Interventional Treatments of Colorectal Liver Metastases Using Thermal Ablation and Transarterial Chemoembolization: A Single-Center Experience over 26 Years.

The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term results of different locoregional treatments for colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM), including transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT) and microwave ablation (MWA). A total of 2140 patients with CRLM treated at our department between 1993 and 2020 were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into the following groups: LITT (573 patients; median age: 62 years), TACE + LITT (346 patients; median age: 62 years), MWA (67 patients; median age: 59 years), TACE + MWA (152 patients; median age: 65 years), and TACE (1002 patients; median age: 62 years). Median survival was 1.9 years in the LITT group and 1.7 years in the TACE + LITT group. The median survival times in the MWA group and TACE + MWA group were 3.1 years and 2.1 years, respectively. The median survival in the TACE group was 0.8 years. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 77%, 27%, and 9% in the LITT group and 74%, 18%, and 5% in the TACE + LITT group, respectively. The corresponding survival rates were 80%, 55%, and 33% in the MWA group, 74%, 36%, and 20% in the TACE + MWA group and 37%, 3%, and 0% in the TACE group, respectively. The long-term results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of locoregional treatments in treating patients with CRLM. The longest survival was found in the MWA group, followed by the combination therapy of TACE and MWA.

Interventional oncological treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - A single-center long-term evaluation of thermoablation techniques like LITT, MWA, and TACE in a multimodal application over 26 years.

Purpose The purpose of the study is to retrospectively evaluate the development and technological progress in local oncological treatments of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by means of ablation techniques like laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), microwave ablation (MWA) and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in a multimodal application. Method This retrospective single-center study uses data generated between 1993 and 2020 (1,045 patients). Therapy results are evaluated using survival rates of Kaplan-Meier estimator, Cox proportional hazard regression and log-rank test. Results Median survival times in group LITT (25 patients) are 1.6 years, and, 2.6 years for LITT + TACE (67 patients). For LITT only treatments 1-/3-/5-year survival rates scored 64%, 24% and 20%. Results for combined LITT + TACE treatments were 84%, 37% and 14%. Median survival time in group MWA (227 patients) is 4.5 years. Estimated median survival time for MWA + TACE (108 patients) leads to a median survival time of 2.7 years. In group MWA the 1-/3-/5-year survival rates are 85%, 54%, 45%. Group MWA + TACE shows values of 79%, 41% and 25%. A separate group of 618 patients has been analyzed with TACE as monotherapy. Median survival time of 1 year was estimated in this group. 1-/3-/5-year survival rates are 48%, 15% and 8%. - Cox regression analysis showed that the different treatment methods are statistically significant predictors for survival of patients. Conclusions Treatments with MWA resulted in best median survival rates, followed by MWA + TACE in combination. Survival rates of MWA only are significantly higher vs. LITT, vs. LITT + TACE and vs. TACE monotherapy.

Interventional oncological treatment of breast cancer liver metastasis (BCLM): single center long-term evaluation over 26 years using thermoablation techniques like LITT, MWA and TACE in a multimodal application.

The purpose of the study is to retrospectively evaluate the development and technological progress in local oncological treatments of patients with breast cancer liver metastasis (BCLM) using LITT (laser interstitial thermotherapy), MWA (microwave ablation) and TACE (transarterial chemoembolization) ablation techniques in a multimodal application. The study uses data generated between 1993 and 2020. Therapy results were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier survival estimate, Cox proportional hazard regression and log-rank test. Cox regression analysis showed that the different treatment methods are statistically significant predictors of survival of patients. Median survival times for groups treated with LITT (212 patients) and LITT + TACE (215 patients) were 2.2 years and 2.1 years respectively; median survival times for groups treated with MWA (17 patients) and MWA + TACE (143 patients) were 5.6 and 2.4 years respectively. For LITT only treatments, the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival probability scored 80%, 37%, 22%. Results for combined LITT + TACE treatments were 76%, 34% and 15%. In group MWA, the 1-/3-/5-year survival probability rates were calculated as 89%, 89%, 89% (however, they should be interpreted carefully due to a relatively small sample size of n = 17 patients). Group MWA + TACE offered values of 77%, 38% and 22%. A separate group of 549 patients was analyzed with TACE monotherapy treatment. The estimated median survival time in this group was 0.8 years. The 1-/3-/5-year survival probability rates were 37%, 8% and 4%. Treatments with combined MWA and MWA + TACE resulted in the best median survival time estimations in this study.

