8th Edition American Joint Committee Research Articles

Nodal metastasis size predicts disease-free survival in cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma involving the parotid but not cervical nodes.

The 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer nodal (N) staging of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (cSCCHN) is largely based on lymph node metastasis size, despite conflicting data in the literature. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of largest node size in cSCCHN. Retrospective analysis of 94 patients undergoing curative-intent treatment for nodal cSCCHN with surgery ± radiotherapy at Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia was conducted. Survival outcomes were assessed using multivariate Cox regression. The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS). Objective measures of model performance were used in exploratory analyses to identify optimal size thresholds for predicting survival. Nodal metastasis size significantly predicted DFS on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 1.24; 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.46; P = 0.008). This prognostic impact occurred predominantly in parotid metastases (hazard ratio 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.51; P = 0.006); each 1 cm increase in size increased the risk of recurrence or death by 27%, irrespective of the number of involved nodes. In parotid metastases, size thresholds of ≤3, 3-4.5 and >4.5 cm optimized prognostic discrimination. Extranodal extension (ENE) was associated with decreased DFS in nodes ≤3 cm in size (P = 0.025), but not in those >3 cm (P = 0.744). Size is an important prognostic factor in cSCCHN with parotid metastases, with optimal thresholds of ≤3, >3-4.5 and >4.5 cm. The prognostic impact of ENE was seen only in nodal metastases ≤3 cm in size. These results may have important implications for node size thresholds and inclusion of ENE in the American Joint Committee on Cancer N staging categories.

Prognostic value of the 8th edition American Joint Commission Cancer nodal staging system for patients with head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: A multi-institutional study.

The 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual (AJCC8) introduced a separate staging system for head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (HNcSCC) which parallels mucosal SCC and incorporates extranodal extension (ENE). This study aims to evaluate its prognostic utility. Univariate analysis of 1146 patients with metastatic HNcSCC from four Australian cancer centers was performed according to both AJCC 7th (AJCC7) and the 8th editions. AJCC8 increased classification of 924 (80.6%) patients to either pN2a or pN3b and 341 patients (29.8%) from stage III to IV compared to AJCC7. The disease-specific survival (DSS) was not significantly different between pN1, pN2 or pN3a categories per AJCC8. Estimates of model performance for the AJCC8 pN staging revealed modest predictive capacity (Harrell's C of 0.62 for DSS). The risk stratification according to pN classification of AJCC8 staging system performed poorly as a prognostic indicator.

Infiltrating pattern and prognostic value of tertiary lymphoid structures in resected non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

BackgroundTertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are associated with favorable survival and play a critical role in most solid tumors. However, investigations of TLS are lacking in patients with grade 1 or...

Addition of the tumour-stroma ratio to the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system improves survival prediction for patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

One of the objectives of current research is to customise the treatment of cancer patients. The achievement of this objective requires stratification of patients based on the most significant prognostic factors. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prognostic value of the tumour-stroma ratio (TSR), defined as the proportion of tumour cells relative to surrounding stroma, in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC), and to develop a prognostic nomogram based on the most significant clinicopathological features. Clinicopathological data of 211 patients treated at 'Ospedali Riuniti' General Hospital (Ancona, Italy) for OTSCC were collected. One hundred and thirty-nine patients were restaged according to the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system. Evaluation of the TSR was performed on haematoxylin and eosin-stained slides, and correlation with survival outcomes was evaluated. In addition, with the aim of integrating the independent value of the TSR with the 8th edition AJCC staging system, a prognostic nomogram for OTSCC has been developed. OTSCC with a low TSR (i.e. a high proportion of stroma and a low proportion of tumour cells) was shown to have negative prognostic value in terms of disease-specific survival, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.883 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.033-3.432 (P=0.039), and overall survival (HR=1.747, 95% CI 0.967-3.154; P=0.044), independently of other histological and clinical parameters. For the cohort of 139 patients restaged according to the 8th edition AJCC staging system, variables correlating with a poor prognosis were: the TSR, perineural invasion, and sex. The nomogram built on these parameters showed good predictive capacity, outperforming the 8th edition AJCC staging system in stratifying disease-specific survival in OTSCC patients. Including the TSR in the predictive model could improve risk stratification of OTSCC patients and aid in making treatment decisions.

