Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Evaluation of Breast Cancer Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether residual tumor assessment by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is fundamental for a successive surgical strategy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected 55 MRIs performed after NACT. RESULTS: Pathological response rate was 20%. MRI's sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 50%, 88%, 54% and 86%, respectively. We observed a high variability between the different subgroups, with high number of false positives in luminal A/B tumors. Triple negative and HER2+ tumors had almost the same specificity and sensitivity (81% and 50%). Nevertheless, in the HER2+ group, PPV was greater than that in the triple negative group (71% and 33% respectively) and the NPV of the triple negative group was greater than that of the HER2+ one (90% and 64%, respectively). Statistical analysis showed a weak but significant correlation between MRI and pathological assessment of residual tumor dimension. CONCLUSION: The present study, confirms literature data about MRI accuracy in diagnosing HER2+ and triple negative tumors, but suggests caution in case of luminal tumors' evaluation.

Current trends and outcomes of breast reconstruction following nipple-sparing mastectomy: results from a national multicentric registry with 1006 cases over a 6-year period.

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction options following nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) are diverse and not yet investigated with level IA evidence. The analysis of surgical and oncological outcomes of NSM from the Italian National Registry shows its safety and wide acceptance both for prophylactic and therapeutic cases. A further in-depth analysis of the reconstructive approaches with their trend over time and their failures is the aim of this study. METHODS: Data extraction from the National Database was performed restricting cases to the 2009-2014 period. Different reconstruction procedures were analyzed in terms of their distribution over time and with respect to specific indications. A 1-year minimum follow-up was conducted to assess reconstructive unsuccessful events. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the causes of both prosthetic and autologous failures. RESULTS: 913 patients, for a total of 1006 procedures, are included in the analysis. A prosthetic only reconstruction is accomplished in 92.2 % of cases, while pure autologous tissues are employed in 4.2 % and a hybrid (prosthetic plus autologous) in 3.6 %. Direct-to-implant (DTI) reaches 48.7 % of all reconstructions in the year 2014. Prophylactic NSMs have a DTI reconstruction in 35.6 % of cases and an autologous tissue flap in 12.9 % of cases. Failures are 2.7 % overall: 0 % in pure autologous flaps and 9.1 % in hybrid cases. Significant risk factors for failures are diabetes and the previous radiation therapy on the operated breast. CONCLUSIONS: Reconstruction following NSM is mostly prosthetic in Italy, with DTI gaining large acceptance over time. Failures are low and occurring in diabetic and irradiated patients at the multivariate analysis.

Nipple sparing mastectomy: Surgical and oncological outcomes from a national multicentric registry with 913 patients (1006 cases) over a six year period.

BACKGROUND: Nipple sparing mastectomy is deemed surgically and oncologically safe based on a long lasting literature data from reviews of single institution series. This study aims at evaluating surgical and oncological outcomes of NSM on a large multi-institutional scale, by means of the Italian National registry. METHODS: In July 2011 a panel of Italian specialists agreed upon and designed a National database of NSM. Centers with at least 150 cancers per year and following the National follow-up schedule guidelines could participate inserting any NSM case performed, retrospectively and prospectively from that moment on. In March 2015 analysis of data was accomplished. Dataset for this study consists of cases performed in the period between January 1st 2009 and December 31st 2014. RESULTS: 913 Women were included in the analysis, for a total of 1006 procedures. Prophylactic mastectomies were 124 (12.3%). MRI utilization increased over time. NSM failure rate, with NAC removal for any reason was 11.5%. NAC necrosis rate was 4.8%. Larger skin-flap necrosis rate was 2.3%. Major surgical complications rate was 4.4%. Oncological outcomes were calculated among primitive EBC cases only: locoregional recurrences rate was 2.9%, NAC recurrence 0.7%. Systemic recurrence rate was 1.0%. Five deaths (0.7%) were registered. CONCLUSIONS: More than 10% of NSM procedures are prophylactic mastectomies. MRI is gaining more importance over time. Surgical and oncological results show that NSM is effective. This National multicentric analysis enables a comparison of results with no geographical differences and a "safe" state of the art of NSM in Italy.

