast surgeon. Therefore a high index of clinical suspicion with early endoscopy in those with non-specific symptoms and a past history of breast cancer, particularly ILC, are recommended. It is imperative to differentiate between metastatic breast cancer and primary gastric carcinoma as treatment strategies differ hugely. Therefore, correlation of endoscopic biopsy histology with the primary breast cancer histology is essential. Treatment modalities are limited to appropriate systemic therapy, which may have a palliative effect in up to 50%. Surgical intervention is nearly always limited to palliative bypass only. Prognosis is consistent with the median survival of all women with metastatic disease secondary to breast cancer.     

Primary carcinoma of the gallbladder: study of 108 cases.

From 1948 through 1970, 108 causes of primary carcinoma of the gallbladder were recorded out of a total of 17 698 cases of cancer exclusive of skin cancer (incidence, 0.6%). This review indicated that the following are the chief features of this condition: Primary gallbladder carcinoma is mainly a disease of women older than 60 years; abdominal pain occurs in most patients and jaundice in more than half, and weight loss is also common; laboratory and radiographic features are nonspecific; the diagnosis is made or strongly suspected in only one-quarter and, moreover, in many patients the disease may not be discovered until pathologic examination is conducted postoperatively. Resection was possible in 41 of the 93 patients who underwent operation but treatment was conservative because it was palliative in 20, and in 20 of the other underwent cholecystectomy the disease was not recognized at operation. Overall, the 5-year survival rate was 6.4%; for those who underwent curative resection it was 33%; and for patients without visible metastases at operation the mean survival was 3 years. Improvement in survival will come from more frequent recognition of the cancer at operation so that an operation so that an operation more adequate than cholecystectomy may be performed; that is, cholecystectomy, wedge resection of liver and resection of regional lymph nodes.     

肝外胆道肿瘤外科治疗远期疗效的评析(附139例随访资料)

目的 探讨胆道肿瘤的临床特征、治疗方法对远期生存率的影响，总结胆道肿瘤的诊治经验。方法 对1992年1月至2000年7月收治的139例胆道肿瘤（胆囊癌88例，胆管癌51例）的临床及随访资料进行回顾分析。应用SPSS10．0统计软件包进行统计学处理。结果 88例胆囊癌的总体5年生存率为5．22％，51例胆管癌的总体5年生存率为21．64％。根治切除组的1、3、5年生存率与姑息切除组、剖腹探查组、非手术组相比均有显著性差异（P＜0．01），而姑息切除组、剖腹探查组、非手术组间的生存率无显著性差异（P＞0．05）。多因素分析显示组织学分级、TNM分期及治疗方法与预后显著相关。结论 胆道肿瘤的远期疗效仍无显著改善；扩大根治术可望改善其预后，但需慎重选择病人；提高远期疗效的重点仍应放在肿瘤的早期诊治上。     

Locoregional Cutaneous Metastases of Malignant Melanoma and their Management

The correct classification of locoregional metastases of malignant melanoma to skin is central to the planning of treatment. Local recurrence means persistence of neoplastic cells at the local site by virtue of incomplete excision of the primary melanoma. Standard treatment is excisional surgery. In contrast, locoregional metastases of malignant melanoma (satellites, in-transit metastases) are metastases around a primary melanoma or between a primary melanoma and regional lymph nodes. They represent intralymphatic or hematogenous spread of neoplastic cells. We present a variety of available treatment options and discuss especially topical imiquimod as a novel approach for the palliative treatment of locoregional cutaneous melanoma metastases in selected patients.     

Surgical therapy of gallbladder cancer

Because of the normally far advanced tumor stages of carcinomas of the gallbladder, the resection rate in the literature varies from 10 to 30 percent. Our own curative resection rate was 19% in a series of 89 patients between 1969 and 1985 first treated in our hospital. The palliative resection rate was 29%, in 10% we performed a palliative operation and in 36% an explorative laparotomy. The curative resected gallbladder carcinomas were mainly stage I and II tumors, incidentally found at operation or histopathological examination. Has the gallbladder carcinoma invaded perimuscular connective tissue, an extended operation with resection of the segments IVb and V of the liver and lymphnode dissection must be recommended. Stage III and IV carcinomas of the gallbladder with infiltration of the liver can be curatively operated organ-saving in using en-bloc resection of the gallbladder with the adjacent segments IVb and V, or IVb and VI and with lymphnode dissection of the hepatoduodenal ligament. The observed five-year-survival rate (Cutler and Ederer) including lethality of the curative resected carcinoma of the gallbladder is 56.3 +/- 25.2%.     

Treatment of Pituitary Carcinomas and Atypical Pituitary Adenomas: A Review

Atypical pituitary adenomas (APAs) are aggressive tumors, harboring a Ki-67 (MIB-1) staining index of 3% or more, and positive immunohistochemical staining for p53 protein, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification in 2004. Pituitary carcinomas (PC) usually develop from progressive APAs and predominantly consist of hormone-generating tumors, defined by the presence of disseminations in the cerebrospinal system or systemic metastases. Most of the cases with these malignant pituitary adenomas underwent surgeries, irradiations and adjuvant medical treatments, nevertheless, the therapies are mainly palliative. Recently, the efficacy of temozolomide (TMZ), an orally administered alkylating agent, has been reported as an alternative medical treatment. However, some recent studies have demonstrated a significant recurrence rate after effective response to TMZ. Further clinical and pathological researches of malignant pituitary adenomas will be required to improve the outcome of patients with these tumors.     

Clinicopathological Characteristics of Patients with Proximal Third Gastric Carcinoma

Objective : Epidemiological studies show a continuing rise in the prevalence of proximal third gastric carcinoma (PGC), and the prognosis of patients with this carcinoma is poorer than that of patients with more distally located gastric carcinomas. We compared the clinicopathological features and prognosis of PGC patients with those of patients with middle/distal gastric carcinoma (MGC/DGC).

Material and methods : Of the 2696 patients diagnosed with gastric carcinoma who underwent surgery in our hospital in a 15-year period, 271 patients (10.1%) were diagnosed with PGC and retrospectively reviewed. Results : T1-category tumours were less common in patients with PGC than in patients with MGC/DGC (p < 0.001). Lymph node invasion was more common in patients with PGC than in patients with MGC/DGC (p < 0.05). Tumour stage (stage I) and T category (T1) significantly influenced the 5-year survival rates of patients whose tumours were resected with curative intent. The 5-year survival rate of patients whose PGC were resected with curative intent was higher than that of patients whose PGC were resected with palliative intent (57.4 vs. 12.6%, p < 0.001). The 5-year survival rate was 49.3% for patients with PGC and 57.3% for patients with MGC/DGC (p = 0.0273). Multivariate analysis showed that tumour size, lymph node status, and resection with curative intent were significant prognostic factors for survival in patients with PGC.

Conclusion : The poor prognosis of PGC is mainly due to its more advanced stage at diagnosis compared with that of more distally located gastric carcinoma. Early detection is important for improving the prognosis of patients with proximal third gastric carcinoma.     

Primary ano-rectal melanoma: considerations on a clinical case and review of the literature

Anorectal melanoma is a rare disease (1% of all anorectal malignancies). It is characterised by aspecific symptoms and the differential diagnosis versus other lesions of the rectum and anus is often difficult. The prognosis is very poor: mean survival is about 24 months, and at diagnosis most patients present distant metastases. Surgery is suggested as being the best treatment for this disease, since radio- and chemotherapy are generally only used for palliative purposes. Long-term survival depends on the stage of the melanoma at diagnosis. The possible surgical treatments available consist in local resection, which is considered the first therapeutic choice, and abdominoperineal amputation when local resection cannot be performed, or as a palliative operation. Inguinal lymphadenectomy is indicated when the inguinal lymph nodes are involved. In this report we describe a case of anorectal melanoma in a 73-year-old woman who underwent abdominoperineal amputation as surgical palliative treatment, because of infiltration of the puborectal muscle. The case report is followed by a review of the literature.     

A rare form of cancer of the common bile duct: papillary epithelioma. Report of 4 cases]

Papillary carcinoma is rare as it represents only 5 p. cent of carcinomas of the common bile duct. The authors report 4 cases and emphasize the special characteristics of this carcinoma. The long prodromal phase, dominated by attacks of cholangitis and the incomplete appearance of the jaundice when fully constituted. It affects mainly the common bile duct and has, on microscopy, a villous appearance. Its papillary structure consists of fine coalescent fringes producing a typical glandular appearance. Finally, it evolves very little, therefore there is a good hope of survival even after palliative treatment.     

Malignant melanoma of the anal canal. Apropos of 8 patients and review of the literature]

The authors present 8 patients with malignant melanoma of the anal canal. By including these patients with those already reported in the literature, they systematically analyse the various aspects of this exceptional site. These tumors always develop at the pectinate line and transitional mucosa, while rectal localizations corresponds to contiguous extension from a melanoma of the anal canal. The clinical features are only suggestive when the lesions appear pigmented macroscopically. The histological certainty depends of the demonstration of melanin pigment and is simple when the tumor is pigmented (75% of cases). The diagnostic is more complex in the case of nonpigmented tumors, but is facilitated by electronic microscopy and certain immune markers (Proteins S 100). The constantly very severe prognosis depends of the depth of invasion, frequently assessed by Breslow's method, and lymph node invasion and metastatic spread are very frequent (88% of patients) either at the time of diagnosis or later in the course of the disease. The mean survival of 24 months does not appear to be influenced by treatment which is always surgical, either local excision of abdomino-perineal resection. Abdomino-perineal resection may be preferred in the case of a very small tumor less than 2 mm thick in the absence of any visceral metastases. Radiotherapy to extensive tumors is only palliative treatment and chemotherapy has not been found to be effective to date.     

