Irresectable Tumors Research Articles

Adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy in ductal pancreatic carcinoma.

Ductal pancreatic carcinoma ranks third among malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract and its incidence is rising. Today, patients with this disease still have fatal prognosis necessitating efforts towards more effective treatment. This report provides a review of adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiotherapy in pancreatic carcinoma without distant metastasis. Particular respect is given to prospective, randomized trials. They are analyzed according to clinical staging: 1. In resectable tumors adjuvant, neoadjuvant or intraoperative radiotherapy is performed. 2. Radiotherapy in neoadjuvant intention is an approach for downstaging to achieve resectability in initially irresectable tumors. The widespread use of new techniques such as supervoltage irradiation, computer based 3-D-planning, interventional therapy and combination of different therapeutic modalities induced a great number of studies. When concomitant chemotherapy was added to radiotherapy, results became significantly better compared to exclusive radiotherapy. It is shown that patients with operable tumors will have better survival rates and lower risk of relapse, if radiochemotherapy is added to surgery. Patients with irresectable tumors possible can be downstaged and be brought to resection nevertheless. Simultaneous radiochemotherapy with 5-FU and mitomycin C can be performed without elevated risk of acute side effects of higher degree. This approach may be indicated in the case of adjuvant situations in patients free of distant metastases. Neoadjuvant simultaneous radiochemotherapy should only be performed as a part of a clinical trial.

Results of surgical therapy of primary adenocarcinoma of the duodenum

Between January 1983 and August 1998, a total of 18 patients (14 men, 4 women; median age 58 years, range 36-75 years) with primary adenocarcinoma of the duodenum underwent surgical therapy. Main clinical symptoms were upper abdominal pain (61%), weight loss (44%) and anaemia (38%). The tumors were resectable in 10 patients (56%), and eight Whipple operations and two segmental duodenectomies were performed. Tumor classification according to the TNM system was pT2 (n = 2), pT3 (n = 6) and pT4 (n = 2). In eight patients, local lymph nodes were tumor positive (pN1), and in two patients synchronous liver metastases were excised. The UICC stage of the resected tumors was: stage I (n = 1), stage II (n = 1), stage III (n = 6) and stage IV (n = 2). In irresectable cases (n = 8), the patients underwent palliative (n = 6) or explorative (n = 2) operations. With no operative mortality, overall morbidity was 22% (4/18). Patients' survival was 90%, 66.7% and 53.3%, respectively, at 1, 3 and 5 years after resection. None of the patients with irresectable tumors survived longer than 25 months. Survival was significantly better for the resection group (P = 0.0027). Due to the often unspecific symptoms, the diagnosis of duodenal adenocarcinoma is frequently established at advanced tumor stages, resulting in a low resectability rate. Radical surgical resection of the tumors, however, is able to provide a more favorable prognosis for duodenal carcinoma than for other periampullary tumors.

Fibrosarcoma in infants and children: a retrospective analysis - overdiagnosis in earlier years.

During a 30-year period, 22 patients considered to have a fibrosarcoma (FS) were treated. In a retrospective study the clinicopathologic findings were summarized. With histologic and immunohistochemical re-evaluation, the diagnosis was confirmed in 8 cases. For 6 further patients FS was very probable but specimens were not available. In 8 cases the diagnosis was revised and benign lesions were found in 7. Two patients with irresectable tumors died (infantile FS, FS of mesentery and retroperitoneum). After repeated local recurrences and spread on the affected extremity, an amputation was life-saving in 1 boy. In earlier years many tumors were classified as FSs. Today, immunohistochemistry and molecular-biological methods are valuable tools to clearly identify these tumors. Wide local excision or en-bloc resection without sacrificing any significant function of the part should be the primary form of treatment in infants. Primary re-excision after incomplete excision should have priority over any adjuvant treatment. Preoperative chemotherapy may avoid incomplete resection or mutilation in cases with extended congenital FS.

Peripheral hepatojejunostomy as palliative treatment for irresectable malignant tumors of the liver hilum.