Differences in 7th and 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging for periocular sebaceous carcinoma

ObjectiveTo examine the clinicopathological features of periocular sebaceous carcinoma and describe the differences in T category between the seventh and eighth editions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for eyelid carcinoma in a Canadian population. MethodsThis study is a single-centre retrospective review of consecutive patients diagnosed with periocular sebaceous carcinoma at Vancouver General Hospital over a 24-year period. Medical records and pathological slides were reviewed. Clinicopathological features, management, and outcomes were recorded. Each carcinoma was staged as per both the seventh and eighth editions AJCC staging system for eyelid carcinoma. ResultsForty-five patients (25 women, 20 men) were identified with a median age of 74 years (range 42–91 years). Tumour size was with a median of 4 mm (range 1–30 mm) and a mean of 6.7 mm. Using the seventh edition, patients were assigned the following T categories: Tis = 10, T1 = 9, T2 = 11, T3 = 8, T4 = 0. Under the eighth edition, 18 of 45 patients (40%) were restaged, with the majority of these (15 patients, 33%) being downstaged. The eighth edition categories were as follows: Tis = 10, T1 = 22, T2 = 3, T3 = 0, T4 = 3. Three patients developed disease recurrence, 2 of whom (staged T2c and T4b) died of disease. ConclusionsThere were substantial differences in the seventh and eighth editions of AJCC for the staging of periocular sebaceous carcinoma. Our series had small tumours at presentation with infrequent recurrences or metastases. We found a high number of patients with in-situ-only disease.

Compartmental Surgery With Microvascular Free Flap Reconstruction in Patients With T1-T4 Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue: Analysis of Risk Factors, and Prognostic Value of the 8th Edition AJCC TNM Staging System.

Compartmental surgery and primary reconstruction with microvascular free flaps represent the gold-standard in the treatment of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). However, there are still unclear clinical features that negatively affect the outcomes. This retrospective study included 80 consecutive patients with OTSCC who underwent compartmental surgery and primary reconstruction by free flap. The oncologic outcomes, the reliability of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system and the prognostic factors were evaluated. Fifty-nine males and 21 females (mean age 57.8 years, range 27–81 years) were treated between November 2010 and March 2018 (one patient had two metachronous primaries). Seventy-one patients (88.75%, 52 males, 19 females, mean age of 57.9 years, range of 27–81 years) had no clinical history of previous head and neck radiotherapy and were considered as naive. Histology showed radical surgery on 80/81 lesions (98.8%), with excision margins >0.5 cm, while in 1 case (1.2%), a close posterior margin was found. According to the 8th AJCC classification, 37 patients (45.7%) were upstaged shifting from the clinical to the pathological stage, and 39 (48.1%) showed an upstaging while shifting from the 7th to the 8th AJCC staging system (no tumors were downstaged). Nodal involvement was confirmed in 33 patients (40.7%). Perineural and lymphovascular invasion were present in 9 (11.1%) and 11 (13.6%) cases, respectively. Twenty-two patients (27.1%) underwent adjuvant therapy. The 5-years disease-specific, overall, overall relapse-free, locoregional relapse-free and distant metastasis-free survival rates were 73.2, 66.8, 62.6, 67.4, and 86%, respectively. Patients with a lymph node ratio >0.09 experienced significantly worse outcomes. Univariate analysis showed that patients with previous radiotherapy, stage IV disease, nodal involvement, and lymphovascular invasion had significantly worse outcomes. Multivariate analysis focused naive patients and showed that lymphovascular invasion, advanced stage of disease, and node involvement resulted reliable prognostic factors, and patients with the same tumor stage and histological risk factors who did not undergo adjuvant therapy experienced significantly worse outcomes. In our series, surgery played a major role in the treatment of local extension; adjuvant therapy resulted strictly indicated in patients with advanced-stage disease associated with risk factors.

Validation of Stage N3 of the Eighth Edition AJCC Staging System for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

To validate stage nodal (N)3 of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This retrospective cohort study extracted NPC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database between 2004 and 2016. Pathologically confirmed patients with complete data of level IV, N3a, and N3b lymph node metastasis were investigated. The included patients were divided into level IV, N3a, and N3b groups. Five-year overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were compared among the three groups. A total of 693 patients were included: 285 (41.13%) patients in the level IV group, 124 (17.89%) patients in the N3a group, and 284 (40.98%) patients in the N3b group. The 5-year OS (57.1%, 55.0%, and 55.2%) and CSS (64.4%, 63.5%, and 64.4%) were not different among the level IV, N3a, and N3b groups. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that N stage was not an independent prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91-1.17; P = .65) or CSS (HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.89-1.19; P = .70). Stage N3 of the 8th edition AJCC staging system for NPC is reasonable. III Laryngoscope, 131:535-540, 2021.