Isolated Limb Infusion as Palliative Treatment for Advanced Limb Disease in Patients with AJCC Stage IV Melanoma

Introduction   In the treatment of patients with advanced limb melanoma a major treatment dilemma can arise when distant metastases are present also. Isolated limb infusion (ILI) has proved to be a useful limb-saving treatment and could potentially be of palliative value in patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage IV melanoma. Methods   We identified 37 patients with advanced symptomatic limb disease as well as documented distant metastases at the time of their ILI. In all patients a drug combination of melphalan and actinomycin D was used. Results  Fifty one percent had visceral distant metastases and 49% had cutaneous distant metastases only. The overall response rate in the treated limb was 76% [complete response (CR) rate 22%, partial response (PR) rate 54%]. Median response duration was 11 months (28 months for patients with CR; p = 0.08). Median survival after CR was 22 months, 17 months after PR, and only 4 months for those with stable or progressive disease (p = 0.002). Patients with visceral distant metastases had a significantly decreased survival compared with those with cutaneous distant metastases only (8 and 21 months, respectively; p = 0.03). Limb salvage was achieved in 86% of the patients. The procedure was well tolerated, with only one patient developing Wieberdink grade IV toxicity (threatened/actual compartment syndrome) and none requiring amputation as a result of the procedure (grade V toxicity). Conclusions  Minimally invasive ILI can effectively be used as palliative treatment to provide local tumor control and limb salvage in stage IV melanoma patients with advanced, symptomatic limb disease.     

Clinicopathological investigation of 20 cases of primary tracheal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Primary tracheal cancer is considered to be relatively rare. Its epidemiology, therapeutic strategy and prognosis are not well understood. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated the clinicopathological aspects of 20 patients with primary tracheal cancer. RESULTS: Patients included 11 men and nine women with a mean age of 57.3 years. There were 12 squamous cell carcinomas and eight adenoid cystic carcinomas. Four patients received only palliative therapy. Sixteen patients underwent surgical treatment such as segmental tracheal, laryngotracheal, or carinal resection. One patient with squamous cell carcinoma died of postoperative mediastinitis. Although resected specimens from five patients had tumor positive margins, only one of those patients died after local recurrence and only three patients had postoperative treatment. The 5-year survival rate for patients who underwent surgery was 72.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment is the first choice therapeutic modality for primary tracheal cancer in consideration of its prognosis. While performing the operation, safety of the anastomosis should take precedence over completeness of resection.     

胰腺癌128例手术疗效的临床观察

目的探讨胰腺癌手术治疗的临床疗效及其预后。方法对1996年1月-2004年12月我院收治的128例胰腺癌病人的临床资料进行回顾性研究。按治疗方式分为胰十二指肠切除术组（28例）、姑息手术组（50例）和未手术组（50例）。结果全组根治性手术切除率为35．90％。胰十二指肠切除术组1、3、5年生存率分别为67．86％、14．29％、3．57％,显著高于其它两组（P〈0．01）;胰十二指肠切除术组生存率曲线显著高于其它两组（P〈0．01）;手术组生存质量显著高于未手术组（P〈0．05）。结论对胰腺癌施行根治性胰十二指肠切除术能显著提高治疗效果及改善预后,从而提高远期生存率并明显提高病人的生存质量。对不能行根治性切除的病人应争取行姑息性手术,亦可改善病人的生存质量。     

Metastasierendes malignes Aderhautmelanom

Bone metastases are found in 29% of patients with metastatic malignant choroidal melanoma, which is associated with poor prognosis. However there are several reports about prolonged survival. The unusual case of a patient is described, who suffered from a melanoma with orbital invasion and survived more than 18 years. Metastases were found 12 years after initial therapy. Three palliative operations made a survival of further 7 years with high quality of life possible. Therefore moderately palliative operations are recommended in case of metastatic malignant choroidal melanoma.     