To evaluate the concept of surgical decompression of the biliary tree by peripheral hepatojejunostomy for palliative treatment of jaundice in patients with irresectable malignant tumors of the liver hilum. Jaundice, pruritus, and recurrent cholangitis are major clinical complications in patients with obstructive cholestasis resulting from malignant tumors of the liver hilum. Methods for palliative treatment include endoscopic stenting, percutaneous transhepatic drainage, and surgical decompression. The palliative treatment of choice should be safe, effective, and comfortable for the patient. In a retrospective study, surgical technique, perioperative complications, and efficacy of treatment were analyzed for 56 patients who had received a peripheral hepatojejunostomy between 1982 and 1997. Laparotomy in all of these patients had been performed as an attempt for curative resection. Hepatojejunostomy was exclusively palliative in 50 patients and was used for bridging to resection or transplantation in 7. Anastomosis was bilateral in 36 patients and unilateral in 20. The 1-month mortality in the study group was 9%; median survival was 6 months. In patients surviving >1 month, a marked and persistent decrease in cholestasis was achieved in 87%, although complete return to normal was rare. Among the patients with a marked decrease in cholestasis, 72% had no or only mild clinical symptoms such as fever or jaundice. Peripheral hepatojejunostomy is a feasible and reasonably effective palliative treatment for patients with irresectable tumors of the liver hilum. In patients undergoing exploratory laparotomy for attempted curative resection, this procedure frequently leads to persistent-although rarely complete-decompression of the biliary tree. In a few cases it may also be used for bridging to transplantation or liver resection after relief of cholestasis.

Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy for esophageal cancer

Current surgical research addresses the optimal approach to potentially curative resection. Several retrospective studies indicate that the transhiatal procedure is technically safe. It is still unclear, however, whether long-term survival can be improved by using more extensive, transthoracic procedures, including two-regional or three-regional lymph node dissection. Minimally invasive techniques have been described with impressive preliminary results both for preoperative staging and for operative resection of esophageal cancer. For locally irresectable tumors, effective palliation can be achieved with combined intraluminal and external radiotherapy. A slight improvement in local control is achieved by addition of intraluminal radiotherapy to conventional external radiotherapy, but long-term survival is poor. If life expectancy is short, single intraluminal radiotherapy can offer effective relief of dysphagia. As of yet, no data are available comparing this approach with pertubation. Finally, the efficacy of multimodality treatment to improve long-term surgical results has been extensively investigated. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, pathologically complete remission rates vary widely in several retrospective studies. Sterile surgical specimens seem to be associated with better survival results, although patients with microscopical residual disease may have long-term survival. In conclusion, the data on combined approaches are promising, but more randomized studies are needed to establish their exact role in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma.

Indications for Surgical Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

The best chance for cure of pancreatic cancer is surgical resection. This is also possible in case of adjacent organ involvement of, for example, duodenum, portal vein, or colon. Pancreatic tumours may develop to a large size without developing metastases. Irresectable tumours without distant metastases can successfully be treated with radiotherapy and 5-fluorouracil and, in some cases, be resected during a second-look operation. Thus there is no contraindication for laparotomy in case of large size. Preoperatively estimated size of the tumour is not of prognostic value for resection. Altogether, laparotomy is contraindicated only in case of distant metastases and high operative risk.

Can liver transplantation be applied for the treatment of liver cancer?

Unfavourable results and shortage of donor organs have led to restricted indication of liver transplantation for irresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. This review analyses the current state of experience in order to work out criteria for a more differentiated multimodal treatment including liver transplantation. New techniques of extended liver resection under hypothermic perfusion have to be considered in some conventionally irresectable tumors. Split-liver transplantation is a donor organ saving option which preserves the chance of transplantation in individual tumor patients without disadvantage for patients with benign diseases.

A technique for isolated liver perfusion in the rat with survival and results of cytotoxic drug perfusion on liver tumor growth

The toxic side effects of many chemotherapeutic agents prevent their use in high concentrations. Isolated perfusion techniques have been used most commonly for malignancies involving the extremities, but recently also for irresectable liver tumors. This paper describes a technique for in vivo isolated liver perfusion for 30 min with oxygenated blood through the portal vein and hepatic artery simultaneously. There was a 14% mortality rate. There was some initial hepatocellular death, which resolved quickly and did not seriously affect liver function. There was only a small leak from the perfusion system to the systemic circulation. We tested the system on an experimental liver tumor from a colonic adenocarcinoma. Perfusion with added 5-FU in a toxic dose of 70 mg/kg to the medium significantly retarded tumor growth evaluated 10 days after perfusion compared to rats perfused without 5-FU. This model closely resembles the technique applied clinically and will enable further work on effects of perfusion in an experimental rat liver tumor model.