Comparison between AJCC 8th prognostic stage and UICC anatomical stage in patients with primary breast cancer: a single institutional retrospective study

BackgroundThe 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) proposed a prognostic stage (PS), which included not only anatomical factors, but also biological factors. We aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of the PS and to compare PS and anatomical stage (AS) that has been established by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).MethodsBetween 2002 and 2017, 800 patients were included in the study. Patients were classified using pathological UICC AS and pathological AJCC PS. The usefulness of PS in comparison with AS was validated using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Harrell concordance index (C-index).ResultsA total of 401 (50.1%) patients had pathological AS I, 324 (40.5%) had AS II, and 75 (9.4%) had AS III. Meanwhile, 535 (66.8%) had pathological PS I, 163 (20.4%) had PS II, and 102 (12.8%) had PS III. The number of AS II cases was 1.99-fold higher than that of PS II cases. For each stage, these survival curves were almost similar between AS and PS classification. Therefore, many patients to be classified into stage I and stage III were included in AS II group, while many patients to be classified into stage II were included in AS I group. To trichotomize the survival groups, PS appeared to be more specific than AS, and AIC and C-index confirmed the speculation.ConclusionFor the prognostication of primary breast cancer patients, AJCC PS appeared to be able to stratify the cases more appropriately than UICC AS.

The 8th Edition American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging for Hepato-pancreato-biliary Cancer: A Review and Update.

Cancer staging provides critical information for patients and treating physicians to battle against cancer, predict prognosis, and guide treatment decisions. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system uses a tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) scoring algorithm and is the foremost classification system for adult cancers. This system is updated every 6 to 8 years to allow sufficient time for implementation of changes and for relevant examination and discussion of data validating those changes in staging. To review the updates in the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system on hepato-pancreato-biliary cancer. Literature review. The 8th edition, published in 2016 and implemented on January 1, 2018, has been in use for approximately 3 years. Compared with the 7th edition, some of the changes are quite radical. This review aims to provide a summary of the changes/updates of the 8th edition with focus on hepato-pancreato-biliary cancers, and evaluate its performance through literature review.

Validation and proposed modification of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system for patients with esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms: Evaluation of a revised lymph node classification.

There is currently no universally accepted staging system for esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms (ENENs). In the present study, patients with ENENs, identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry (SEER) (n=191 patients) and the multicentric series (n=51 patients), were stratified to assess the validity of the 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging systems, particularly for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess disease-specific survival (DSS), according to the Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) status, and the Cox model was applied to evaluate differences in prognosis after adjustment for potential confounders. For the 8th AJCC staging classifications, only the pathological stage groups (pTNM) conferred increased hazard ratios from stage I to stage IV, with overlaps between adjacent stages. According to the current findings, the regional lymph nodes involvement status other than the current N classification was a significant predictor of DSS. Consequently, a revised N(Nr) classification was proposed and therefore a new TNrM staging system was adopted, for which progressively poorer DSS associated with increasing stage was observed. Moreover, the concordance index with the modified staging system was slightly higher in patients with ENENs from the SEER registry compared with that of the 8th pTNM system. In conclusion, lymph node status, rather than the number of positive lymph nodes, was a marker of poorer DSS and the modified staging system provided an easier and more accurate staging tool. The present results indicate that revisions to the current staging classifications may be improve the assessment of patient prognosis.

The prognostic significance of microsatellites in cutaneous melanoma.

