Evidence Of Node Involvement Research Articles

Retropharygneal node dissection

Metastasis to the retropharyngeal lymph nodes is not common for malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract, salivary glands or thyroid. However, retropharyngeal metastasis is not a rare occurrence either and lymph node dissection may be required for therapeutic purposes. Prompt identification and management is paramount for disease control. Evidence of nodal involvement is the main indication for surgical dissection if radiotherapy is not available or effective. Significant extranodal extension with carotid or prevertebral involvement are considered contraindications to dissection. Surgical approach selection is vital as access can be limited. Both transcervical and transoral routes are available for appropriately experienced surgeons. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages in set up, safety, and postoperative complications. These factors, along with need for concurrent tumor treatment should be considered when dissecting these lymph nodes.

Pelvic lymph node involvement and risk of recurrence in HPV-associated endocervical adenocarcinoma stage IA2-IB1 according to Silva's system in two Colombian cancer centers.

To compare the pelvic lymph node involvement and risk of recurrence in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated endocervical adenocarcinoma stage IA2-IB1 undergoing hysterectomy and/or trachelectomy plus lymphadenectomy, according to Silva's classification system. A retrospective cohort study was performed in two Colombian cancer centers. The cases were classified according to the Silva classification system. Clinical, surgical, and histopathological variables were evaluated. Recurrence risk was analyzed by patterns A, B, or C. A logistic regression model was performed for tumor recurrence. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival and disease-free survival (DFS). A weighted kappa was performed to determine the degree of concordance between pathologists. A total of 100 patients were identified, 33% pattern A, 29% pattern B, and 38% pattern C. The median follow-up time was 42.5 months. No evidence of lymph node involvement was found in patients classified as A and B, while in the C pattern was observed in 15.8% (n = 6) of cases (P < 0.01). There were 7% of cases with recurrent disease, of which 71.5% corresponded to type C pattern. Patients with Silva pattern B and C had 1.22- and 4.46-fold increased risk of relapse, respectively, compared with pattern A. The 5-year DFS values by group were 100%, 96.1%, and 80.3% for patterns A, B, and C, respectively. For patients with early-stage HPV-associated endocervical adenocarcinoma, the type C pattern presented more lymph node involvement and risk of recurrence compared to the A and B patterns. The concordance in diagnosis of different Silva's patterns by independents pathologists were good.

Concordance between freehand SPECT and conventional scintigraphy for sentinel lymph node detection in breast cancer

IntroductionFreehand SPECT can be a useful imaging technique for preoperative planning of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) as it allows localization of the sentinel node by 3D and real-time tomographic imaging and determines its depth after a few minutes of scanning.The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between the number of detected SNs between freehand SPECT images and lymphoscintigraphy (LS). Materials and methods100 patients with a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer and no clinical evidence of lymph node involvement prospectively underwent SLNB. The preoperative study included freehand SPECT imaging at 15min after injection and LS imaging at 25 and 60−90min after injection (early and late). The observed agreement was analyzed and a concordance study was performed between the number of SNs detected with freehand SPECT and LS. ResultsThe observed agreement in the detection of SNs between freehand SPECT and early LS was 72%; between freehand SPECT and late LS was 85%; and between early and late LS was 87%. In the concordance study, there was moderate concordance between freehand SPECT and early LS (kappa coefficient: 0.42); moderate-high concordance between freehand SPECT and late LS (kappa coefficient: 0.60); and moderate-high concordance between early and late LS (kappa coefficient: 0.70), with no significant differences between them (p-value=0.16). ConclusionFreehand SPECT showed a moderate-high concordance with conventional imaging studies and could be a valid alternative for the presurgical study of SLNB in breast cancer.

Concordancia entre SPECT portátil y la gammagrafía convencional para detección de ganglio centinela en cáncer de mama

IntroductionFreehand SPECT can be a useful imaging technique for preoperative planning of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) as it allows localization of the sentinel node by 3D and real-time tomographic imaging and determines its depth after a few minutes of scanning.The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between the number of detected SNs between freehand SPECT images and lymphoscintigraphy (LS). Materials and methodsOne hundred patients with a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer and no clinical evidence of lymph node involvement prospectively underwent SLNB. The preoperative study included freehand SPECT imaging at 15min after injection and LS imaging at 25 and 60–90min after injection (early and late). The observed agreement was analyzed and a concordance study was performed between the number of SNs detected with freehand SPECT and LS. ResultsThe observed agreement in the detection of SNs between freehand SPECT and early LS was 72%; between freehand SPECT and late LS was 85%; and between early and late LS was 87%. In the concordance study, there was moderate concordance between freehand SPECT and early LS (kappa coefficient: 0.42); moderate-high concordance between freehand SPECT and late LS (kappa coefficient: 0.60); and moderate-high concordance between early and late LS (kappa coefficient: 0.70), with no significant differences between them (p-value=0.16). ConclusionFreehand SPECT showed a moderate-high concordance with conventional imaging studies and could be a valid alternative for the presurgical study of SLNB in breast cancer.

