Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Software control architecture for a gearshift haptic simulator

The work done for this thesis had the purpose of realizing an haptic simulator for a car gearshift whose aim was to replicate the real force profile behavior of several commercial cars mounting different gearbox models. The force profiles were obtained recording the forces of real gearshift engagement on those cars. The process has involved different phases, the choice of electronic components for the mechanical interface and the design of the software control architecture. A first analysis of the recorded forces was performed to draw the specification for the hardware components. A second analysis of the data led to the drafting of a model for the simulation and the creation of algorithms to process the force profiles. After that the high level control software for the force profile simulation was developed using the hardware at our disposal, despite the fact that it cannot fit all the specifications this choice has speeded up the development process. The high level application's work has involved the study of some physical phenomena that can ruin the operator's feeling, some control strategy were performed to overcome those issues and the results were compared against the recorded profiles to ensure the match between force recorded and force rendered by the interface.\\ Once obtained the new hardware the development of a low level software control interface was started, highlighting some limitations that have been overcome creating some filter algorithms. The low level software interface will be used in future works with the high level software application created for the simulation

A Fluid-Structure Interaction Solver coupled to a Volume of Fluid method

The study of Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) is becoming of great interest in many engineering applications. In this work we propose a new model to study the deformation of solid structures induced by a two-phase flow. We use a monolithic approach for the FSI problem while a Volume Of Fluid method (VOF) is considered for the reconstruction and advection of the interface. A PLIC method based on the ELVIRA algorithm for the reconstruction and a split algorithm for the interface advection is used. For an accurate reconstruction of the interface a huge number of computational elements are required and a multilevel algorithm coupled to an efficient compression-expansion technique is developed to reduce computational costs and memory requirements. An unstructured computational grid and a fine Cartesian mesh are used for the FSI and the VOF problem, respectively. The interaction between the two different grids is obtained by projecting the velocity field into the Cartesian grid and the Color function into the unstructured grid. This is performed with the MEDMEM libraries included in the Salome platform. The FSI problem is solved with a parallel multigrid C++ Finite Element code. Several test cases are presented

Computed tomography-guided cryoablation of local recurrence after primary resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

The optimal management of local recurrences after primary resection of pancreatic cancer still remains to be clarified. A 58-yearold woman developed an isolated recurrence of pancreatic cancer six year after distal pancreatectomy. Re-resection was attempted but the lesion was deemed unresectable at surgery. Then chemotherapy was administrated without obtaining a reduction of the tumor size nor an improvement of the patient’s symptoms. Thus the patient underwent percutaneous cryoablation under computed tomography (CT)-guidance obtaining tumor necrosis and a significant improvement in the quality of life. A CT scan one month later showed a stable lesion with no contrast enhancement. While the use of percutaneous cryoblation has widened its applications in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer, it has never been described for the treatment of local pancreatic cancer recurrence after primary resection. Percutaneous cryoablation deserves further studies in the multimodality treatment of local recurrence after primary pancreatic surgery

The Role of a Navigational Radiofrequency Ablation Device and Concurrent Vertebral Augmentation for Treatment of Difficult-to-Reach Spinal Metastases

Aims: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a navigational radiofrequency ablation device with concurrent vertebral augmentation in the treatment of posterior vertebral body metastatic lesions, which are technically difficult to access. Primary outcomes of the study were evaluation of pain palliation and radiologic assessment of local tumor control. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients with 41 vertebral spinal metastases involving the posterior vertebral body underwent computed tomography-guided percutaneous targeted radiofrequency ablation, with a navigational radiofrequency ablation device, associated with vertebral augmentation. Twenty-one patients (60%) had 1 or 2 metastatic lesions (Group A) and fourteen (40%) patients had multiple (>2) vertebral lesions (Group B). Changes in pain severity were evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS). Metastatic lesions were evaluated in terms of radiological local control. Results: The procedure was technically successful in all the treated vertebrae. Among the symptomatic patients, the mean VAS score dropped from 5.7 (95% CI 4.9–6.5) before tRFA and to 0.9 (95% CI 0.4–1.3) after tRFA (p < 0.001). The mean decrease in VAS score between baseline and one week follow up was 4.8 (95% CI 4.2–5.4). VAS decrease over time between one week and one year following radiofrequency ablation was similar, suggesting that pain relief was immediate and durable. Neither patients with 1–2 vertebral metastases, nor those with multiple lesions, showed radiological signs of local progression or recurrence of the tumor in the index vertebrae during a median follow up of 19 months (4–46 months) and 10 months (4–37 months), respectively. Conclusion: Treatment of spinal metastases with a navigational radiofrequency ablation device and vertebral augmentation can be used to obtain local tumor control with immediate and durable pain relief, providing effective treatment in the multimodality management of difficult-to-reach spinal metastases

Cryoablation of Primary Breast Cancer in Patients with Metastatic Disease: Considerations Arising from a Single-Centre Data Analysis

Background. Patients presenting with stage IV breast cancer might benefit by removal of the primary tumor. We report our experience with CT-guided cryoablation of the primary tumor, with the aim of evaluating its role in this subgroup of patients. Patients and Methods. Data of 35 patients with mean age of 58 years with breast cancer at stage IV submitted to CT-guided cryoablation of the primary tumor between 2010 and 2016 were prospectively evaluated. All patients, except three, were preoperatively and postoperatively evaluated with breast MRI to assess the extent of tumor necrosis. Retreatment was performed in case of incomplete ablation. Results. Mean tumor size was 3.02 ± 1.4 cm. Six patients had multicentric disease. Complete tumor necrosis was 85.7% and 100% at 2-month and 6-month follow-up, respectively, as 5 patients with tumors > 3 cm required a redo cryoablation. No patient developed major complications. Minor side effects occurred in 30 patients (82%). All patients were discharged the same day of the procedure. During a mean follow-up of 46 months (range 3–84), 7 patients (20%) experienced local recurrences that were treated with redo cryoablation, and 7 (20%) died for disease progression. Conclusions. Our results suggest that cryoablation of the primary tumor is safe and effective in the treatment of patients presenting with stage IV breast cancer

The Increasing Role of CT-Guided Cryoablation for the Treatment of Liver Cancer: A Single-Center Report

Purpose: Cryoablation (CrA) is a minimally invasive treatment that can be used in primary and metastatic liver cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of CrA in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver metastases. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the patients who had CrA for HCC or liver metastases between 2015 and 2020. Technical success, complete ablation, CrA-related complications, local tumor progression, local recurrences, and distant metastases were evaluated in the study population. In patients with HCC, the median survival was also estimated. Results: Sixty-four liver tumors in 49 patients were treated with CrA (50 metastases and 14 HCC). The mean tumor diameter was 2.15 cm. The mean follow-up was 19.8 months. Technical success was achieved in the whole study population. Complete tumor ablation was observed after one month in 92% of lesions treated with CrA (79% and 96% in the HCC Group and metastases Group, respectively, p p = 0.105). Sixteen patients (33%) developed local recurrence (45% and 29% in the HCC Group and metastases Group, respectively, p = 0.477). Seven patients (14%) developed distant metastases in the follow-up period. Ten patients (20.8%) underwent redo CrA for local recurrence or incomplete tumor ablation. Minor complications were observed in 14% of patients. In patients with HCC, the median survival was 22 months. Conclusions: CrA can be safely used for treatment of HCC and liver metastases not amenable of surgical resection. Further studies are necessary to better define the role of CrA in the multidisciplinary treatment of liver malignancies