Microscopic satellite metastases are an adverse prognostic feature in primary cutaneous melanoma patients. The prognostic significance of microsatellites, including their number, size and distance from the primary melanoma, using the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer definition, has not previously been evaluated. This study sought to determine the prognostic significance of microsatellites in histopathologically reviewed cases. Eighty-seven cases of primary cutaneous melanoma with the presence of microsatellites documented in the original pathology report and all histopathology slides available were reviewed and the findings were correlated with clinical outcome. Matched control cases were selected for all confirmed microsatellites cases. The presence of microsatellites was confirmed in 69 cases. The microsatellite group had significantly worse prognosis, with 21% 5-year disease-free survival compared with 56% in the control group (p < 0.001). The 5-year melanoma-specific survival was 53% in the microsatellites group and 73% in the control group (p = 0.004). Increasing distance (mm) of the microsatellite from the primary melanoma was found to adversely influence disease-free survival (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.13-1.36, p < 0.001), overall survival (HR = 1.26 95%CI: 1.13-1.40, p < 0.001), and melanoma-specific survival (HR = 1.27 95% CI: 1.11-1.45, p < 0.001). Number and size of microsatellites were not significant prognostic factors. The presence of microsatellites was the only factor that proved to be an independent predictor of sentinel node positivity in multivariate analysis (OR 4.64; 95% CI 1.66-12.95; p = 0.003). Microsatellites were significantly associated with more loco-regional recurrences (p < 0.001) but not distant metastases (p = 0.821). Melanomas with microsatellites as defined by the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system are thus aggressive tumors, associated with significantly worse disease-free survival, overall survival and melanoma-specific survival. The presence of microsatellites is also associated with sentinel node-positivity and local and in-transit recurrence. Increasing distance of the microsatellite from the primary tumor is an independent adverse prognostic factor that warrants further evaluation.

Role of MRI in Staging of Penile Cancer

Penile cancer is one of the male-specific cancers. Accurate pretreatment staging is crucial due to a plethora of treatment options currently available. The 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer-Tumor Node and Metastasis (AJCC-TNM) revised the staging for penile cancers, with invasion of corpora cavernosa upstaged from T2 to T3 and invasion of urethra downstaged from T3 to being not separately relevant. With this revision, MRI is more relevant in local staging because MRI is accurate in identifying invasion of corpora cavernosa, while the accuracy is lower for detection of urethral involvement. The recent European Urology Association (EAU) guidelines recommend MRI to exclude invasion of the corpora cavernosa, especially if penis preservation is planned. Identification of satellite lesions and measurement of residual-penile-length help in surgical planning. When nonsurgical treatment modalities of the primary tumor are being considered, accurate local staging helps in decision-making regarding upfront inguinal lymph node dissection as against surveillance. MRI helps in detection and extent of inguinal and pelvic lymphadenopathy and is superior to clinical palpation, which continues to be the current approach recommended by National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines. MRI helps the detection of "bulky" lymph nodes that warrant neoadjuvant chemotherapy and potentially identify extranodal extension. However, tumor involvement in small lymph nodes and differentiation of reactive vs. malignant lymphadenopathy in large lymph nodes continue to be challenging and the utilization of alternative contrast agents (superparamagnetic iron oxide), positron emission tomography (PET)-MRI along with texture analysis is promising. In locally recurrent tumors, MRI is invaluable in identification of deep invasion, which forms the basis of treatment. Multiparametric MRI, especially diffusion-weighted-imaging, may allow for quantitative noninvasive assessment of tumor grade and histologic subtyping to avoid biopsy undersampling. Further research is required for incorporation of MRI with deep learning and artificial intelligence algorithms for effective staging in penile cancer. Level of Evidence: 5 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;51:1612-1629.

High-risk retinoblastoma based on age at primary enucleation: a study of 616 eyes.

To study the high-risk histopathology features of retinoblastoma based on age at primary enucleation. Retrospective study of 616 patients. The mean age at presentation and primary enucleation for retinoblastoma was 34 months (median, 28 months; range, <1-455 months). Of these cases, 128 (21%) were aged ≤1 year, 149 (24%) were in the age group of 1-2 years, 117 (19%) in 2-3 years, 104 (17%) in 3-4 years, and 118 (19%) were >4 years of age at the time of enucleation. Bilateral retinoblastoma (34%; p < 0.0001) and buphthalmos (20%; p < 0.0001) were more common in children ≤1 year of age. Anterior chamber pseudohypopyon (15%; p < 0.0001) and vitreous seeds (53%; p < 0.0001) were more common in children aged >4 years. Based on 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system, pT3 was less common in children ≤1 year of age (13%; p < 0.001). Based on histopathology, 38% patients had high-risk features including 24% children aged ≤1 year, 42% in the age group of 1-2 years, 34% in 2-3 years age group, 45% in 3-4 years age group, and 48% patients were >4 years of age. Post-laminar optic nerve infiltration (6%; p = 0.02) and massive choroidal infiltration (9%; p = 0.04) was least common in children ≤1 year of age. Over a mean follow-up period of 52 months (median, 36 months; range, <1-218 months), systemic metastasis and death occurred in 9% patients despite adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. The predominant high-risk histopathology feature of retinoblastoma varies with age at primary enucleation.