Опухолевое поражение нижнего сегмента матки как потенциальный фактор неблагоприятного прогноза эндометриоидного рака тела матки I стадии для эскалации лечения в виде адъювантной лучевой терапии. Обзор литературы

The aim of research is to analyze available scientific data for the study of the relationship between carcinoma of the lower uterine segment and traditional prognostic factors for the stage 1 uterine corpus cancer, and to assess its prognostic significance related to the treatment outcomes and the feasibility of adjuvant radiotherapy in cases with the disease poor prognosis. Search for the data of concern in electronic databases with the use of keywords and analysis of Russian and English translated data published between 1987 and 2024. The tumor in the lower segment occurs in 3-27.8% of endometrial cancer of the uterus body and, due to the anatomical features of the structure, blood supply, and lymphatic drainage, can be considered as a potential prognostic factor. According to limited studies data, a tumor lesion in the lower segment has not been associated with other clinical and morphological prognostic factors, and it does not affect the relapse-free survival in patients. Other researchers demonstrate the relationship between a lesion in the lower segment and the myometrium deep invasion, lymphovascular space invasion, and metastatic involvement of lymph nodes, however, they have not found any they have not impacted on treatment outcomes. However, a wide range of studies has demonstrated that the lower segment lesions are independent and poor prognostic factors. The factors significantly correlate with traditional prognostic factors and reduce both overall and recurrence-free survival. Therefore, it may be justified to consider postoperative radiotherapy for patients with a low or intermediate risk of disease progression, despite the absence of evidence of lymph node involvement. Analysis of the found research data has revealed the potential for further research into the impact of tumors in the lower segment of the uterus on patients with stage I endometrioid cancer. This could help identify new prognostic factors and determine whether adjuvant radiation therapy is appropriate for this group of patients.

Segmental and extended resections provide comparable survival for clinically node-negative splenic flexure cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis of the National Cancer Database.

There is an ongoing debate regarding the extent of resection for splenic flexure tumors (SFT). The purpose of this study was to compare segmental and extended resections in terms of overall survival (OS) and pathologic outcomes. Retrospective analysis of all patients surgically treated for SFT in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) for the period 2010-2019. Outcomes of segmental and extended resections were compared and a 1:1 propensity score matching was used to match for confounders. Primary outcome was OS. In total 3498/668,852 (0.5%) patients with clinical stageI-III splenic flexure adenocarcinoma in the NCDB were included. Of these, 1533 (43.8%) underwent segmental resection while 1965 (56.1%) underwent extended resection. After matching, mean OS was similar between the groups (92 vs 91months; p = 0.94). When survival was stratified by clinical Nstage, an 8-month survival benefit was shown in the extended resection group for clinical N-positive status (86 vs 78); however, this difference did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.078). Median number of harvested lymph nodes was significantly lower in the segmental resection group (16 vs 17; p < 0.001) and the percentage of patients with fewer than 12 harvested nodes was significantly higher (18.4% vs 11.6%; p < 0.001). Length of stay was significantly shorter in the segmental resection group (5 vs 6days; p = 0.027). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of 30-day readmission or 30- or 90-day mortality. While segmental and extended resections were associated with similar OS for clinically node-negative SFT, there might be a survival benefit for extended resection in patients with clinical evidence of lymph node involvement.

LBA50 Analysis of pathological features and efficacy outcomes with neoadjuvant nivolumab (N) plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy (C) for resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in CheckMate 816

