Sixth and seventh tumor-node-metastasis staging system compared in gastric cancer patients

AIM: To investigate the clinical relevance and prognosis regarding survival according to the changes of the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) in gastric cancer patients.METHODS: We retrospectively studied 347 consecutive subjects who underwent surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma at the Division of General Surgery, Hospital of Busto Arsizio, Busto Arsizio, Italy between June 1998 and December 2009. Patients who underwent surgery without curative intent, patients with tumors of the gastric stump and patients with tumors involving the esophagus were excluded for survival analysis. Patients were staged according to the 6^th and 7^th edition TNM criteria; 5-year overall survival rates were investigated, and the event was defined as death from any cause.RESULTS: After exclusion, our study population included 241 resected patients with curative intent for gastric adenocarcinoma. The 5-year overall survival (5-year OS) rate of all the patients was 52.8%. The diagnosed stage differed in 32% of 241 patients based on the TNM edition used for the diagnosis. The patients in stage II according to the 6^th edition who were reclassified as stage III had significantly worse prognosis than patients classified as stage II (5-year OS, 39% vs 71%). According to the 6^th edition, 135 patients were classifed as T2, and 75% of these patients migrated to T3 and exhibited a significantly worse prognosis than those who remained T2, regardless of lymph node involvement (37% vs 71%). The new N1 patients exhibited a better prognosis than the previous N1 patients (67% vs 43%).CONCLUSION: 7^th TNM allows new T2 and N1 patients to be selected with better prognosis, which leads to different staging. New stratification is important in multimodal therapy.     

Multifocal nivolumab immune-related adverse effects during asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: causality or casuality?

Neurological Sciences -     

Palliative embolization for metastases of the spine

Background

To present palliative selective and superselective arterial embolization with N-butyl-cyanoacrylate for cancer patients with spinal metastases.

Materials and methods

We studied the files of 164 cancer patients (94 men and 70 women; mean age 57.6 years; range 35–81 years) treated from March 2003 to March 2013 with 178 selective arterial embolization procedures for metastases of the spine from variable primary cancers. We evaluated the technical success of the embolization procedure with post-procedural angiography, the clinical effect in pain relief, need for analgesics and tumor size reduction, and the embolization-related complications.

Results

Post-embolization angiography showed complete occlusion of the pathological feeding vessels in all procedures. Pain score and need for analgesics reduced by 50 % in 159 patients (97 %); no response was achieved in five patients with metastases of the sacrum. The mean duration of pain relief was 9.2 months (range 1–12 months). Metastatic tumor size reduced from a mean of 5.5 cm (range 3.5–7.5 cm) pre-embolization to a mean of 4.5 cm (range 3–5 cm) at the 6-month follow-up; the difference was not statistically significant. Ninety-three patients (56.7 %) experienced embolization-related complications the most common being post-embolization syndrome (80 patients, 48.8 %) followed by leg paresthesias (ten patients, 6 %), and rupture of a lumbar artery (one patient, 0.6 %).

Conclusion

Selective arterial embolization with N-butyl-cyanoacrylate should be considered for pain palliation of patients with metastases of the spine. However, pain relief is temporary, and complications, although minor may occur.

     

Starch-induced implant periapical lesion: a case report

This paper reports an implant periapical lesion (IPL) with a previously unreported etiology. The presence of an osteolytic area around the apex and around the middle portion of a stable Straumann hollow-screw implant was found on periapical radiographs 3.5 years after implant placement. Case management involved curettage of the soft tissue surrounding the implant apex as well as resection of the nonosseointegrated portion of the implant. Histopathologic examination revealed a connective fibrous tissue containing a dense chronic inflammatory infiltrate with a foreign-body material. Polarized light microscopy and Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy identified the foreign-body material as starch particles. Etiology of this IPL was thus related to a foreign-body reaction to starch particles. This exogenous contamination probably originated from starch-coated gloves during the surgical procedure. This case report suggests that IPL may successfully be treated by debridement and implant resection instead of implant removal. Peri-implant apical soft tissue should be systematically submitted for histopathologic examination.     

The orthodontic treatment of TMD patients: EMG effects of a functional appliance

The aim of this work was to test the effects of the Function Generator Bite (FGB) on the masticatory muscles of temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) subjects. Two groups were selected for the study. A group of 20 TMD patients (group F) requiring orthodontic treatment and treated with FGB and a group of 10 healthy subjects (group H) were considered. Both groups were evaluated before the therapy began (TO) and then after 18 months of therapy (T1). An electromyographic analysis of the masseter and temporalis anterior muscles and a clinical evaluation according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD) were performed. A statistical difference between the two groups was observed at TO with respect to the activity index. TMD subjects showed a lower value of the index. Further studies are necessary to fully understand the utility of this EMG index as a diagnostic indicator.     

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance of cardiac tumors and masses

Cardiac masses diagnosis and treatment are a true challenge, although they are infrequently encountered in clinical practice. They encompass a broad set of lesions that include neoplastic (primary and secondary), non-neoplastic masses and pseudomasses. The clinical presentation of cardiac tumors is highly variable and depends on several factors such as size, location, relation with other structures and mobility. The presumptive diagnosis is made based on a preliminary non-invasive diagnostic work-up due to technical difficulties and risks associated with biopsy, which is still the diagnostic gold standard. The findings should always be interpreted in the clinical context to avoid misdiagnosis, particularly in specific conditions (e.g., infective endocarditis or thrombi). The modern multi-modality imaging techniques has a key role not only for the initial assessment and differential diagnosis but also for management and surveillance of the cardiac masses. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) allows an optimal non-invasive localization of the lesion, providing multiplanar information on its relation to surrounding structures. Moreover, with the additional feature of tissue characterization, CMR can be highly effective to distinguish pseudomasses from masses, as well as benign from malignant lesions, with further differential diagnosis of the latter. Although histopathological assessment is important to make a definitive diagnosis, CMR plays a key role in the diagnosis of suspected cardiac masses with a great impact on patient management. This literature review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of cardiac masses, from clinical and imaging protocol to pathological findings.