The predicting value of the 8th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual in mucinous breast cancer

Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the predictive performances of anatomic staging system (AS) and prognostic staging system (PS) proposed in the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging manual in patients with pure mucinous breast cancer (PMBC). Methods: Clinicopathologic features and follow-up information were collected from a total of 3628 patients with PMBC. Breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) were compared among patients in different stage groups. Likelihood ratio (LR) χ(2), Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Harrell's concordance index (C-index) were used to evaluate the predictive performances of AS and PS in PMBC. Results: In PMBC, BCSS was associated with tumor size (P=0.002), lymph node status (P=0.002), grade(P=0.003), PR status(P=0.017)and the receipt of radiation. Compared to AS, 1326 patients (37.54%) underwent stage change after applying PS, with 6.50% upstaged and 37.04% downstaged. There were significant differences in BCSS among patients of different stages under the AS and PS (P<0.001). However, PS was not superior to AS in predicting prognosis (AS vs PS, LR χ(2): 16.41 vs 17.5; AIC: 357.44 vs 358.35; C-index, 0.72 vs 0.73, P=0.667). Conclusions: Both of AS and PS proposed in the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging manual were predictive factors in patients with PMBC. Compared with AS, the PS did not show superiority in prognosis prediction among patients with PMBC.

Melanoma pathology reporting and staging.

The pathological diagnosis of melanoma can be challenging. The provision of an appropriate biopsy and pertinent history can assist in establishing an accurate diagnosis and reliable estimate of prognosis. In their reports, pathologists should document both the criteria on which the diagnosis was based as well as important prognostic parameters. For melanoma, such prognostic parameters include tumor thickness, ulceration, mitotic rate, lymphovascular invasion, neurotropism, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Disease staging is important for risk stratifying melanoma patients into prognostic groups and patient management recommendations are often stage based. The 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Melanoma Staging System was implemented in 2018 and several important changes were made. Tumor thickness and ulceration remain the key T category criteria. T1b melanomas were redefined as either ulcerated melanomas <1.0 mm thick or nonulcerated melanomas 0.8-1.0 mm thick. Although mitotic rate was removed as a T category criterion in the 8th edition, it remains a very important prognostic factor and should continue to be documented in primary melanoma pathology reports. It was also recommended in the 8th edition that tumor thickness be recorded to the nearest 0.1 mm (rather than the nearest 0.01 mm). In the future, incorporation of additional prognostic parameters beyond those utilized in the current version of the staging system into (web based) prognostic models/clinical tools will likely facilitate more personalized prognostic estimates. Evaluation of molecular markers of prognosis is an active area of current research; however, additional data are needed before it would be appropriate to recommend use of such tests in routine clinical practice.

Nodal Metastasis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Predictive Impact of MRI-Derived Depth of Invasion According to the 8th Edition American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging System