A post hoc analysis from the phase 3 CheckMate 816 study showed that residual viable tumor (RVT) in the primary tumor (PT) was associated with event-free survival (EFS) with N + C (2y EFS rates: 90%, 60%, 57%, and 39% in patients [pts] with 0–5, > 5–30, > 30–80, and > 80% RVT). Here, we report analyses in pts with or without (w/o) pathologic evidence of lymph node involvement (LN-I). Adults with resectable NSCLC were randomized to receive N 360 mg + platinum-doublet C Q3W or C alone Q3W for 3 cycles, followed by resection. Primary endpoints were pathologic complete response (pCR) and EFS (both met). Analyses included efficacy by LN-I and assessment of prespecified histopathologic features (%RVT, regression, and necrosis) in PT and LN. Pts with LN-I could have had either 0% (pathologic evidence of completely regressed tumor) or > 0%RVT in the resected LN. A time-dependent ROC curve analysis assessed the predictive ability of %RVT in PT for 2y EFS. pCR rates were improved with N + C vs C in both pts with or w/o LN-I (table); similar EFS benefit was seen in pts with or w/o LN-I (HR: 0.69 and 0.74). In the N + C arm, pts with LN-I who had 0% RVT in both PT and LN showed the best EFS outcomes numerically, followed by those with 0% RVT in either PT or LN; those with > 0% RVT in both PT and LN showed shorter EFS (2y EFS rates: 92%, 76%, and 49%). Overall, lower %RVT and higher % regression (appears to be inversely related to RVT) was seen with N + C vs C in PT and LN; % necrosis did not differ between the treatment arms (table). In both pts with or w/o LN-I (N + C), %RVT in PT was predictive of EFS at 2y (AUC: 0.76 and 0.73). These findings further support neoadjuvant N + C vs C as a novel treatment option for pts with resectable NSCLC, regardless of LN-I. %RVT in PT in pts with or w/o LN-I was associated with EFS with N + C. Further assessment of clinically relevant %RVT cutoffs to predict long-term outcomes with immunotherapy is warranted.Table: LBA50Path-evaluableaW/o LN-IWith LN-IN + C (n = 72)C (n = 51)N + C (n = 68)C (n = 74)EfficacyMedian EFS (95% CI), moNR (30.6–NR)NR (22.4–NR)31.6 (22.2–NR)22.7 (14.8–NR)EFS HR (95% CI)0.74 (0.39–1.41)0.69 (0.42–1.13)pCR, % 0% RVT, PT 0% RVT, LN 0% RVT, PT and LN 0% RVT, PT or LN40 – – –6 – – –24 34 19 383 5 1 7Path features, median (Q1–Q3)%RVT PT LN1 (0–48) –65 (12–90) –35 (2–82) 40 (0–100)82 (50–94) 96 (61–100)% Regression PT LN80 (18–99) –20 (4–70) –40 (6–82) 20 (0–85)13 (4–44) 1 (0–15)% Necrosis PT LN4 (0–18) –2 (0–10) –1 (0–16) 0 (0–15)1 (0–6) 0 (0–2)a140 (78%) and 125 (70%) of concurrently randomized pts in N + C and C arms had path-evaluable samples from both PT and LN. NR, not reached. Open table in a new tab

Selecting the Best Candidates for Cisplatin-based Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Radical Cystectomy Among Patients with pN+ Bladder Cancer

A trend towards greater benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in pN+ bladder cancer (BCa) has been observed in multiple randomized controlled trials. However, it is still unclear which patients might benefit the most from this approach. We retrospectively analyzed a multicenter cohort of 1381 patients with pTany pN1–3 cM0 R0 urothelial BCa treated with radical cystectomy (RC) with or without cisplatin-based ACT. The main endpoint was overall survival (OS) after RC. We performed 1:1 propensity score matching to adjust for baseline characteristics and conducted a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to assess postoperative risk groups and Cox regression analyses to predict OS. Overall, 391 patients (28%) received cisplatin-based ACT. After matching, two cohorts of 281 patients with pN+ BCa were obtained. CART analysis stratified patients into three risk groups: favorable prognosis (≤pT2 and positive lymph node [PLN] count ≤2; odds ratio [OR] 0.43), intermediate prognosis (≥pT3 and PLN count ≤2; OR 0.92), and poor prognosis (pTany and PLN count ≥3; OR 1.36). Only patients with poor prognosis benefitted from ACT in terms of OS (HR 0.51; p < 0.001). We created the first algorithm that stratifies patients with pN+ BCa into prognostic classes and identified patients with pTany BCa with PLN ≥3 as the most suitable candidates for cisplatin-based ACT. Patient summaryWe found that overall survival among patients with bladder cancer and evidence of lymph node involvement depends on cancer stage and the number of positive lymph nodes. Patients with more than three nodes affected by metastases seem to experience the greatest overall survival benefit from cisplatin-based chemotherapy after bladder removal. Our study suggests that patients with the highest risk should be prioritized for cisplatin-based chemotherapy after bladder removal.

Contemporary techniques and outcomes of surgery for locally advanced renal cell carcinoma with focus on inferior vena cava thrombectomy: The value of a multidisciplinary team

