Colorectal liver metastases: Surgery versus thermal ablation (COLLISION) - a phase III single-blind prospective randomized controlled trial

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) are widely accepted techniques to eliminate small unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). Although previous studies labelled thermal ablation inferior to surgical resection, the apparent selection bias when comparing patients with unresectable disease to surgical candidates, the superior safety profile, and the competitive overall survival results for the more recent reports mandate the setup of a randomized controlled trial. The objective of the COLLISION trial is to prove non-inferiority of thermal ablation compared to hepatic resection in patients with at least one resectable and ablatable CRLM and no extrahepatic disease. Methods: In this two-arm, single-blind multi-center phase-III clinical trial, six hundred and eighteen patients with at least one CRLM (≤3cm) will be included to undergo either surgical resection or thermal ablation of appointed target lesion(s) (≤3cm). Primary endpoint is OS (overall survival, intention-to-treat analysis). Main secondary endpoints are overall disease-free survival (DFS), time to progression (TTP), time to local progression (TTLP), primary and assisted technique efficacy (PTE, ATE), procedural morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay, assessment of pain and quality of life (QoL), cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Discussion: If thermal ablation proves to be non-inferior in treating lesions ≤3cm, a switch in treatment-method may lead to a reduction of the post-procedural morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay and incremental costs without compromising oncological outcome for patients with CRLM. Trial registration:NCT03088150 , January 11th 2017

Hand muscle atrophy and digital ischemia as an unusual presentation of an occluded aberrant right subclavian artery: Endovascular or open approach?

AbstractINTRODUCTIONAn aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) or lusorian artery is one of the most common variations of the aortic arch. Although usually without symptoms, some ARSA's occasionally become symptomatic.PRESENTATION OF CASEA 51-year old woman presented with a painful right middle finger. Clinical examination showed thenar muscle hypotrophy and blue discoloration of the distal phalanx suggestive of embolization. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed a non-aneurysmal proximally occluded ARSA. A venous common carotid artery to subclavian artery bypass was combined with ARSA ligation proximal to the right vertebral artery.DISCUSSIONOcclusive symptomatic ARSA disease without aneurysmal dilatation is uncommon. Treatment may include bypass grafting by open surgery or angioplasty with stenting.CONCLUSIONTreatment for occlusive non-aneurysmal ARSA must be tailored to the individual. Whether an endovascular or surgical approach is preferred depends on localization of the lesion in relation to the esophagus and on the general condition of the patient