To evaluate the relationship between the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived depth of invasion (DOI) and nodal recurrence in clinically node-negative patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The institutional review board approved this retrospective study. The study population consisted of 90 patients with clinical T1-2N0 oral SCC classified according to the 7th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system; 41 were staged as T1N0 and 49 as T2N0. They (55 males and 35 females; median age, 70 years; age range, 29 - 92 years) had undergone routine pretreatment radiological examinations including MRI and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) fused imaging. The clinical pretreatment stage had been identified at a routine preoperative conference; the radiological diagnosis of nodal involvement was based on accepted morphologic criteria and FDG uptake. The primary tumors were located in the buccal mucosa (n = 4), upper gingiva (n = 11), lower gingiva (n = 12), hard palate (n = 3), tongue (n = 52), and floor of the mouth (n = 8). All patients were treated with local resection alone as primary treatment and watchful waiting for neck management. We reviewed DOI on pretreatment MRI and reclassified T stage according to the 8th edition AJCC. During the median follow-up period of 36 months (range, 2 - 122 months), the initial sites of recurrence were classified as local, nodal, and distant. Using Student's t-test and Pearson's chi-squared test, the MRI-derived DOI and T stage according to the 7th and 8th editions were assessed as predictive factors for nodal recurrence. The MRI-derived DOI was recorded as ≤ 5 mm in 42-, 5-10 mm in 37-, and > 10 mm in 11 patients. According to the 8th edition, 22 tumors were T1, 61 were T2, and 7 were T3 stage. During the follow-up period, 11 and 16 patients, respectively, suffered local and nodal recurrence; there were no patients with distant recurrence. The mean (± standard deviation) value of the MRI-derived DOI was significantly higher in the patients with nodal recurrence (8.4 ± 2.4 mm) than the others (4.7 ± 3.4 mm) (p < 0.001). The MRI-derived DOI classified significantly different risk groups for nodal recurrence; the incidence was 2% for tumor ≤ 5mm, 27% for 5-10 mm, and 46% for > 10 mm (p = 0.001). T stage according to the 8th edition also predicted the nodal recurrence; the incidence was 0% for T1, 21% for T2, and 43% for T3 stage (p = 0.016). However, T stage according to the 7th edition was not a significant factor for the nodal recurrence; no factors predicted the local recurrence. The MRI-derived DOI can predict nodal metastasis and the information may assist in treatment planning for oral SCC.

Impact of American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition classification on staging and survival of patients with melanoma

ObjectiveThe American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th staging system introduced several revisions. To assess the impact of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC8) staging system on subgrouping and survival, patients with melanoma from two tertiary skin cancer centres were classified according to both the 7th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC7) and AJCC8. MethodsA total of 1948 patients aged ≥18 years with cutaneous melanoma stage II-IV were included. The impact of sex and age on reclassification was assessed by log binomial models. The inverse probability of censoring weighting method was used to compute ROC curves from time-to-event data to assess the discriminatory ability of AJCC7 and AJCC8. Melanoma-specific survival (MSS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated, and age- and sex-adjusted MSS hazard ratios were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. ResultsOf all, 23.5% of patients were assigned a different subgroup when classified according to AJCC8. Owing to upshifting to stage IIIC (AJCC7 24.8% vs. AJCC8 50.8%), patient numbers of stages IIIA and IIIB decreased from 28.7% to 16.2% and 46.5% to 28.3%. The prediction accuracy for AJCC7 and AJCC8 was comparable (integrated time-dependent area under the curve [AUC] of 0.75 and 0.74, respectively). Five-year MSS of IIB and IIC AJCC8 was poor and lower than that of IIIA AJCC8 (80%, 67% and 89%, respectively). Compared to results of the International Melanoma Database and Discovery Platform, 5-year MSS was 10–15% points lower for stages IIC, IIIB and IIIC. ConclusionsUpshifting affects primarily stage III subgroups, while effects in stage II are minor. Stage IIB/C (AJCC8) patients have 67–80% MSS and should be considered for adjuvant treatment, while in stage IIIA, the indication of adjuvant treatment is questionable.

Survival outcomes of eye-sparing surgery for adenoid cystic carcinoma of lacrimal gland.

To survey adenoid cystic carcinoma of lacrimal glands in Asian population and investigate the predictability in prognosis following the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging guideline. Retrospective study. The clinical entities and surgical outcomes of the patients who were histologically confirmed with a diagnosis of lacrimal adenoid cystic carcinoma in National Taiwan University Hospital between January 1995 and December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Enrolled were 11 patients. The median follow-up was 7.2 years. Eight patients (72.7%) were diagnosed as T1 or T2 disease, and three patients (27.3%) were diagnosed as T3 or T4 disease according to the AJCC 8th edition guideline. Eye-sparing surgery with radiotherapy was performed in nine patients. Local recurrence was noted in six patients (54.5%) with median disease-free interval of 23.5 months. Six patients (54.5%) developed distant metastases, including lung, bone, and cranial invasions. Overall survival rate during the study period was 54.6%. Five-year overall survival was 81.8% and ten-year overall survival was 68.2%. The Log-rank test for overall survival and disease-free survival between patients with less than T3 disease (p=0.001) and patients with T3 or T4 disease (p=0.006) revealed significant differences. This study highlighted the aggressive nature of adenoid cystic carcinoma of lacrimal glands. Eye-sparing surgery with adjunctive radiotherapy may achieve relatively optimal disease control in diseases staged T1 or T2, but in advanced disease metastasis and mortality are usually inevitable.

