Analysis of POSSUM score and postoperative morbidity in patients with rectal cancer undergoing surgery

The Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) and later modifications (P-POSSUM y CR-POSSUM) have been used to predict morbidity and mortality rates among patients with rectal cancer undergoing surgery. These calculations need some adjustment, however. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of POSSUM to a group of patients with rectal cancer undergoing surgery, analysing surgical morbidity by means of several variables. METHODS: between January 1995 and December 2004, 273 consecutive patients underwent surgery for rectal cancer. Information was gathered about the patients, tumour and therapy. To assess the prediction capacity of POSSUM, subgroups for analysis were created according to variables related to operative morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: The global morbidity rate was 23.6% (31.2% predicted by POSSUM). The mortality rate was 0.7% (6.64, 1.95 and 2.08 predicted by POSSUM, P-POSSUM and CR-POSSUM respectively). POSSUM predictions may be more accurate for patients younger than 51 years, older than 70 years, with low anaesthetic risk (ASA I/II), DUKES stage C and D, surgery duration of less than 180 minutes and for those receiving neoadjuvant therapy. CONCLUSION: POSSUM is a good instrument to make results between different institutions and publication comparable. We found prediction errors for some variables related to morbidity. Modifications of surgical variables and specifications for neoadjuvant therapy as well as physiological variables including life style may improve future prediction of surgical risk. More research is needed to identify further potential risk factors for surgical complications

Analysis of Early Postoperative Morbidity Among Patients with Rectal Cancer Treated with and without Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy

Background: The impact of neoadjuvant treatment and their subsequent early complications in the treatment of rectal cancer has not been adequately assessed. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate early postoperative morbidity and mortality among patients with rectal cancer treated with adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed by surgery, compared with patients treated with surgery alone. We also identified independent risk factors associated with early major complications. Methods: Between 1995 and 2004, 273 consecutive patients underwent treatment for rectal cancer. A total of 170 patients (group A) received preoperative radiotherapy with a total of 45–50.4 Gy (180 cGy per day) and 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, followed by surgery; 103 patients (group B) were treated with surgery alone. Dependent variables related to patients, treatment, radiotherapy, and tumor were analyzed. Results: Both groups were similar with regard to age, sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, and tumor location but not for ileostomy (27% in group A vs. 6.8% in group B). The number of complications was similar in both groups (43.1% in group A vs. 44.6% in group B). No differences in wound infection (8.2% vs. 7.8%), intraabdominal abscess (4.7% vs. 4.9%), anastomotic dehiscence (4.2% vs. 3.8%), postoperative hemorrhage (3.5% vs. 3.9%), urinary complications (6.5% vs. 4.9%), paralytic ileus (8.9% vs. 9.7%), or general complications (7.1% vs. 9.6%) were found. The global mortality in the first 30 days after surgery was .7%. An ASA score of III–IV and surgery duration longer than 3 hours were identified as independent prognostic factors for early complications. Conclusions: Preoperative chemoradiation in patients with rectal cancer treated with surgery is not associated with a higher incidence of early postoperative complications. The patient~s preoperative clinical condition and lengthy surgery time are prognostic factors for early complications

A single prior course of BCNU-cisplatin chemotherapy has a significant deleterious effect on mobilization kinetics of otherwise untreated patients

Extensive prior treatment with cytotoxic agents is associated with impaired mobilization of hematopoietic cells. To assess the effect of a single course of standarddose chemotherapy (CT), we compared the results of filgrastim-induced mobilization among two sequential groups of grade III–IV malignant glioma patients included in a hematopoietic transplantation program. The first group (21 patients) had never been treated with CT until 2 days after surgery, when they received a course of 100 mg/m2 BCNU (IV) and 100 mg intracarotid cisplatin for cytoreduction (not for mobilization). At 1 month after this CT, they were mobilized with 12 lg/kg filgrastim. The second group (22 patients) was mobilized with the same dose of filgrastim directly after the surgery, without having ever received any prior CT. The blood level of CD34þ cells was significantly lower in the CT-treated patients, both on the fourth day of filgrastim (15 vs 36 cells 106/l; P¼0.01) and on the fifth (25 vs 58 cells 106/l; P¼0.003), as it was the number of CD34þ cells collected per apheresis (1.3 vs 3.5 106/l; Po0.0005). The toxic effect of a single course of BCNUcisplatin CT led to significant impairment of the filgrastim-induced mobilization response. Bone Marrow Transplantation advance onlin