ObjectiveTo report the outcomes of surgery for a contemporary series of patients with locally advanced non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treated at a referral academic centre, focusing on technical nuances and on the value of a multidisciplinary team. MethodsWe queried our prospective institutional database to identify patients undergoing surgical treatment for locally advanced (cT3-T4 N0-1 M0) renal masses suspected of RCC at our centre between January 2017 and December 2020. ResultsOverall, 32 patients were included in the analytic cohort. Of these, 12 (37.5%) tumours were staged as cT3a, 8 (25.0%) as cT3b, 5 (15.6%) as cT3c, and 7 (21.9%) as cT4; 6 (18.8%) patients had preoperative evidence of lymph node involvement. Nine (28.1%) patients underwent nephron-sparing surgery while 23 (71.9%) received radical nephrectomy. A template-based lymphadenectomy was performed in 12 cases, with evidence of disease in 3 (25.0%) at definitive histopathological analysis. Four cases of RCC with level IV inferior vena cava thrombosis were successfully treated using liver transplant techniques without the need for extracorporeal circulation. While intraoperative complications were recorded in 3 (9.4%) patients, no postoperative major complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥3) were observed. At histopathological analysis, 2 (6.2%) patients who underwent partial nephrectomy harboured oncocytoma, while the most common malignant histotype was clear cell RCC (62.5%), with a median Leibovich score of 6 (interquartile range 5–7). ConclusionLocally advanced RCC is a complex and heterogenous disease posing several challenges to surgical teams. Our experience confirms that provided careful patient selection, surgery in experienced hands can achieve favourable perioperative, oncological, and functional outcomes.

The addition of androgen deprivation therapy and pelvic lymph node treatment to prostate bed salvage radiotherapy (NRG Oncology/RTOG 0534 SPPORT): an international, multicentre, randomised phase 3 trial

In men with a detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level after prostatectomy for prostate cancer, salvage prostate bed radiotherapy (PBRT) results in about 70% of patients being free of progression at 5 years. A three-group randomised trial was designed to determine whether incremental gains in patient outcomes can be achieved by adding either 4-6 months of short-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to PBRT, or both short-term ADT and pelvic lymph node radiotherapy (PLNRT) to PBRT. The international, multicentre, randomised, controlled SPPORT trial was done at 283 radiation oncology cancer treatment centres in the USA, Canada, and Israel. Eligible patients (aged ≥18 years) were those who after prostatectomy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate had a persistently detectable or an initially undetectable and rising PSA of between 0·1 and 2·0 ng/mL. Patients with and without lymphadenectomy (N0/Nx) were eligible if there was no clinical or pathological evidence of lymph node involvement. Other eligibility criteria included pT2 or pT3 disease, prostatectomy Gleason score of 9 or less, and a Zubrod performance status of 0-1. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive PBRT alone at a dose of 64·8-70·2 Gy at 1·8 Gy per fraction daily (group 1), PBRT plus short-term ADT (group 2), or PLNRT (45 Gy at 1·8 Gy per fraction, and then a volume reduction made to the planning target volume for the remaining 19·8-25 ·2 Gy) plus PBRT plus short-term ADT (group 3). The primary endpoint was freedom from progression, in which progression was defined as biochemical failure according to the Phoenix definition (PSA ≥2 ng/mL over the nadir PSA), clinical failure (local, regional, or distant), or death from any cause. A planned interim analysis of 1191 patents with minimum potential follow-up time of 5 years applied a Haybittle-Peto boundary of p<0·001 (one sided) for comparison of 5-year freedom from progression rates between the treatment groups. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00567580. The primary objectives of the trial have been completed, although long-term follow-up is continuing. Between March 31, 2008, and March 30, 2015, 1792 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to the three treatment groups (592 to group 1 [PBRT alone], 602 to group 2 [PBRT plus short-term ADT], and 598 to group 3 [PLNRT plus PBRT plus short-term ADT]). 76 patients subsequently found to be ineligible were excluded from the analyses; thus, the evaluable patient population comprised 1716 patients. At the interim analysis (n=1191 patients; data cutoff May 23, 2018), the Haybittle-Peto boundary for 5-year freedom from progression was exceeded when group 1 was compared with group 3 (difference 17·9%, SE 2·9%; p<0·0001). The difference between groups 2 and 3 did not exceed the boundary (p=0·0063). With additional follow-up beyond the interim analysis (the final planned analysis; data cutoff May 26, 2021), at a median follow-up among survivors of 8·2 years (IQR 6·6-9·4), the 5-year freedom from progression rates in all 1716 eligible patients were 70·9% (95% CI 67·0-74·9) in group 1, 81·3% (78·0-84·6) in group 2, and 87·4% (84·7-90·2) in group 3. Per protocol criteria, freedom from progression in group 3 was superior to groups 1 and 2. Acute (≤3 months after radiotherapy) grade 2 or worse adverse events were significantly more common in group 3 (246 [44%] of 563 patients) than in group 2 (201 [36%] of 563; p=0·0034), which, in turn, were more common than in group 1 (98 [18%] of 547; p<0·0001). Similar findings were observed for grade 3 or worse adverse events. However, late toxicity (>3 months after radiotherapy) did not differ significantly between the groups, apart from more late grade 2 or worse blood or bone marrow events in group 3 versus group 2 (one-sided p=0·0060) attributable to the addition of PLNRT in this group. The results of this randomised trial establish the benefit of adding short-term ADT to PBRT to prevent progression in prostate cancer. To our knowledge, these are the first such findings to show that extending salvage radiotherapy to treat the pelvic lymph nodes when combined with short-term ADT results in meaningful reductions in progression after prostatectomy in patients with prostate cancer. National Cancer Institute.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Efficacy in Breast Cancer: A 4-year Experience Report