Bilateral advanced (group D or E) intraocular retinoblastoma: outcomes in 72 Asian Indian patients.

To study the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes of patients with bilateral advanced intraocular retinoblastoma. Retrospective case series of 72 patients. The mean age at presentation was 19 months. Leukocoria (n = 49, 68%) was the most common presenting complaint. The tumors were classified as groups D (n = 60, 42%) or E (n = 84, 58%) based on the Philadelphia version of International Classification of Retinoblastoma (ICRB); groups D (n = 84, 58%) or E (n = 60, 42%) based on Children's Hospital Los Angeles version of International Classification of Intraocular Retinoblastoma (ICIoR); T2 (n = 116, 81%) or T3 (n = 28, 19%) based on 8th edition American Joint Committee Classification (AJCC). Systemic chemotherapy (n = 138, 96%) was the most common primary treatment modality. The chance of globe salvage was higher for group D based on ICRB (83%; odds ratio (OR) 7.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.45-17.33) or ICIoR (81%; OR 12.75; 95% CI 5.74-28.34) and T2b (73%; OR 5.19; 95% CI 2.51-10.73) based on AJCC. Over a mean follow-up period of 59 months, tumor recurrence was noted in 42 (29%) eyes and globe salvage was achieved in 83 (58%) eyes. Of the 50 eyes where vision was recorded, vision of 20/200 or better was achieved in 24 (48%) eyes. There were events of leukemia (n = 1, 1%), pinealoblastoma (n = 1, 1%), systemic metastasis (n = 3, 4%), and death (n = 4, 6%) during the follow-up period. Multimodality treatment allows globe salvage (58%) and vision salvage (48%) in eyes with advanced group D and E intraocular retinoblastoma.

Proposed revision of the 8th edition AJCC clinical staging system for esophageal squamous cell cancer treated with definitive chemo-IMRT based on CT imaging

PurposeTo validate and propose revision of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical staging system for esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) patients treated with definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with concurrent chemotherapy (Chemo-IMRT) based on computed tomography (CT) imaging.MethodsThe clinical data of patients with ESCC treated with Chemo-IMRT were collected and retrospectively reviewed. All CT images were independently reevaluated and restaged according to the 8th edition AJCC staging system. The overall survival (OS) rates were analyzed statistically. ROC curves of the various parameters of the primary tumor and metastatic lymph nodes were generated in order to identify the cutoff values correlated to patient survival using the area under curve.ResultsThe gross tumor volume of the primary tumor (GTV-prT) and the clinical N stage (cN) were independent factors that influenced OS. The 5-year OS rate of patients with GTV-prT ≤28 cm3, GTV-prT > 28 and ≤ 56 cm3, and GTV-prT > 56 cm3 were 54.6, 31.1 and 18.6%, respectively. The 5-year OS rate of patients with cN0, cN1 SLNM (−), cN2 SLNM (−), cN3 SLNM (−) and SLNM (+) were 62.8 (P < 0.001), 34.0 (P = 0.16), 20.0 (P = 0.785), 0 (P < 0.001) and 26.9%, respectively. After restaging the SLNM as regional MLNs, the 5-year OS rates of the patients with cN0, 1, 2 and 3 were 62.8, 36.3, 23.7 and 7.8%, respectively. Various GTV-prT were combined with the cN to establish a new clinical TNM staging system: I, GTV-prT1 and cN0; II, GTV-prT2 or 3 and cN0, GTV-prT1 and cN1; III, GTV-prT1 and cN2, GTV-prT2 and cN1,2; Iva, GTV-prT3 and cN1,2; IVb, GTV-prTany and cN3; IVc, TanyNanyM1. Subsequently, the OS differed significantly between the adjacent GTV-prT cN categories, except those of stage I vs. II.ConclusionThe SLNM should be dealt with as a regional rather than a distant disease in patients with ESCC when treated with CRT. The proposed nonsurgical staging system based on the GTV-prT and N appears to be a simple and accurate prognosis predictor for patients with ESCC who have undergone definitive Chemo-IMRT.