Cytoreductive surgery combined with intraperitoneal chemohyperthermia for the treatment of advanced colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Chemohyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP) after extensive cytoreductive surgery is a possible choice as a regional treatment for peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). The multicentric France EVOCAPE 1 study demonstrated that the median overall survival of patients with colon peritoneal carcinomatosis subjected to conventional surgical and/or chemotherapeutic treatment was 5.2 months. Historically, mitomycin C is the drug of choice in the treatment of intraperitoneal carcinomatosis from colon cancer. METHODS: Twenty-five patients affected by stage IV colon cancer with only peritoneal involvement and a prior completion of at least a partial first cycle of systemic chemotherapeutic and/or surgical treatment (24 patients) were enrolled. Immediately following extensive cytoreductive surgery, early postoperative closed abdomen CHPP was performed. RESULTS: Complete surgical cytoreduction (CC0-CC1) was obtained in 22 patients. Postoperative mortality was 1 out of 25 (4%). Major postoperative morbidity was 6 out of 25 (24%). Median overall survival estimated by Kaplan-Meier curve was 30.3 months. Locoregional progression-free survival was 17.3 months. Of all the patients 64% and 40% were alive after 1 and 2 years respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In referral centers CHPP after optimal surgical debulking is a safe procedure for peritoneal carcinomatosis from colonic cancer. Locoregional control was obtained in the majority of the pretreated patients and 1-year survival was statistically improved. A closed abdomen CHPP procedure lasting 1 hour and standard mitomycin C at a dosage of 15 mg/m(2) is probably as efficacious as other hyperthermic procedures, using higher mitomycin C dosages, with a comparable or lower number of cases of side effects. These results, as in other published phase II studies, justify future randomized trials to assess definitively the role of CHPP in the treatment of locally advanced colon neoplasms in western countries.

Low-molecular-weight heparin and calcium heparin in thrombosis prophylaxis in patients with percutaneous arterial and venous ports for colorectal liver metastases.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The evaluation of low-molecular-weight heparin use to prevent arterial and venous thrombosis in patients with indwelling arterial Port-a-Cath implants. METHODS: From 1996 to March 2003 we placed 370 indwelling hepatic arterial catheters with a minimally invasive approach. The left distal subclavian artery was approached from beneath the left clavicle, then an angiographic study of the tumoral vascular district was performed and the gastroduodenal artery was occluded by an embolus. A polyurethane catheter was introduced distally into the hepatic artery and connected to a reservoir through a 3-4 cm long subcutaneous tunnel. In 90 patients a venous Port-a-Cath was placed for concurrent systemic chemotherapy. All 370 patients received regional chemotherapy and were treated with calcium heparin at a dose of 5000 IU twice a day and with low-molecular-weight heparin at prophylactic doses (dalteparin 2500 IU or nadroparin 3000 IU) during catheter permanence to prevent hepatic artery thrombosis. Intra-arterial trans-port radionuclide scans using technetium-99m-labeled micro-aggregated albumin were performed monthly to check the infusion distribution and hepatic artery patency. In the presence of anomalous patterns, thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or other complications, angiography and/or other diagnostic studies were performed to determine the cause of the vascular event and the local or systemic symptoms. The mean arterial and venous Port-a-Cath permanence times were 6 and 8 months, respectively. RESULTS: We observed episodes of hepatic artery thrombosis in 4.3% of patients. Three of these 17 patients were successfully treated by intra-arterial thrombolysis using urokinase. No venous thrombosis occurred as a consequence of regional and/or systemic chemotherapy, no episodes of arterial thrombosis were registered during arterial catheter permanence, nor did any hemorrhagic complications related to anti-coagulant therapy occur. Five patients treated with low-molecular-weight heparin required treatment suspension due to a platelet count of < 40,000/dL. CONCLUSION: Our experience suggests that low-molecular-weight heparin and/or calcium heparin at prophylactic doses could be useful in the prevention of arterial and venous thrombosis in patients with indwelling arterial catheters or venous Port-a-Cath treated with regional or systemic chemotherapy for hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. The homogeneity of the patient group and the use of analogous chemotherapeutic drugs (fluoropyrimidines) avoided statistical contamination related to differences between kinds of cancer and between the chemotherapeutic agents used.

Cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemohyperthermia for recurrent peritoneal carcinomatosis from ovarian cancer.

Aggressive surgical cytoreduction has been shown to have a positive impact on survival of patients with ovarian cancer. After first-line chemotherapy, 47% of patients relapse within 5 years, and median survival after second line chemotherapy is 10-15 months. Adding intraperitoneal chemohyperthermia (IPCH) to surgical cytoreduction could further control ceolomic spread of disease. The aim of this study was to determine morbidity and mortality, regional relapse-free survival and, preliminarily, overall survival after combining cytoreductive surgery with IPCH for the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis from ovarian epithelial cancer relapsed after prior chemotherapy. Thirty women affected with such a relapse were included. Patients underwent extensive cytoreductive surgery including tumor resections and peritonectomy, followed by intraoperative IPCH with cisplatin. Complete surgical cytoreduction down to nodules less than 2.5 mm (CC0-CC1) was obtained in 23 patients (77%). One patient died postoperatively from a pulmonary embolism. Major postoperative morbidity was 5/30 (16.7%). We registered one case of anastomotic leakage, a spontaneous ileum perforation, a postoperative cholecystitis, a hydrothorax, and one patient with bone marrow toxicity. Kaplan-Meier estimates of median locoregional relapse-free survival and median overall survival were 17.1 months and 28.1 months, respectively. Patients with CC0-CC1 had locoregional relapse-free and overall survival rates of 24.4 and 37.8 months, whereas the remainder had survival rates of 4.1 and 11.0 months. We concluded that cytoreductive surgery combined with IPCH is feasible with acceptable morbidity and mortality and seems to promise good results in selected patients affected with peritoneal carcinomatosis from ovarian cancer.

Role of different techniques for the placement of Denver peritoneovenous shunt (PVS) in malignant ascites.

The aim of the study is to evaluate 3 different techniques of Denver peritoneovenous shunt (PVS) placement. Fifty-three patients with malignant ascites underwent placement of 55 Denver PVS by a surgical (33 cases) or percutaneous (18) or laparoscopically assisted (4) procedure. There were 2 cases of postoperative mortality due to cardiac failure, and 7 cases of shunt obstruction (2 of them required replacement). Twenty patients underwent subsequent palliative treatment with chemotherapy or surgery. Complication and control of ascites rates are similar for the 3 techniques. Placement of Denver PVS for the treatment of malignant ascites appears to be a safe and useful procedure. Surgical dissection of the jugular vein is not mandatory. The percutaneous technique is the easiest, fastest, and least invasive procedure. Laparoscopic-assisted positioning is recommended if a peritoneal biopsy and/or abdominal exploration is required for a definitive diagnosis.

Intraoperative hyperthermic tissue ablation in pulmonary metastases: a case report.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The surgical removal of lung metastases is controversial: some authors have reported good results in terms of prognosis and disease-free interval in patients affected by multiple metastases. Recently, percutaneous hyperthermic tissue ablation (HTA) has been used under CT guidance in solitary peripheral pulmonary tumors attached or close to the parietal pleura. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: We report the first intraoperative HTA of a lung metastasis from colorectal carcinoma, which might pave the way for possible future application of the procedure in patients with multiple pulmonary metastases. A 64-year-old patient affected by a rectal cancer was treated by abdominal perineal amputation followed by two lines of chemotherapy. After two years two lesions appeared in the lower left pulmonary lobe and another in the lower right lobe. The patient was monitored by three-monthly thoracic and abdominal CT. The lesions were stable for one year, but in the last two months one of the suspected metastases in the left lung increased from 1 to 2 cm. This was an indication for surgical removal. A mini posterolateral thoracotomy was performed. Thanks to complete collapse of the lung with manual squeezing of the parenchyma, ultrasonography provided satisfactory visualization of the two lesions. A frozen biopsy of the larger lesion was obtained which confirmed its metastatic nature. Ultrasound-guided HTA of the larger metastasis (2 cm) was performed. Final US demonstrated the change in the metastatic pattern. The two lesions were eventually removed by wedge resection using a TA 90 stapler. Histological examination of the two lesions confirmed the coagulative necrosis of the treated metastasis. No morbidity or pulmonary problems were recorded.

Palliative treatment of malignant refractory ascites by positioning of Denver peritoneovenous shunt.

Malignant ascites is relatively common in patients with certain types of end-stage cancer. Traditional treatments based on fluid and salt restriction and diuretic therapy often are not able to contain neoplastic ascites. These patients consequently undergo repeated abdominal paracentesis, with further plasma protein loss and risk of injury to abdominal viscera. The aim of this study was to evaluate our experience with Denver peritoneovenous shunt and the outcome of patients with malignant ascites and suggest some modifications to improve device patency. From February 1997 to December 1999, 44 Denver peritoneovenous shunts were placed in 42 patients, 17 women and 25 men, aged between 38 and 77 years (mean, 62.3), affected with malignant ascites due to advanced abdominal cancer. At the time of admission, 72% of patients had pain, 88% dysphagia, 66% nausea and/or vomiting, and 83% dyspnea. Eleven patients underwent local anesthesia with lidocaine and 33 general anesthesia with rapidly metabolized drugs. In 27 cases we used the peritoneal-internal jugular right vein surgical approach and in 3 cases the peritoneal-femoral vein surgical access, joining the saphena vein to the cross. In 10 cases, a radiological positioning of the Denver peritoneovenous shunt was effected by a trans-subclavian access. Relief of ascites symptoms was obtained in 87.5% of cases, with reduction of dyspnea, an increased appetite and improved ambulation. Denver peritoneovenous shunt is a good device to relieve malignant ascites, thereby reducing the risk of complications and the number of hospital admissions due to repeated paracentesis and consequently improving the quality of life. A careful patient selection, an accurate follow-up and some device modifications could improve the shunt performance, allowing a wider application of the Denver peritoneovenous shunt.