Sentinel lymph node biopsy has been one of the most important advances in oncologic surgery, especially in breast cancer, since it decreases the high morbidity associated with radical axillary dissection, and allows treatment personalization. The staging of axillary nodes in breast cancer is fundamental as it is a prognostic indicator and determines the need for adjuvant therapy. Sentinel lymph node is detected by injecting a radioisotope and dye through the periareolar area that consequently travels through mammary glands to axillary lymph nodes. We conducted a retrospective study that included 57 women with a histopathological diagnosis of breast cancer, and underwent sentinel node biopsy. Transoperative pathology analysis reported metastases in 24% of the patients, requiring radical axillary dissection. Sensitivity was 97%, and specificity was 85%, reflecting high efficacy of the sentinel lymph node biopsy, and thus benefitting patients by decreasing morbidity. Sentinel node biopsy is the standard procedure for correct staging of patients with early breast cancer, and no clinical evidence of lymph node involvement. Further, it decreases morbidity in these patients by preventing radical axillary dissection, a previously standard approach, without compromising the diagnosis and hence, the prognosis of the patients. We demonstrated that with the correct technique for sentinel lymph node biopsy, the prognosis for patients is much better than for those patients that undergo radical axillary dissection.

Machine learning-based MRI texture analysis to predict occult lymph node metastasis in early-stage oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

To develop and compare several machine learning models to predict occult cervical lymph node (LN) metastasis in early-stage oral tongue squamous cell cancer (OTSCC) from preoperative MRI texture features. We retrospectively enrolled 116 patients with early-stage OTSCC (cT1-2N0) who had been surgically treated by tumor excision and elective neck dissection (END). For each patient, we extracted 86 texture features from T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (ceT1WI), respectively. Dimension reduction was performed in three consecutive steps: reproducibility analysis, collinearity analysis, and information gain algorithm. Models were created using six machine learning methods, including logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), naïve Bayes (NB), support vector machine (SVM), AdaBoost, and neural network (NN). Their performance was assessed using tenfold cross-validation. Occult LN metastasis was pathologically detected in 42.2% (49/116) of the patients. No significant association was identified between node status and patients' gender, age, or clinical T stage. Dimension reduction steps selected 6 texture features. The NB model gave the best overall performance, which correctly classified the nodal status in 74.1% (86/116) of the carcinomas, with an AUC of 0.802. Machine learning-based MRI texture analysis offers a feasible tool for preoperative prediction of occult cervical node metastasis in early-stage OTSCC. • A machine learning-based MRI texture analysis approach was adopted to predict occult cervical node metastasis in early-stage OTSCC with no evidence of node involvement on conventional images. • Six texture features from T2WI and ceT1WI of preoperative MRI were selected to construct the predictive model. • After comparing six machine learning methods, naïve Bayes (NB) achieved the best performance by correctly identifying the node status in 74.1% of the patients, using tenfold cross-validation.

Ultra-hypofractionated versus conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for prostate cancer (HYPO-RT-PC): patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes of a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial

The HYPO-RT-PC trial compared conventionally fractionated radiotherapy with ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy in patients with localised prostate cancer. Ultra-hypofractionation was non-inferior to conventional fractionation regarding 5-year failure-free survival and toxicity. We aimed to assess whether patient-reported quality of life (QOL) differs between conventional fractionation and ultra-hypofractionation up to 6 years after treatment in the HYPO-RT-PC trial. HYPO-RT-PC is a multicentre, open-label, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial done in 12 centres (seven university hospitals and five county hospitals) in Sweden and Denmark. Inclusion criteria were histologically verified intermediate-to-high-risk prostate cancer (defined as T1c-T3a with one or two of the following risk factors: stage T3a; Gleason score ≥7; and prostate-specific antigen 10-20 ng/mL with no evidence of lymph node involvement or distant metastases), age up to 75 years, and WHO performance status 0-2. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to conventional fractionation (78·0 Gy in 39 fractions, 5 days per week for 8 weeks) or ultra-hypofractionation (42·7 Gy in seven fractions, 3 days per week for 2·5 weeks) via a minimisation algorithm with stratification by trial centre, T-stage, Gleason score, and prostate-specific antigen. QOL was measured using the validated Prostate Cancer Symptom Scale (PCSS) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) at baseline, the end of radiotherapy, months 3, 6, 12, and 24 after radiotherapy, every other year thereafter up to 10 years, and at 15 years. The primary endpoint (failure-free survival) has been reported elsewhere. Here we report QOL, a secondary endpoint analysed in the per-protocol population, up to 6 years after radiotherapy. The HYPO-RT-PC trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN45905321. Between July 1, 2005, and Nov 4, 2015, 1200 patients were enrolled and 1180 were randomly assigned (conventional fractionation n=591, ultra-hypofractionation n=589); 1165 patients (conventional fractionation n=582, ultra-hypofractionation n=583) were included in this QOL analysis. 158 (71%) of 223 patients in the conventional fractionation group and 146 (66%) of 220 in the ultra-hypofractionation group completed questionnaires at 6 years. The median follow-up was 48 months (IQR 25-72). In seven of ten bowel symptoms or problems the proportion of patients with clinically relevant deteriorations at the end of radiotherapy was significantly higher in the ultra-hypofractionation group than in the conventional fractionation group (stool frequency [p<0·0001], rush to toilet [p=0·0013], flatulence [p=0·0013], bowel cramp [p<0·0001], mucus [p=0·0014], blood in stool [p<0·0001], and limitation in daily activity [p=0·0014]). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of patients with clinically relevant acute urinary symptoms or problems (total 14 items) and sexual functioning between the two treatment groups at end of radiotherapy. Thereafter, there were no clinically relevant differences in urinary, bowel, or sexual functioning between the groups. At the 6-year follow-up there was no difference in the incidence of clinically relevant deterioration between the groups for overall urinary bother (43 [33%] of 132 for conventional fractionation vs 33 [28%] of 120 for ultra-hypofractionation; mean difference 5·1% [95% CI -4·4 to 14·6]; p=0·38), overall bowel bother (43 [33%] of 129 vs 34 [28%] of 123; 5·7% [-3·8 to 15·2]; p=0·33), overall sexual bother (75 [60%] of 126 vs 59 [50%] of 117; 9·1% [-1·4 to 19·6]; p=0·15), or global health/QOL (56 [42%] of 134 vs 46 [37%] of 125; 5·0% [-5·0 to 15·0]; p=0·41). Although acute toxicity was higher for ultra-hypofractionation than conventional fractionation, this long-term patient-reported QOL analysis shows that ultra-hypofractionation was as well tolerated as conventional fractionation up to 6 years after completion of treatment. These findings support the use of ultra-hypofractionation radiotherapy for intermediate-to-high-risk prostate cancer. The Nordic Cancer Union, the Swedish Cancer Society, and the Swedish Research Council.

Traumatic ulcerative granuloma with stromal eosinophilia: Uncommon or misdiagnosed?

Oral ulcers with different presentations and etiologies are common findings in a dental clinical practice. Traumatic ulcerative granuloma with stromal eosinophilia (TUGSE) is a rare, solitary, self-limiting lesion that may persist from weeks to months. Its indurated margins combined with its rapid development and delayed healing are often confused with oral malignancy and are frequently neglected or more concerningly misdiagnosed by clinicians due to limited knowledge and awareness. The cause, although still rather debated, is believed to be trauma. We present a case of TUGSE in a 65-year-old Chinese male who presented with a history of a painful, nonhealing ulcer of 2 months in duration on the labial mucosa. The ulcer clinically mimicked oral squamous cell carcinoma clinically. There was no evidence of lymph node involvement. With the patient's history and excisional biopsy results, the lesion was diagnosed as TUGSE.

Improved Overall Survival in Patients Receiving Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation for Node-Negative Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

