Frühe intra- und postoperative Komplikationen der C1-C2-Fixation nach Goel-Harms

Die Unfallchirurgie - Densfrakturen zählen zu den häufigsten Verletzungen der Wirbelsäule. Neben den klassischen Verfahren kann die dorsale C1-C2-Fusion nach Goel-Harms als...     

Identification of prognostic factors and risk groups in patients found to have nodal metastasis at the time of radical hysterectomy for early-stage squamous carcinoma of the cervix

In a retrospective study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Michigan, and the Mayo Clinic, 185 patients with previously untreated FIGO stage IB and IIA squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix were found to have nodal metastasis at the time of radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. Of these patients, 103 received adjuvant pelvic irradiation. Cancer recurred in 76 patients; the median time to recurrence was 3.1 years. The prognostic significance of patient age, clinical stage, lesion diameter, number and location of nodal metastases, and use of adjuvant radiation therapy was determined by multivariate analysis. Only patient age (P = 0.0006), lesion diameter (P less than 0.0001), and number of nodal metastases (P = 0.0004) were noted to be significant factors in determining overall survival. Rates of recurrence were also related to these factors. Employment of these significant variables led to identification of four risk groups. In general, patients with small cervical lesions (diameter less than 1 cm) and no more than two nodes with metastases fell into the low-risk category; those patients with large cervical lesions (diameter greater than 4 cm) and more than two involved nodes fell into the high-risk category. All other patients were categorized into intermediate-risk groups. Ten-year survival was 92% in the low-risk group (n = 13), 70% in the low-intermediate-risk group (n = 66), 56% in the high-intermediate-risk group (n = 66), and 13% in the high-risk group (n = 20). This risk group classification identifies subgroups of early-stage cervical carcinoma patients found to have nodal metastasis at the time of radical hysterectomy that warrant appropriately selected adjuvant therapy.     

Ten-year outcome including patterns of failure and toxicity for adjuvant whole abdominopelvic irradiation in high-risk and poor histologic feature patients with endometrial carcinoma

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term results of treatment using adjuvant whole abdominal irradiation (WAPI) with a pelvic/vaginal boost in patients with Stage I-III endometrial carcinoma at high risk of intra-abdominopelvic recurrence, including clear cell (CC) and serous-papillary (SP) histologic features. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In a prospective nonrandomized trial, 119 patients were treated with adjuvant WAPI between November 1981 and April 2000. All patients were analyzed, including those who did not complete therapy. The mean age at diagnosis was 66 years (range 39-88). Thirty-eight patients (32%) had 1989 FIGO Stage I-II disease and 81 (68%) had Stage III. The pathologic features included the following: 64 (54%) with deep myometrial invasion, 48 (40%) with positive peritoneal cytologic findings, 69 (58%) with high-grade lesions, 21 (18%) with positive pelvic/para-aortic lymph nodes, and 44 (37%) with SP or CC histologic findings. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 5.8 years (range 0.2-14.7). For the entire group, the 5- and 10-year cause-specific survival (CSS) rate was 75% and 69% and the disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 58% and 48%, respectively. When stratified by histologic features, the 5- and 10-year CSS rate for adenocarcinoma was 76% and 71%, and for serous papillary/CC subtypes, it was 74% and 63%, respectively (p = 0.917). The 5- and 10-year DFS rate for adenocarcinoma was 60% and 50% and was 54% and 37% serous papillary/CC subtypes, respectively (p = 0.498). For surgical Stage I-II, the 5-year CSS rate was 82% for adenocarcinoma and 87% for SP/CC features (p = 0.480). For Stage III, it was 75% and 57%, respectively (p = 0.129). Thirty-seven patients had a relapse, with the first site of failure the abdomen/pelvis in 14 (38%), lung in 8 (22%), extraabdominal lymph nodes in 7 (19%), vagina in 6 (16%), and other in 2 (5%). When stratified by histologic variant, 32% of patients with adenocarcinoma and 30% with the SP/CC subtype developed recurrent disease. Most failures for either histologic group occurred within the abdominopelvic region. However, one-third of the adenocarcinoma recurrences were in the lung. Multivariate regression analysis (age, surgical stage, grade, myometrial invasion, histologic type, lymph node status, and peritoneal cytology) demonstrated age (p = 0.019) and surgical stage (p = 0.036) to be of prognostic significance for CSS; age (p = 0.036) was the only significant prognostic factor for DFS. Grade 1-2 gastrointestinal and hematologic acute toxicities were common. Asymptomatic bibasilar scarring on chest X-ray and mild elevation of liver enzymes were seen in almost 50% of the patients. Even though chronic toxicities were less frequent, 12% developed Grade 3-4 gastrointestinal and 2% Grade 3 renal toxicities. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant WAPI is very effective treatment with excellent 10-year results for Stage I-III endometrial carcinoma with risk factors for intra-abdominopelvic recurrence, including SP or CC histologic variants, deep myometrial invasion, high grade, nodal involvement, and positive peritoneal cytology. The low long-term complication rate with high CSS rate makes WAPI the treatment of choice for these patients with significant comorbidities.     

A controlled trial of cyproheptadine in cancer patients with anorexia and/or cachexia

Anorexia, cachexia, and resultant weight loss are major clinical problems in a substantial proportion of patients with advanced cancer. Effective means of alleviating these problematic symptoms are lacking. Extensive clinical data demonstrate a weight enhancing effect for the serotonin antagonist, cyproheptadine, in several clinical situations. In addition, sound basic research suggests that cyproheptadine may be helpful in patients with cancer anorexia/cachexia. Because of this, the authors performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial using cyproheptadine, 8 mg orally three times a day in 295 patients with advanced malignant disease. Patients assigned to cyproheptadine had less nausea (P = 0.02), less emesis (P = 0.11), more sedation (P = 0.07), and more dizziness (P = 0.01) than placebo patients. Patients' appetites, measured by serial patient-completed questionnaires, appeared to be mildly enhanced by cyproheptadine. Unfortunately, cyproheptadine did not significantly abate progressive weight loss in these patients with advanced malignant disease; patients assigned to cyproheptadine lost an average of 4.5 pounds per month compared to 4.9 pounds per month for patients assigned to a placebo (P = 0.72).     