Palliative surgical therapy of incurable esophagus cancer by stomach bypass and endotube

Palliative treatment plays an important role in the management of esophageal carcinoma. On the whole there are more than 50% of the patients where the tumour is already inoperable at the time of diagnosis. From 1977 to 1983 we treated a total of 132 patients affected with esophageal carcinoma. It was only in 44 patients that the tumour could be resected. In 26 cases the approach was thoraco-abdominal, in 18 patients thoracotomy was unnecessary. Only palliative measures were possible for the rest. In recent years we have favoured gastric bypass or endoscopically and radiologically guided intubation for palliative treatment of esophageal carcinomas. In 17 patients a Celestin tube was placed surgically. During the last 2 years we exclusively inserted the tube endoscopically using the Nottingham introducer (n = 32). According to our results the best palliative treatment could be achieved by gastric bypass, restoring normal swallowing. Only 1 of 16 patients died postoperatively. Endoscopic insertion of an esophageal tube should be considered as a second choice treatment. A review of our mortality statistics and complication rate suggest that the Celestin tube should rather not be introduced by open surgery. Radiological and endoscopic investigation preoperatively is strictly advised. Furthermore, the indication for a Celestin tube depends on the localisation of the obstruction. In our view, the commercially available tubes (Medoc, Medinex Ltd.) supplied in 3 standard lengths are perfectly satisfying.     

Carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. Results of one-stage surgery (271 cases)

A group of 271 squamous carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus were studied. All of these patients underwent the same operation: one-stage esophagogastrectomy through a combined abdominal and right thoracic approach. Adenocarcinomas, tumors of the cardia and excisions through a left-sided thoracic approach were excluded. The resectability of these tumors has increased progressively and, at present, applies to 74 percent of operative cases. A majority of these excisons (73 percent) were only palliative. Operative mortality was 16.6 percent for the group as a whole. In the last 3 years this rate has fallen to 4.6 percent. Overall survival at 5 years was 9.3 percent (8.7 percent without recurrence). There was a marked difference between the 5 year survival rate after curative excision (28 percent) and after palliative excision (2.3 percent). Despite such poor results, palliative excision remains justified and offers the patient longer and more comfortable survival than any other type of treatment. Two-stage excision represents a longer, more complex and more grave procedure than one-stage esophagogastrectomy. The addition of postoperative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in the last 3 years had led to a marked improvement in survival.     

Results of resection for bronchogenic carcinoma with mediastinal lymph node metastases in selected patients.

Between 1982 and 1988, 254 consecutive patients underwent resection for bronchogenic carcinoma with mediastinal lymph node metastases at Marie Lannelongue Hospital. Selection of cases for surgery was carried out using CT and mediastinoscopy. The surgical procedure performed were pneumonectomy (169), lobectomy (65), or bilobectomy (20) associated with resection of ipsilateral mediastinal lymph nodes. Almost all diseased nodes appeared grossly enlarged at surgery and only a few were of normal size. Postoperative mortality was 5.6%. Resection was potentially curative in 191 cases (75%) and palliative in 63 cases (25%). Almost all patients received adjuvant treatment (mainly radiotherapy). Actuarial 5-year survival was 18% for the entire group, and 23% for those who underwent curative resection. No patient with palliative resection survived 5 years. The following factors proved to be significantly associated with a better prognosis: complete resection, independent lymph node metastases, involvement of only one level, lower paratracheal involvement. On the other hand, there was no difference between pathological types (squamous cell carcinomas, adenocarcinomas, oat cell carcinomas) with regard to prognosis. We advocate an aggressive approach in selected cases of N2 bronchogenic carcinoma. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be tested in these specific patients with a view to the possibility of improving results.     

Clinical and pathologic distinction between primary and metastatic mucosal melanoma of the head and neck

Metastatic mucosal melanoma is extremely rare. Only 0.6% to 9.3% of patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma will have metastases to the mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract. The records of all patients with mucosal melanoma of the head and neck at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center during the past 30 years were reviewed. Patients with primary tumors were separated from those with metastatic involvement from a cutaneous primary site. These two groups were compared for differences in clinical symptoms, histopathologic findings, treatment, and survival characteristics. Frequent sites of metastatic involvement included the base of tongue and nasal cavity. These arose from a variety of cutaneous sites including the trunk and extremities and, in most instances, did not arise until 2 to 7 years after the initial cutaneous lesion. Most of those with metastases to the head and neck mucosa had disseminated disease. The histopathologic distinction between the two groups is described with photomicrographs. Junctional activity in the overlying or adjacent mucosa distinguishes primary mucosal melanoma from metastatic disease, in which the overlying mucosa is usually intact. This difference is useful in determining workup and treatment options. Aggressive surgical resection is suggested in treatment of primary melanomas, whereas surgery is at best palliative in those with metastatic disease. (OTOLARYNGOL HEAD NECK SURG 1995;112:700-6.)