Pathological vertebral fracture after stereotactic body radiation therapy for lung metastases. Case report and literature review.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a radiation technique used in patients with oligometastatic lung disease. Lung and chest wall toxicities have been described in the patients but pathological vertebral fracture is an adverse effect no reported in patients treated with SBRT for lung metastases.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 68-year-old woman with the diagnosis of a recurrence of a single lung metastatic nodule of urothelial carcinoma after third line of chemotherapy. The patient received a hypo-fractionated course of SBRT.A 3D-conformal multifield technique was used with six coplanar and one non-coplanar statics beams. A total dose of 48 Gy in three fractions over six days was prescribed to the 95% of the CTV. Ten months after the SBRT procedure, a CT scan showed complete response of the metastatic disease without signs of radiation pneumonitis. However, rib and vertebral bone toxicities were observed with the fracture-collapse of the 7^thand 8^thvertebral bodies and a fracture of the 7^thand 8^thleft ribs. We report a unique case of pathological vertebral fracture appearing ten months after SBRT for an asymptomatic growing lung metastases of urothelial carcinoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Though SBRT allows for minimization of normal tissue exposure to high radiation doses SBRT tolerance for vertebral bone tissue has been poorly evaluated in patients with lung tumors. Oncologists should be alert to the potential risk of fatal bone toxicity caused by this novel treatment. We recommend BMD testing in all woman over 65 years old with clinical risk factors that could contribute to low BMD. If low BMD is demonstrated, we should carefully restrict the maximum radiation dose in the vertebral body in order to avoid intermediate or low radiation dose to the whole vertebral body.</p

Intraoperative and external radiotherapy in resected gastric cancer: updated report of a phase II trial

From September 1984 to August 1991, 48 evaluable patients with resected gastric cancer and apparent disease confined to locoregional area were treated with intraoperative electron beam boost to the celiac axis and peripancreatic nodal areas (15 Gy) and external irradiation (40 to 46 Gy in 4 to 5 weeks) including the gastric bed and upper abdominal nodal draining regions. At the time of evaluation for IORT, the disease was primary in 38 cases, recurrent but resectable in four (anastomosis), and unresectable in four (nodal). Post operative complications were reversible. Acute tolerance to the complete treatment program was acceptable. Late complications included life-threatening events: Six episodes of gastro intestinal bleeding (three of them had an arteriographic documentation of arterioenteric fistula) and nine with severe enteritis (five required reoperation). Other long-term treatment related complications were six cases of vertebral collapse. The median follow-up time for the entire group is 22 months. Locoregional recurrence/persistence of disease has been identified in five patients (three with residual and/or recurrent postsurgical tumor). Systemic tumor progression has been detected in 15 patients (11 in intra-abdominal sites). Overall actuarial survival for patients with positive or negative serosal involvement was 33% versus 56%. It is concluded that the treatment program described is able to induce a high locoregional tumor control rate (100%) when used strictly in an adjuvant setting and might control long term, a small portion of patients not amenable for curative surgery (2 out of 8 patients with confirmed residual post-surgical disease). Gastrointestinal bleeding and enteritis are findings that indicate treatment intensity at the upper limits of tissue tolerance. Assessment of long term tolerance of pancreatic parenchyma and large blood vessels (tissues included in the IRORT field) are pending for longer follow-up and the appropriate selective studies

Stratification of radiosensitive brain metastases based on an actionable S100A9/RAGE resistance mechanism

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is the treatment backbone for many patients with brain metastasis; however, its efficacy in preventing disease progression and the associated toxicity have questioned the clinical impact of this approach and emphasized the need for alternative treatments. Given the limited therapeutic options available for these patients and the poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the resistance of metastatic lesions to WBRT, we sought to uncover actionable targets and biomarkers that could help to refine patient selection. Through an unbiased analysis of experimental in vivo models of brain metastasis resistant to WBRT, we identified activation of the S100A9-RAGE-NF-κB-JunB pathway in brain metastases as a potential mediator of resistance in this organ. Targeting this pathway genetically or pharmacologically was sufficient to revert the WBRT resistance and increase therapeutic benefits in vivo at lower doses of radiation. In patients with primary melanoma, lung or breast adenocarcinoma developing brain metastasis, endogenous S100A9 levels in brain lesions correlated with clinical response to WBRT and underscored the potential of S100A9 levels in the blood as a noninvasive biomarker. Collectively, we provide a molecular framework to personalize WBRT and improve its efficacy through combination with a radiosensitizer that balances therapeutic benefit and toxicity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intra-Operative Electron Radiation Therapy: An Update of the Evidence Collected in 40 Years to Search for Models for Electron-FLASH Studies

Introduction: The clinical practice and outcome results of intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOeRT) in cancer patients have been extensively reported over 4 decades. Electron beams can be delivered in the promising FLASH dose rate. Methods and Materials: Several cancer models were approached by two alternative radiobiological strategies to optimize local cancer control: boost versus exclusive IOeRT. Clinical outcomes are revisited via a bibliometric search performed for the elaboration of ESTRO/ACROP IORT guidelines. Results: In the period 1982 to 2020, a total of 19,148 patients were registered in 116 publications concerning soft tissue sarcomas (9% of patients), unresected and borderline-resected pancreatic cancer (22%), locally recurrent and locally advanced rectal cancer (22%), and breast cancer (45%). Clinical outcomes following IOeRT doses in the range of 10 to 25 Gy (with or without external beam fractionated radiation therapy) show a wide range of local control from 40 to 100% depending upon cancer site, histology, stage, and treatment intensity. Constraints for normal tissue tolerance are important to maintain tumor control combined with acceptable levels of side effects. Conclusions: IOeRT represents an evidence-based approach for several tumor types. A specific risk analysis for local recurrences supports the identification of cancer models that are candidates for FLASH studies