New and important changes in breast cancer TNM: incorporation of biologic factors into staging

Introduction: Cancer staging has historically been based solely on the anatomic extent of the tumor (T), spread to lymph nodes (N), and the presence of distant metastases (M). More recently biologic factors have been added to modify TNM stage groups to provide more accurate prognosis for patients.

Areas covered: The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) updated breast cancer staging in 2016 to include T, N, M, tumor grade and expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER2. Addition of these factors changed the stage group for a large fraction of cases compared to prior TNM stage groupings. This updated ‘prognostic stage’ provides more robust and precise prognosis information.

Expert opinion: Inclusion of biological information in staging changes the meaning and the use of stage in clinical practice. This paper reviews the evidence supporting these changes, limitations affecting staging, and discusses the implications for clinical practice and the future of breast cancer staging.     

Epitope load identifies kidney transplant recipients at risk of allosensitization following minimization of immunosuppression

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Optimal intensity for respiratory muscle endurance training in patients with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: Respiratory muscle endurance of able-bodied persons, assessed by normocapnic hyperpnoea at 70% of their maximal voluntary ventilation, usually ranges from 10 to 20 minutes. The aim of this study was to determine the level of ventilation that patients with paraplegia and tetraplegia can sustain for 10-20 minutes to later be used as the guideline for respiratory muscle endurance training. DESIGN: Pilot study; cross-over setting. SUBJECTS: Two groups, 8 patients with paraplegia and 6 with tetraplegia. METHODS: Respiratory muscle endurance tests were performed at 3 different intensities of normocapnic hyperpnoea, i.e. 20%, 40% and 60% maximal voluntary ventilation. Subjects performed partial re-breathing from a bag to assure normocapnia. Respiratory endurance was separately analysed for patients with paraplegia and tetraplegia. RESULTS: Mean respiratory endurance times were 46.0, 18.9 and 4.2 minutes at 20%, 40% and 60% maximal voluntary ventilation in patients with tetraplegia and 51.8, 38.8 and 12.2 minutes in patients with paraplegia. The duration differed significantly at 60% maximal voluntary ventilation between the groups. CONCLUSION: Minute ventilation to perform respiratory muscle endurance training can be set at around 40% of maximal voluntary ventilation for patients with tetraplegia and around 60% of maximal voluntary ventilation for patients with paraplegia, as these levels can be sustained for 10-20 minutes.     

Indices of surgical site infection risk and prediction of other adverse outcomes during hospitalization.

OBJECTIVE: To assess which adverse postsurgical outcomes are best predicted by the Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC) index and the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system (NNIS) index. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: The service of general surgery at a tertiary care hospital. PATIENTS: A consecutive series of patients hospitalized for more than 1 day (n=2,989). RESULTS: The outcome best predicted by the SENIC and NNIS indices was assessed by estimating the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The areas under the ROC curves for nosocomial infection and in-hospital death were higher for the NNIS index than they were for the SENIC index (P<.05). The NNIS index predicted in-hospital death better than it predicted surgical site infection (area under the ROC curve+/-SE, 0.836+/-0.022 vs 0.689+/-0.017; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: The NNIS index is superior to the SENIC index for all adverse postsurgical outcomes. Its ability to predict in-hospital mortality is clearly better than its ability to predict surgical site infection.