Efficacy of surgery and imatinib mesylate in the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor: a systematic review.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: In patients with localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors, surgery remains the elective treatment. Nowadays, imatinib therapy has been standardized in advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors, showing continuous improvements in progression-free and overall survival. A combination of imatinib therapy and surgery may also be effective in a subset of patients with metastatic or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors. In this review, the authors analyzed the role of imatinib mesylate associated to surgery in unresectable and/or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: We searched for all published and unpublished randomized controlled clinical trials and controlled clinical trials. We conducted the review according to the recommendations of The Cochrane Collaboration. We used Review Manager 5 software for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: There are currently no randomized controlled clinical trials or controlled clinical trials on this issue. We performed a subgroup analysis in the patients preoperatively treated with imatinib mesylate. This subgroup revealed a minor incidence of recurrent or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors and a greater incidence of locally unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors in the responsive disease group (P = 0.001). In this patient group, more complete resections were observed (P = 0.00001). Furthermore, in the same patient group we observed a more significant 12 and 24-month disease-free survival after imatinib treatment and complete resection (respectively P= 0.06 and P= 0.003) and also a better 24-month overall survival (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: There is actually only one ongoing European randomized study evaluating surgery of residual disease in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors responding to imatinib mesylate. Imatinib mesylate represents the standard treatment as preoperative supplement for locally unresectable and/or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and a trial to compare the approach versus surgery alone is not necessary. For patients responding to imatinib or patients with prolonged stable disease, resection of residual disease should be considered. A phase III randomized study evaluating surgery of residual disease in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor responding to imatinib mesylate, EORTC 62063, has been opened. Moreover, surgery should be considered for patients at higher risk of complications during pharmacological debulking. In advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors, the advantages of the integrated treatment are significant in the complete or partial response disease group in terms of more complete resections and better disease-free and overall survival.

Gastric adenocarcinoma cutaneous metastasis arising at a previous surgical drain site: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Skin metastasis from internal carcinoma rarely occurs. It has an incidence of 0.7 to 9% and it may be the first sign of an unknown malignancy. However, it can also occur during follow-up. CASE PRESENTATION: A 90-year-old female patient was admitted to our surgical division with a diagnosis of anemia from a bleeding gastric adenocarcinoma. She underwent a gastric resection and Billroth II retrocolic Hofmeister/Finsterer reconstruction. She developed an enteric fistula, which needed a permanent abdominal drain until the 60th postoperative day. After 12 months she was readmitted to our division with subacute small bowel obstruction and an erythematous swelling on the right side of the abdomen. Biopsies characterized it as a cutaneous metastasis from the gastric adenocarcinoma. No surgical therapy was performed given her poor clinical condition. CONCLUSION: Skin metastasis from carcinomas of the upper gastrointestinal tract is very rare. Persisting erythematous nodules must be biopsied in order to diagnose cutaneous metastases and to recognize them early and start prompt therapy with anti-tumour agents before the occurrence of massive visceral metastases.

[Virtual colonoscopy in stenosing colorectal cancer]. / Colonscopia virtuale nelle neoplasie stenosanti del colon-retto.

In 5-10% of patients it is not possible to achieve a complete endoscopic examination of the colon, because of obstructing cancer, excessive length of the colon, anatomical abnormalities or adhesions. Virtual colonoscopy is currently capable of investigating the colic lumen with a non-invasive technique, with high specificity and sensitivity. From January 2005 to July 2007 we treated 21 patients with obstructing neoplastic colorectal lesions, preventing a complete endoscopic examination. In all patients we performed a virtual colonoscopy, which revealed the presence of synchronous lesions (19%): a pedunculated polyp in two cases, a sessile polyp in one case and a right colonic vegetating lesion. In the 21 patients studied we performed a follow-up colonoscopy 3 months after the surgical treatment. No other endoluminal lesions were found, confirming the results of virtual colonoscopy. In our experience virtual colonoscopy presented 100% sensitivity and specificity. In this selected group of patients with obstructing lesions of the colon, virtual colonoscopy enables the surgeon to evaluate the entire colon, avoiding the execution of an intraoperative colonoscopy and possible surgical reintervention due to the finding of synchronous neoplastic lesions at postoperative follow-up endoscopy.

[Minimally invasive treatment of synchronous colorectal tumours]. / Trattamento mini-invasivo delle neoplasie sincrone del colon-retto.

In patients with colorectal cancers synchronous neoplastic lesions are an increasingly frequent finding at preoperative staging; 3% of the cases are other cancers while 33-35% of the synchronous lesions are villous adenomas. The treatment of most colorectal adenomas can be performed by endoscopic poplypectomy. In 5% of cases there are synchronous colorectal lesions also requiring surgical treatment. From January 1995 to June 2007 we treated 5 patients with rectal lesions by transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) together with a laparoscopic colectomy for the presence of synchronous lesions at the "Clinica Chirurgica Generale e d'Urgenza" of the University of Perugia,. Surgical timing involved performing a sequential exeresis characterised by a cancer resection, followed by resection of the voluminous adenoma: TEM for rectal cancer followed by a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with an extracorporeal anastomosis for a voluminous villous adenoma (1 patient) and laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with an extracorporeal anastomosis for cancer followed by TEM for a voluminous villous adenoma (2 patients). One patient with left colon cancer associated with a voluminous villous rectal adenoma first underwent TEM for the rectal adenoma and then a left laparoscopic hemicolectomy with an extracorporeal anastomosis in order to ease the transit of the circular mechanical stapler. Another patient with rectal and right colon adenomas first underwent TEM for a voluminous rectal sessile adenoma and later a right hemicolectomy. The use of this minimally invasive approach allowed rectum preservation and less invasive surgery.

Multispectral imaging autofluorescence microscopy in colonic and gastric cancer metastatic lymph nodes.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The lymphadenectomy and extended lymphadenectomy procedures have been points of controversy in surgical oncology. The methods available for the detection of metastatic lymph nodes are numerous. These include lymphoscintigraphy and radiolabeled antibody detection, but in most cancers the currently used technique is sentinel lymph node identification, performed primarily through the use of immunohistochemistry. We propose the application of autofluorescence (AF)-based techniques for lymph node evaluation in colorectal and gastric tumors. METHODS: We studied 30 clinical cases: 15 colorectal cancers and 15 gastric cancers. All of the patients were in the advanced stages of the disease and were candidates for adjuvant therapy. Autofluorescence microspectroscopy and multispectral imaging autofluorescence microscopy have been used to analyze the AF emission of metastatic lymph node sections, excited with 365-nm wavelength radiation. The AF spectra were recorded in the range of 400-700 nm. Monochrome AF images were acquired sequentially through interference filters peaked at 450, 550, and 650 nm, and then combined together in a single red-green-blue image. The AF pattern and the emission spectrum of metastatic lymph nodes have unique characteristics that can be used to distinguish them from the normal ones. RESULTS: The results, compared with standard histopathologic procedures and with specific staining methods, supplied a satisfactory validation of the proposed technique, revealing the possibility of improving the actual diagnostic procedures for malignant lymph node alterations. CONCLUSIONS: With the development of appropriate instrumentation, the proposed technique could be particularly suitable in intrasurgical diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes.