A 21‐year analysis of stage I gallbladder carcinoma: is cholecystectomy alone adequate?

AbstractObjectivesGallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is a rare disease that is often diagnosed incidentally in its early stages. Simple cholecystectomy is considered the standard treatment for stage I GBC. This study was conducted in a large cohort of patients with stage I GBC to test the hypothesis that the extent of surgery affects survival.MethodsThe National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was queried to identify patients in whom microscopically confirmed, localized (stage I) GBC was diagnosed between 1988 and 2008. Surgical treatment was categorized as cholecystectomy alone, cholecystectomy with lymph node dissection (C + LN) or radical cholecystectomy (RC). Age, gender, race, ethnicity, T1 sub‐stage [T1a, T1b, T1NOS (T1 not otherwise specified)], radiation treatment, extent of surgery, cause of death and survival were assessed by log‐rank and Cox's regression analyses.ResultsOf 2788 patients with localized GBC, 1115 (40.0%) had pathologically confirmed T1a, T1b or T1NOS cancer. At a median follow‐up of 22 months, 288 (25.8%) had died of GBC. Five‐year survival rates associated with cholecystectomy, C + LN and RC were 50%, 70% and 79%, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that surgical treatment and younger age were predictive of improved disease‐specific survival (P < 0.001), whereas radiation therapy portended worse survival (P = 0.013).ConclusionsIn the largest series of patients with stage I GBC to be reported, survival was significantly impacted by the extent of surgery (LN dissection and RC). Cholecystectomy alone is inadequate in stage I GBC and its use as standard treatment should be reconsidered

A Pilot Study Assessing the Potential Role of non-CD133 Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells as Biomarkers

Introduction: Over 50% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) will progress and/or develop metastases. Biomarkers capable of predicting progression, risk stratification and therapeutic benefit are needed. Cancer stem cells are thought to be responsible for tumor initiation, dissemination and treatment failure. Therefore, we hypothesized that CRC cancer stem cell markers (CRCSC) will identify a group of patients at high risk for progression

Role of repeated hepatectomy in the multimodal treatment of hepatic colorectal metastases

Hypothesis: Multimodal treatment consisting of repeated hepatectomy and adjuvant systemic chemotherapy for liver-confined recurrence of colorectal cancer can yield long-term survival comparable with that associated with primary hepatectomy. Design Retrospective analysis. Setting A prospective database at a tertiary referral cancer center. Patients Review of 274 consecutive liver resections identified 64 patients who underwent resection of hepatic colorectal metastases without ablation followed by adjuvant irinotecan hydrochloride\u96 or oxaliplatin-based systemic chemotherapy. Main Outcome Measures Median and 5-year overall and disease-free survival after primary and repeated hepatectomy. Results: At median follow-up of 40 months, median and 5-year overall survival after hepatectomy were 60 months and 53%, respectively; median and 5-year disease-free survival were 33 months and 25%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that less than 1 year between colectomy and liver resection (P =3D .001), more than 3 metastases (P =3D .001), no repeated hepatectomy (P =3D .01), and lymph node\u96positive primary colon cancer (P =3D .02) were independently predictive of worse survival. Of 28 patients (44%) with liver-confined recurrence, 19 (30%) underwent repeated hepatectomy; at median follow-up of 38 months, median and 5-year overall survival after repeated hepatectomy were 48 months and 44%, respectively. No risk factors were identified in multivariate analysis. In patients with recurrence, median and 5-year overall survival measured from primary hepatectomy were 70 months and 73%, respectively, with repeated hepatectomy vs 43 months and 43%, respectively, without repeated hepatectomy (P =3D .03). Conclusion: Multimodal treatment of recurrent colorectal cancer confined to the liver should begin with consideration of repeated hepatectomy