Roughly one in three patients present with limited stage at the time of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) diagnosis, although SCLC has a high propensity to metastasize to distant sites. Combined modality thoracic radiotherapy and/or surgery and chemotherapy have become the standard of care, and incorporation of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) has been shown to improve overall survival (OS) in several studies and meta-analyses. Data are limited on the potential benefit of PCI in patients without evidence of lymph node involvement (N0). We retrospectively investigated the importance of prognostic factors, including receipt of PCI, in patients with limited stage T1-4N0 SCLC who were registered in the National Cancer Database (NCDB). From the NCDB, we identified a total of 3600 patients with limited stage SCLC without lymph node involvement, who were diagnosed from 2010-2015. Kaplan-Meier analyses, log-rank tests, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the impact of prognostic factors, including receipt of PCI, on OS. Median age at SCLC diagnosis was 70 years and median OS was 20 months. The majority of the patients were white (n = 3,217, 89.4%) and female (n = 2,027, 56.3%). Patients were primarily treated at a Comprehensive Community Cancer Program (n = 1,686, 46.9%) or Academic Center (n = 1,017, 28.3%) and had insurance through the government (n = 2,787, 77.4%). A minority of patients (n = 293, 8.1%) underwent PCI as part of their initial therapy. Most patients had T1 disease (n = 1,771, 49.2%). With multivariate analysis accounting for age at diagnosis, race, sex, facility type, insurance status, performance status, T stage, and receipt of surgery or systemic therapy, patients who underwent PCI had improved OS (HR = 0.62, p<0.001) with median survival of 44 months compared to 18 months for those who did not. Black race (HR = 0.83, p<0.05), male sex (HR = 0.84, p<0.001), T1 disease (HR = 0.79, p<0.001), receipt of surgery (HR = 0.38, p<0.001), receipt of systemic therapy (H = 0.75, p<0.001), treatment at an Academic Center (HR = 0.89, p<0.05) and private insurance (HR = 0.83, P<0.01) were also associated with improved OS. For patients with limited stage SCLC treated in the era of MR imaging and who were coded as having N0 disease at the time of initial staging, PCI is associated with improved OS in our hypothesis-generating study. Limitations in these analyses include inability to account for selection biases and under-reporting receipt of PCI. These results are consistent with previous work that supports the use of PCI in patients with limited stage SCLC and may help to inform future discussions regarding prevention of metastases to the brain.

Laparoscopic sentinel node mapping with intracervical indocyanine green injection for endometrial cancer: the SENTIFAIL study – a multicentric analysis of predictors of failed mapping

ObjectivesLaparoscopy is commonly used for endometrial cancer treatment, and sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has become the standard procedure for nodal assessment. Despite the standardization of the technique, there is...

Computed Tomography Features and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Gastric Sarcomatoid Carcinoma.

PurposeGastric sarcomatoid carcinoma (GSC) is a very rare malignant tumor. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical, computed tomography (CT), and pathologic features of GSC to increase awareness of this entity.MethodsThe CT features and clinical data of five patients with pathologically documented GSC were retrospectively analyzed and compared with the corresponding data of gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma.ResultsAmong the 5 patients, 4 were male, and 1 was female. The median age was 59 years. Of the 5 cases of GSC, 3 were in the gastric fundus and cardia, 1 was in the gastric body, and 1 was in the gastric fundus. The gastric wall had local thickening in 4 cases and mass formation in 1 case, with stenosis and deformation of the adjacent gastric cavity. The long-axis diameter of the lesions ranged from 1.4 to 10.2 cm (mean, 4.97 cm) and was <10 cm in 4 cases and >10 cm in 1 case. The tumor showed predominantly inhomogeneous density, with radiodensity values ranging from 30 to 53 HU. In addition, ulcers with an irregular base and slightly raised borders were observed in 4 of 5 cases. After an injection of contrast material, heterogeneous (n = 4) or homogeneous (n = 1) enhancement was observed. After contrast medium injection, obvious enhancement was seen in 2 cases, and moderate enhancement was seen in 3 cases; the peak tumor signal was observed in the portal phase. Two of the patients demonstrated evidence of lymph node involvement, and in one patient, the boundary between the lesion and the left lobe of the liver was unclear, with low attenuation in the right lobe of the liver with circular enhancement. The remaining two patients showed no evidence of metastasis.ConclusionAlthough GSC is extremely rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma. CT findings, combined with patient age and sex, can provide support for the diagnosis of GSC. However, the final diagnosis must be confirmed with histopathology.

A Malignant phyllodes Tumor of the Breast; Presentation of an Uncommon Case and Review of the Literature

Background: Phyllodes tumours are rare fibroepithelial neoplasm of connective tissue of the breast accounting for 0.3-1% of all breast tumours with 10% of them being malignant. They resemble fibroadenomas clinically and can be mistakenly ignored.&#x0D; Case presentation: A 38-year-old unmarried Philipino lady presented to the primary health center with a mass in the right breast for the past year. Over the preceding 6 months, it had progressively increased in size and pain. On examination, a 5 x 3 cm firm and lobulated mass was palpated in the right upper outer quadrant. Ultrasound scan showed a solid 4.25 x 3.3 x 2.4 cm mass with heterogeneous mixed echopattern. She was referred to Surgery department where an ultrasound-guided core biopsy showed a lesion suspicious for benign phyllodes tumor. An excision biopsy revealed three foci of malignant Phyllodes on the background of fibroadenoma. A staging CT was performed which showed no evidence of lymph node involvement or distant metastasis. A simple mastectomy was performed and histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of malignant phyllodes tumor. Postoperatively, the patient is on regular follow up in the breast clinic and physiotherapy department.&#x0D; Conclusion: Phyllodes tumor bears specific clinical characteristics and should be considered as a differential diagnosis in any mass lesion of the breast.. Diagnosis and management are crucial in phyllodes tumor because of their malignant potential recurrence. Clinicians should be competent in distinguishing between fibroadenoma and a phyllodes tumor. Lastly, given the rarity of phyllodes tumors, there is a need to establish guidelines to incorporate regular follow up for early detection of distant metastasis.

