Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of surgically excised renal masses in African Americans

ObjectivesIn the present study, we report on the clinical and pathological characteristics of African American (AA) patients with surgically excised renal masses and assess the associations between race and oncological outcomes.Methods and materialsWe conducted a retrospective review of patients who underwent partial or radical nephrectomy for renal masses at our institution between 2000 and 2010. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on self-reported race: AA and non-AA. Patient demographics and disease characteristics, and overall, cancer-specific, recurrence-free, distant, and local recurrence-free survival for localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were compared between AA and non-AA patients. Multivariable proportional hazard analyses were used to assess the associations of race with oncological outcomes.ResultsA total of 1,467 patients, of whom 359 (24.5%) were AA, were included. Rates of benign disease were comparable between AA patients and non-AA (18.2% vs. 17.6%, P = 0.556). AA patients presented with higher rates of localized disease (83% vs. 71%, P<0.001). Papillary subtype accounted for 40.8% of RCCs in AA patients compared with 11.6% in non-AA patients (P<0.001). The high proportion of papillary RCC in AA patients was maintained across disease stages. On univariable analyses, AA patients had better recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival. On multivariable analyses, AA race was not a significant predictor of oncological outcomes after adjusting for patient and disease characteristics.ConclusionIn this study, AA patients presented with more localized disease than non-AA patients, whereas rates of benign disease were comparable between the groups. Furthermore, AA patients had roughly 3 times higher rates of papillary RCC across disease stages. On univariable analyses, AA patients appeared to have more favorable oncological outcomes. However, this association is likely explained by tumor stage, grade, and histology as outcomes were similar across races when the analyses were adjusted for these and other characteristics.     

Giant colonic diverticulum,clinical presentation,diagnosis and treatment: Systematic review of 166 cases

AIM: To investigate the clinical presentation,diagnosis,and treatment of giant colonic diverticulum(GCD,by means of a complete and updated literature review).GCD is a rare manifestation of diverticular disease of the colon.Less than 200 studies on GCD were published in the literature,predominantly case reports or small patient series.METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed using the Embase and PubM ed databases toidentify all the GCD studies.The following MESH search headings were used: "giant colonic diverticulum"; "giant sigmoid diverticulum".The "related articles" function was used to broaden the search,and all of the abstracts,studies,and citations were reviewed by two authors.The following outcomes were of interest: the disease and patient characteristics,study design,indications for surgery,type of operation,and postoperative outcomes.Additionally,a subgroup analysis of cases treated in the last 5 years was performed to show the current trends in the treatment of GCD.A GCD case in an elderly patient treated in our department by a sigmoidectomy with primary anastomosis and a diverting ileostomy is presented as a typical example of the disease.RESULTS: In total,166 GCD cases in 138 studies were identified in the literature.The most common clinical presentation was abdominal pain,which occurred in 69% of the cases.Among the physical signs,an abdominal mass was detected in 48% of the cases,whereas 20% of the patients presented with fever and 14% with abdominal tenderness.Diagnosis is based predominantly on abdominal computed tomography.The most frequent treatment was colic resection with en-bloc resection of the diverticulum,performed in 57.2% of cases,whereas Hartmann's procedure was followed in 11.4% of the cases and a diverticulectomy in 10.2%.An analysis of sixteen cases reported in the last 5 years showed that the majority of patients were treated with sigmoidectomy and en-bloc resection of the diverticulum; the postoperative mortality was null,morbidity was very low(1 patient was hospitalized in the intensive care unit for postoperative hypotension),and the patients were discharged 4-14 d after surgery.CONCLUSION: Giant colonic diverticulum is a rare manifestation of diverticular diseases.Surgical treatment,consisting predominantly of colonic resection with en bloc resection of the diverticulum,is thepreferred option for GCD and guarantees excellent results.     

Anti-inflammatory use may not negatively impact oncologic outcomes following intravesical BCG for high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Purpose

To evaluate whether anti-inflammatory agents affect outcomes in patients receiving intravesical BCG therapy for high-grade (HG) non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Methods

We reviewed the records of 203 patients in a prospective database of HG NMIBC from 2006 to 2012 at a single institution. Patients who had muscle-invasive disease (n = 32), low-grade pathology (n = 4), underwent early cystectomy within 3 months (n = 25), had <3 months of follow-up (n = 11), or did not receive an induction course of intravesical BCG (n = 32) were excluded. Clinicopathologic data were tabulated including demographics, comorbidities, pathologic stage and grades, intravesical therapy, and concomitant use of aspirin, NSAIDs, COX inhibitors, and statins. Multivariate Cox regression analysis explored predictive factors for recurrence, progression (stage progression or progression to cystectomy), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS).

