The Delphi and GRADE methodology used in the PSOGI 2018 consensus statement on Pseudomyxoma Peritonei and Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP) and Peritoneal Mesothelioma (PM) are both rare peritoneal malignancies. Currently, affected patients may be treated with Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy offering long-term survival or even cure in selected patients. However, many issues regarding the optimal treatment strategy are currently under debate. To aid physicians involved in the treatment of these patients in clinical decision making, the PSOGI executive committee proposed to create a consensus statement on PMP and PM. This manuscript describes the methodology of the consensus process. The Delphi technique is a reliable method for attaining consensus on a topic that lacks scientific evidence through multiple voting rounds which feeds back responses to the participants in between rounds. The GRADE system provides a structured framework for presenting and grading the available evidence. Separate questionnaires were created for PMP and PM and sent during two voting rounds to 80 and 38 experts, respectively. A consensus threshold of 51.0% was chosen. After the second round, consensus was reached on 92.9%–100.0% of the questions. The results were presented and discussed in the plenary session at the PSOGI 2018 international meeting in Paris. A third round for the remaining issues is currently in progress. In conclusion, using the Delphi technique and GRADE methodology, consensus was reached in many issues regarding the treatment of PM and PMP amongst an international panel of experts. The main results will be published in the near future

Esophageal Small Cell Carcinoma with Synchronous Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report with Review of the Literature

Synchronous malignancies with an esophageal malignancy are not uncommon. However synchronous esophageal and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is rare with only 11 cases reported in the world literature, the esophageal malignancies being adenocarcinomas or squamous cell carcinomas. Here, we report the first case of synchronous small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus with a RCC. SCC of the esophagus is an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis constituting 0.8–2.4% of all esophageal malignancies, currently treated with induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy. Our patient underwent chemoradiotherapy for the SCC of the esophagus followed by radical nephrectomy for the RCC. He developed metastatic disease and died 8 months after diagnosis. Larger case series are required to develop a treatment algorithm for such a rare presentation. The key points of this report are: (1) Synchronous RCC with a primary esophageal carcinoma is a rare presentation. (2) This is the first described case report of a SCC of the esophagus with a synchronous RCC. (3) Overall prognosis in a synchronous presentation is determined by the primary esophageal malignancy. (4) Esophageal carcinomas with synchronous malignancies have a poorer prognosis compared to isolated esophageal carcinoma

The incidence of mucinous appendiceal malignancies: a population-based study

Purpose Mucinous appendiceal tumours were described already 180 years ago, but reliable data on the incidence of these tumours are sparse. The clinical importance of these tumours is increasing since they are now identified as the most common site of origin for pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), which is currently recognised as a treatable condition. Methods Data on the incidence of mucinous appendiceal tumours were retrieved from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry, which collects data on all patients with newly diagnosed cancer in a large part of the southern Netherlands that comprises about 2.3 million inhabitants. From 1980 to 2010, all cases of primary adenocarcinomas of the appendix were included. Results From 1980 to 2010, a mucinous adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 78 patients being 48 % of all cases of appendiceal adenocarcinoma diagnosed during this period (n=164). The incidence increased during the study period from 0.6 to 1.9 per 1,000,000 person-years for women and from 0.4 to 1.0 per 1,000,000 person-years for men. Conclusion The reported incidence of mucinous adenocarcinomas of the appendix shows an increasing trend. This is probably mainly explained by the increased awareness of this tumour and its relation with PMP, and better registration of this specific diagnosis

Benefits and drawbacks of short-course preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer patients aged 75 years and older

Purpose: To study incidence of local recurrences, postoperative complications and survival, in patients with rectal carcinoma aged 75 years and older, treated with either surgery and pre-operative 5 x 5 Gy radiotherapy or surgery alone. Patients and methods: A random sample of patients aged over 75 years with pT2-T3, N0-2, M0 rectal carcinoma diagnosed between 2002 and 2004 in the Netherlands was included, treated with surgery alone (N = 296) or surgery in combination with pre-operative radiotherapy (N = 346). Information on local recurrent disease, postoperative complications, ECOG-performance score and comorbidity was gathered from the medical files. Results: Local recurrences developed less frequently in patients treated with pre-operative radiotherapy compared to surgery alone (2% vs 6%, p = 0.002). Postoperative complications developed more frequently in irradiated patients (58% vs 42%, p < 0.0001). Especially deep infections (anastomotic leakage, pelvic abscess) were significantly increased in this group (16% vs 10%, p = 0.02). 30-day mortality was equal in both groups (8%). A significant increase in postoperative complication rate and 3 Conclusion: Elderly patients receiving pre-operative radiotherapy show a lower local recurrence rate. However, as incidence rates of local recurrent disease are low and incidence of postoperative complications is increased in irradiated patients, omitting preoperative RT may be suitable in elderly patients with additional risks for complications or early death. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Trends in cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for the treatment of synchronous peritoneal carcinomatosis of colorectal origin in the Netherlands

Background: Population-based data on the percentage of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with synchronous peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) being treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) are currently lacking. The current population-based study describes trends in the use of CRS-HIPEC in the Netherlands, one of the first countries where CRS and HIPEC was introduced. Methods: All patients diagnosed with synchronous PC of CRC between 2005 and 2012 were extracted from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (n = 4623). Patients with primary appendiceal cancer were excluded resulting in a study population of 4430 patients. Trends in the use of CRS-HIPEC over time were analyzed by means of a Cochrane-Armitage trend test. Survival proportions were calculated as the time between diagnosis and date of death or last follow-up (January 2014). Results: Of the total 4430 patients with synchronous PC, 297 (6.4%) underwent treatment with CRS HIPEC. The proportion of colorectal PC patients receiving CRS HIPEC increased significantly over time from 3.6% in 2005-2006 to 9.7% in 2011-2012 (p < 0.0001). Overall median survival (MS) for patients treated with CRS HIPEC was 32.3 months, whereas MS rates were respectively 12.6, 6.1 and 1.5 for months palliative chemotherapy with/without surgery, palliative surgery and best supportive care. Conclusion: The proportion of patients diagnosed with synchronous PC from CRC treated with CRS HIPEC has increased significantly over time and currently almost 10% of PC patients are treated with CRS HIPEC. Median survival in this population based group is 32.3 months. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio Fallacy A Narrative Review

Background: Outcome measures, like hospital standardized mortality ratios (HSMRs), are increasingly used to assess quality of care. The validity of HSMRs and their accuracy to reflect quality of care is heavily contested. Objective: We explored apparent and potential shortcomings and adverse effects of the HSMR in the assessment of quality of care. Research Design and Methods: For this narrative review, relevant articles were collected from Medline databases using the following search terms: "hospital standardized mortality ratio," "standardized mortality ratio," "HSMR," "quality of care," and "in-hospital mortality." In addition, other important articles were subtracted from the reference lists of the primary articles. Results: The current literature exhibits important shortcomings of the HSMR that in particular affect hospitals providing specialized care of a certain level of complexity. Because of the lack or insufficiency of data concerning case-mix, coding variation between hospitals, disease severity, referral bias, end-of-life care, and place of death, the current HSMR model is not able to adjust adequately for these aspects. This leads to incomparability of HSMRs between hospitals. Instead of separate a Conclusions: Given the several shortcomings, use of the HSMR as an indicator of quality of care can be considered as a fallacy. Publication of the HSMR is not likely to lead to improvement of quality of care and might harm both hospitals and patients