Preoperative MRI of the breast and ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence: Long-term follow up.

BACKGROUND: Local recurrence after breast conserving surgery is reported in 5-10% of cases. This study aims to determine if preoperative MRI is associated with reduced IBTR rates in the longer term and evaluate IBTR rates of a high risk (TN and Her-2 positive) subgroup in those receiving MRI or not. METHODS: Between 1999 and 2005, patients with invasive breast cancer undergoing BCS and radiation were identified. Primary endpoint was IBTR rate. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 470 cases: 27% underwent MRI and 73% did not. Median follow-up was 97 months. Overall 10-year IBTR rate was 3.6%. There was no significant difference in IBTR rate at 10 years between those receiving MRI or not (1.6% vs. 4.2% (P = 0.37). The TN and Her-2 positive combined subgroup had a higher IBTR rate than all others (9.8% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.001). In the group without MRI, the IBTR rate of the high risk group was 11.8% compared to 1.8% in the remainder (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: With 10-year follow-up, there was no significant difference in IBTR rate whether preoperative MRI is performed versus not. The high risk population showed an increased IBTR rate, this was more marked in those who did not receive MRI.

Murine and Human Gastric Tissue Establishes Organoids after 48 Hours of Cold Ischemia Time during Shipment.

An inadequate supply of fresh tissue is a major limitation of three-dimensional patient-derived gastric organoid research. We propose that tissue procurement for organoid culture could be increased by developing a cold storage shipment protocol for fresh surgical tissues. Sixty stomach specimens from C57BL/6J mice were resected, of which forty-five were stored in Hank's Balanced Salt (HBSS), University of Wisconsin (UW), or Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate (HTK) solutions for subsequent organoid culture. Stomachs were dissociated and processed into gastric organoids as fresh tissue or after transport at 4 °C for 24 or 48 h. All gastric organoid cultures were established and maintained for 10 passages. Cold storage for 24 or 48 h did not significantly affect organoid viability. Although cold storage was associated with decreased organoid growth rate, there were no differences in viability, cytotoxic dose response, or LGR5 and TROY stem cell gene expression compared to organoids prepared from fresh tissue. As a proof of concept, six human gastric cancer organoids were established after 24 or 48 h of storage. Patient-derived gastric organoids from mouse and human gastric tissue can be established after 48 h of cold ischemia. Our method, which only requires ice packs, standard shipping containers, and HBSS is feasible and reliable. This method does not affect the reliability of downstream dose-response assays and maintains organoid viability for at least 10 passages. The shipment of fresh tissue for organoid procurement could serve to enhance multicenter collaboration and achieve more elaborate or controlled organoid experimentation.

Magnetic resonance imaging in the planning of initial lumpectomy for invasive breast carcinoma: its effect on ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence after breast-conservation therapy.

BACKGROUND: It remains uncertain whether routine preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will lead to improved local outcomes after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and radiation (RT) for invasive carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether MRI in the planning of the first lumpectomy reduces ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR). METHODS: Using a prospective database, 472 initial lumpectomies from 463 women between 1999 and 2005 were examined. All patients had invasive cancer excised to negative margins on BCS, received RT, and were followed. IBTR rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between MRI for initial lumpectomies and IBTR outcomes. RESULTS: MRI was performed before 127 (27%) lumpectomies, while 345 (73%) patients did not have a preoperative breast MRI. At median follow-up of 54 months (range 4.8-111.6 months), there was no significant difference in actuarial 8-year IBTR rates between women with preoperative MRI evaluation and women without MRI (1.8% versus 2.5%, respectively; P=0.67). After adjusting for adjuvant therapies, patient, and tumor characteristics, there continued to be no increased risk of IBTR [hazard ratio (HR) 1.7; P=0.60]. MRI visualization of tumors prior to lumpectomy did not influence the achievement of negative margins and was not associated with lower rates of re-excision (MRI: 11.8% versus no-MRI: 13.3%; P=0.50). CONCLUSION: MRI evaluation of invasive carcinoma in the planning of initial lumpectomies was not associated with improved local outcomes after BCS with RT in this cohort of patients.

Outcomes of salvage surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal.

BACKGROUND: For patients with anal canal cancer who fail combined modality treatment (CMT), salvage surgery (SS) offers the potential for long term survival. The literature regarding SS is limited by small patient numbers and/or heterogeneous treatment protocols. We report on a large series of patients initially treated with chemoradiation at a major referral center. METHODS: We identified 60 patients with persistent or recurrent anal cancer who had undergone SS; 20 were excluded. Overall and disease-free survival (OS, DFS) curves were constructed using the Kaplan Meier method. Univariate analysis was done using the Log-Rank test, and multivariable analysis using Cox proportional hazards. RESULTS: The 40 patients (29 women, 11 men, median age 57) underwent curative intent resection. The initial procedure was multivisceral resection (n = 24), abdominoperineal resection alone (n = 14) or local excision (n = 2). Postoperative mortality was 5%. Postoperative complications were seen in 72%. Median follow-up was 18 months overall and 36 months in survivors. Median OS was 41 months; OS and disease free survival at 5 years were 39% and 30%, respectively. Recurrence was present in 21 patients at time of analysis. Failure was locoregional in 86% (18 of 21) and distant in 48% (10 of 21). Independent predictors of poor OS were male gender, Charlson Comorbidity Score and tumor size. Independent predictors of poor disease free survival were positive margins and lymphovascular invasion. CONCLUSION: SS for anal canal cancer was associated with significant morbidity. Long-term survival was achieved in 39% of patients. Comorbidities should guide patient selection, and R0 resection should be the goal.