Results

Ninety-nine patients with HG NMIBC who received at least one induction course of intravesical BCG were identified, with median follow-up of 31.4 months. There were 20 (20.2 %) deaths, including 6 (6.1 %) patients with bladder cancer-related mortality. 13 % patients experienced tumor progression and 27 % underwent cystectomy following failure of intravesical therapy. Anti-inflammatory use included statins (65 %), aspirin (63 %), or non-aspirin NSAIDs/COX inhibitors (26 %). Anti-inflammatory use was not significantly predictive of recurrence, progression, or mortality outcomes on Cox regression. CIS stage was associated with higher progression, while age, BMI, and Charlson score were independent predictors of overall mortality.

Conclusion

Despite speculation of inhibitory effects on BCG immunomodulation there was no evidence that anti-inflammatory agents impacted oncologic outcomes in patients receiving BCG for HG NMIBC.

     

Mass-forming pancreatitis： Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography

AIM: To assess the utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) with a second-generation contrast medium in the differential diagnosis between mass-forming pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma. METHODS: From our radio-pathology database, we retrieved all the patients affected by mass-forming pancreatitis or pancreatic carcinoma who underwent CEUS. We evaluated the results of CEUS in the study of the 173 pancreatic masses considering the possibilities of a differential diagnosis between mass-forming pancreatitis and pancreatic tumor by identifying the "parenchymographic" enhancement during the dynamic phase of CEUS, which was considered diagnostic for mass-forming pancreatitis. RESULTS: At CEUS, 94% of the mass-forming pancreatitis showed intralesional parenchymography. CEUS allowed diagnosis of mass-forming pancreatitis with sensitivity of 88.6%, specificity of 97.8%, positive predictive value of 91.2%, negative predictive value of 97.1%, and overall accuracy of 96%. CEUS significantly increased the diagnostic confidence in the differential diagnosis between mass-forming pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma, with receiver operating characteristic curve areas from 0.557 (P = 0.1608) for baseline US to 0.956 (P < 0.0001) for CEUS. CONCLUSION: CEUS allowed diagnosis of mass-forming pancreatitis with diagnostic accuracy of 96%. CEUS significantly increases the diagnostic confidence with respect to basal US in discerning mass-forming pancreatitis from pancreatic neoplasm.     

Univariate and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors in the surgical treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma

Surgery is the only effective treatment able to improve survival of patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). However, the significance of prognostic factors on overall survival is still debated. We evaluated early and long-term outcomes of patients resected for hilar cholangiocarcinoma over a 3-year period to determine the role of prognostic factors and their effect on overall survival. Medical records of patients with hilar CCA who underwent resection between January 2001 and December 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors associated with survival. Thirty-two of 45 patients underwent surgical resection with curative intent. Morbidity was 24.4 per cent; perioperative mortality was 0 per cent. Overall median survival was 22.3 months. Well-differentiated tumor grading and R0 resection were independently associated with better survival at multivariate analysis. Aggressive surgery, including biliary resection combined with major hepatectomy, is a safe procedure with low morbidity and mortality in a tertiary referral hepatobiliary center. The main aim of an aggressive surgical approach is to obtain a microscopic margin-negative resection, which is associated with better prognosis. Another important prognostic factor is tumor grading, which is independently associated with survival.     

Does surgical resection have a role in the treatment of large or multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma?

Several effective treatments are available for patients with small solitary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Conversely, the management of patients with large or multinodular HCCs is controversial, and the role of surgical resection is not well defined. Between 2000 and 2006, 51 patients with large or multinodular HCC underwent liver resection. Clinicopathologic and follow-up data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed. The perioperative and long-term outcomes were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors were conducted. Although 20 patients had multinodular HCCs, 31 had large solitary tumors. Perioperative mortality occurred in eight patients and complications in 15. In patients with large solitary tumors, 5-year disease-free and overall survival were 41.3 per cent and 56.1 per cent, respectively. Those with multinodular HCCs demonstrated 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates of 0 per cent and 33.6 per cent, respectively. Liver resection can result in long-term survival in select patients with large or multinodular HCCs, even in select patients with impaired liver function. Large solitary HCCs seem to have better prognoses than multinodular tumors, with lower recurrence and higher survival rates after surgery. Randomized controlled trials comparing resection to other treatment modalities are indicated to determine optimal patient management.     

Risk factors of pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy: a collective review

Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is the most frequent complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy, results in increased morbidity and mortality, and adversely affects length of stay and costs. Reported rates of postoperative pancreatic fistula vary from 0 per cent up to more than 30 per cent. Plenty of randomized trails and meta-analysis were published to analyze the ideal procedure, technique of anastomosis, and perioperative management of patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy; however, results are often discordant and clear evidence on the ideal management and surgical technique to reduce POPF rate is not yet provided. This collective review examined the current evidence about risk factors contributing to postoperative pancreatic fistula and delineates methods of diagnosis and treatment of this universally dreaded complication.     

The maori, behavior, modern diets and colorectal cancers

Variation in diet and the rates of colorectal cancers have confounded researchers in recent years. Comparisons of populations in different geographic locations and of different ethnic origins have shown considerable differences in disease frequency, location and relation to diet. This paper revisits an earlier comparison of Maori rates of disease and diet based on data from 20 years ago with surprising changes in disease rates today.