Humoral hypercalcemia associated with a dysgerminoma.

A 16-year-old girl sought medical attention at the Mayo Clinic because of a 4.5-kg weight loss, hypercalcemia, and a pelvic mass. Preoperatively, the level of the beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin was 147 IU/liter. After a brief period for observation and hydration, abdominal exploration revealed a stage III dysgerminoma; total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed. Within the dysgerminoma, syncytial giant cells expressed human chorionic gonadotropin-positive immunostaining in the cytoplasm. Postoperatively, the value of the beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin decreased rapidly. The patient received whole-abdomen irradiation 4 weeks postoperatively, after which the level of calcium returned to normal. The patient has been free of disease for more than 7 years.     

Soft-tissue sarcoma: Mayo Clinic experience

Soft-tissue tumors encompass a wide variety of lesions and continue to pose a difficult treatment problem. The outlook, however, is improving, and there have been recent advances in pretreatment assessment, clinicopathologic correlation, and adjuvant treatment programs. We retrospectively reviewed our experience in a large series of soft-tissue tumors treated at the Mayo Clinic as well as recent experience using chemotherapy and radiation treatment.     

Pelvic lymphadenectomy and transperineal interstitial implantation of IR 192 combined with external beam radiotherapy for bulky stage C prostatic carcinoma

From January 1983 until June 1987, 51 patients with locally advanced prostatic carcinoma (47 Stage C, 4 bulky B2) were treated at Mayo Clinic (33 patients) and at William Beaumont Hospital (18 patients) with (a) 5 Gy delivered pre-operatively in one fraction, (b) pelvic lymphadenectomy and (c) interstitial implantation of the prostate with Ir 192 seeds via a perineal template (the Martinez Universal Perineal Interstitial Template) to deliver 35 Gy, and (d) 30.6 Gy external beam therapy in 17 fractions to prostate only fields. Initial clinical response has been excellent. Local control, with a median follow-up of 45 months, has been 100% by clinical exam and 84.5% pathologically in the subset biopsied. Disease-free actuarial survival at 5 years is 89%. Major toxicity has been limited to the rectum, but a modification of the brachytherapy technique has reduced this sharply. We conclude that bulky Stage C prostatic carcinoma can be successfully treated by this aggressive combination of modalities with acceptable toxicity.     

Toxicity of open-field whole abdominal irradiation as primary postoperative treatment in gynecologic malignancy

Between June 1979 and March 1985, 77 patients received whole abdominal radiation as the sole postoperative treatment for gynecologic malignancy. With an open-field technique of irradiation, a median of 3,000 cGy was delivered to the entire abdominal contents with partial liver and kidney shielding; the total dose to the pelvis after boosts was 5,100 cGy, and that to the sub-diaphragmatic and para-aortic nodal regions was 4,200 cGy. The primary sites of malignancy were the endometrium in 41 patients, ovary in 25, uterus in 5, fallopian tube in 4, and cervix in 2. Seven patients (9%), all older than 60 years, experienced acute gastrointestinal toxicity that interrupted treatment, only one of whom failed to complete the prescribed course as a result. Hematologic toxicity was sufficient to interrupt therapy in 21 patients (27%), 1 of whom failed to complete therapy as a result. Hematologic toxicity was not increased in elderly patients. All patients were followed up for a minimum of 30 months (median, 43 months) or until death. Six patients experienced a treatment-related bowel obstruction (two of whom had concomitant progressive intra-abdominal disease); the 3-year actuarial risk for a treatment-related bowel obstruction was 9%. This risk was significantly increased by high-dose boosting for residual disease. Only one instance of clinical radiation pneumonitis occurred, and no cases of clinical hepatitis were noted; however, subclinical evidence of pulmonary and hepatic radiation effect was frequent. Whole abdominal irradiation as described has modest toxicity for patients with gynecologic cancer who are at high risk for intra-abdominal failure.     

Lower abdominal radiotherapy for stages I, II, and selected III epithelial ovarian cancer: 20 years experience

Between 1956 and 1975, lower abdominal radiotherapy was administered as primary postoperative treatment to 82 patients with stages I, II, and selected III epithelial ovarian carcinoma and with varying amounts of postoperative residual disease. The median follow-up was 7.5 years, and the overall freedom from relapse (FFR) at 10 years for the entire group was 57%. The FFR at 10 years for stages I, II, and III was 78, 60, and 24% respectively, and these results are better than published series of similarly staged patients treated with surgery alone. Ten-year FFR was 79% for patients with no residual disease (NRD), 49% for patients with minimal residual disease (MRD) of less than 2 cm, and 24% for patients with gross residual disease (GRD) of greater than 2 cm. Control within the irradiated lower abdomen was achieved in 97% of patients with NRD, 84% of patients with MRD, and in 55% of those with GRD. Of all relapses, 33% occurred in the pelvis (almost all in patients with GRD), 37% in the untreated upper abdomen, 21% in distant sites, and 9% had an undetermined intraabdominal site of relapse. Among those patients with stage I and II disease or favorable residual tumor (NRD and MRD), approximately 50% of relapses occurred in the untreated upper abdomen alone.