SAT-352 Severe Primary Hyperparathyroidism, Hypercalcemic Crisis, Acute Pancreatitis and Fatality: Complications of Atypical Parathyroid Adenoma, a Case Report

BACKGROUND: Atypical parathyroid adenomas (APAs) are a controversial and rare entity. These tumors show some features of carcinomas including adherence to adjacent structures, banding fibrosis, mitotic activity, and tumor cells trapped within capsule; however, they lack definitive capsular, vascular, or perineural invasion. Patients are often asymptomatic, or have vague symptoms such as fatigue. Studies and literature have reported that the elevation in parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium levels in APAs are intermediate between those of adenomas and carcinomas, and that the clinical course is generally benign. Clinical Case: A 41-year old woman with diabetes mellitus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and obesity was noted to have mild asymptomatic hypercalcemia during routine tests performed at an outside hospital several months prior to presentation. A few weeks prior to presentation, she started complaining of anorexia, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. At the time of presentation, she was critically-ill with a picture of severe acute pancreatitis. Laboratory tests showed hypercalcemia (13.9 mg/dL, normal 8.5-10.6 mg/dL) and elevated lipase (1134 U/L, normal 13-60 U/L); however, a magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed no biliary obstruction. Further testing revealed markedly elevated PTH (>5000 pg/ml, normal 15-65 pg/ml), and subsequent neck ultrasound showed a solitary mass on the left side of the neck. Despite maximum medical treatment, the patient continued to rapidly decompensate and passed away rapidly. Autopsy examination revealed a picture of severe acute pancreatitis including a markedly enlarged necrotic pancreas (360 grams, normal: 60-100 grams), extensive omental fat necrosis, ascites, and dusky discoloration of the abdominal organs. A well-circumscribed mass (6.6 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm) was found on the superior aspect of the left thyroid lobe. The tumor showed parathyroid cell proliferation admixed with banding fibrosis, no unequivocal invasion into the surrounding capsule, blood vessels or perineural spaces, and no evidence of lymph node involvement or distant metastasis, consistent with a diagnosis of APA. Her cause of death was the left neck APA and its associated sequelae of significant hypercalcemia and acute pancreatitis. Conclusion: This patient had asymptomatic hypercalcemia for months prior to presentation with PTH/hypercalcemic crisis, highlighting the importance of ruling out primary hyperparathyroidism in the assessment of patients with asymptomatic hypercalcemia. While it’s generally appreciated that parathyroid carcinomas usually cause more profound hypercalcemia and are more likely to cause fatality from metabolic complications, and that APAs follow a generally more benign course, this case shows that APAs can grow into significantly large lesions and could follow a severe and abrupt clinical course if not surgically removed.

Oncological outcomes following radical cystectomy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder with positive lymph nodes.

584 Background: To determine oncological outcomes among patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder with positive lymph nodes (LN). Methods: On a retrospective review of 4093 patients from our institutional IRB approved cystectomy database from Jan 1971 to Dec 2017, we identified 3284 patients who underwent RC for UC of the bladder. We included patients with positive LNs at the final pathology. The data was stratified into three groups based on number of positive LNs: 1, 2-9, and more than 10 positive LNs. Multivariable analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). A subgroup analysis was performed to assess the oncological outcomes in cases that did not receive any chemotherapy (adjuvant or neoadjuvant). Results: 712 patients (22%) had positive LN after RC. Median age was 68 years and 76% of patients were male. 105 (15%) patients had clinical evidence of LN involvement on pre-operative imaging. Patient characteristics are provided in Table. Five-year (5-y) RFS for 1, 2-9 and 10+ positive LNs was 39%, 36% and 16%, respectively (p&lt;0.001). 5-y OS were 45%, 33% and 14%, respectively (p&lt;0.001). On multivariable analysis, more than 10 positive LNs pathologic tumor stage &gt;pT2, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy were associated with increased risk of recurrence and worse overall survival after radical cystectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with decreased risk of recurrence and better overall survival after radical cystectomy. On subgroup analysis of patients with positive LNs without peri-operative chemotherapy, 5-y RFS for 1, 2-9 and 10+ positive LNs was 25%, 32% and 5%, respectively (p&lt;0.001). 5-y OS was 31%, 20% and 4%, respectively (p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: Only 15% of patients with positive LNs have clinical evidence of LN involvement prior to cystectomy. Oncological outcomes after radical cystectomy are associated with the number of involved LNs. Surgery alone can be curative in 20-30% of patients with less than 10+ LN.