Preliminary results regarding automated identification of patients with a limited six-month survival prognosis using nursing assessment in uro-oncology patients.

INTRODUCTION: Contrary to current recommendations, palliative co-management of tumor patients often occurs late in daily clinical practice. Palliative care specialist (PCS) co-management should be considered at the latest after a 6-month prognosis has been presumed. Therefore, identifying patients with a limited prognosis is a reasonable measure. METHODS: Patients were identified using a screening tool for limited prognosis, which combined their tumor stage and data from the nursing anamnesis. In this retrospective study, a monocentric cohort of patients with urological malignancies-UICC (Union for International Cancer Control) stages III and IV - were enrolled from March to December 2019, with a 6-month follow-up period ending in May 2020. RESULTS: Most patients were male and suffered from prostate cancer. Patients with uro-oncological tumors dying within 6 months correlated significantly with the presence of repeated hospitalizations within three months, pain on admission, malnutrition, impaired breathing and reduced mobility (P < 0.001). The test was fair in quality (AUC 0.727) at a cut-point of five; a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 25% were obtained. The PPV was 0.64 and NPV was 0.82. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: We specifically identified the predictors of limited prognosis in urological cancer patients across several entities using an automated scoring system based on tumor stage and data from the nursing anamnesis. Therefore, we recognized hospitalization as an important transition point and determined nurses to be valuable partners in identifying unmet palliative care needs without additional technical, personnel or financial effort.

Long-term quality of life after intensified multi-modality treatment of oral cancer including intra-arterial induction chemotherapy and adjuvant chemoradiation.

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) studies are well established when accompanying trials in head and neck cancer, but studies on long-term survivors are rare. AIMS: The aim was to evaluate long-term follow-up patients treated with an intensified multi-modality therapy. SETTING AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, tertiary care center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 135 oral/oropharyngeal cancer survivors having been treated with an effective four modality treatment (intra-arterial induction chemotherapy, radical surgery, adjuvant radiation, concurrent systemic chemotherapy) filled European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and HN35 questionnaires. Mean distance to treatment was 6.1 (1.3-16.6) years. Results were compared with a reference patient population (EORTC reference manual). In-study group comparison was also carried out. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: One-sample t-test, Mann-Whitney-test, Kruskal-Wallis analysis. RESULTS: QoL scores of both populations were well comparable. Global health status, cognitive and social functioning, fatigue, social eating, status of teeth, mouth opening and dryness, and sticky saliva were significantly worse in the study population; pain and need for pain killers, cough, need for nutritional support, problems with weight loss and gain were judged to be significantly less. Patients 1-year posttreatment had generally worse scores as compared to patients with two or more years distance to treatment. Complex reconstructive measures and adjuvant (chemo) radiation were main reasons for significant impairment of QoL. CONCLUSION: Subjective disease status of patients following a maximized multi-modality treatment showed an expectable high degree of limitations, but was generally comparable to a reference group treated less intensively, suggesting that the administration of an intensified multi-modality treatment is feasible in terms of QoL/effectivity ratio.

Periimplant changes in different transplanted soft tissues around loaded endosseous implants in patients after oral tumor surgery.

PURPOSE: To examine periimplant reaction of transplanted soft tissues foreign to oral cavity when compared with local gingiva. METHODS: In 58 oral cancer patients, 210 dental implants were inserted mainly in the mandible after radical surgery and reconstruction. Ninety-six implants penetrated transplants (split skin, mucosal, platysma, pectoralis major, and intestinal) and were compared with 114 implants penetrating local gingiva. Prosthetic treatment consisted of telescopic or bar-retained overdentures or (in case of intestinal grafts) implant-supported fixed prostheses. Follow-up lasted between 30 and 60 months. Plaque index, sulcus bleeding index, pocket probing depth, and width of vestibular-/oral attached mucosa were measured. RESULTS: Plaque index (before second year; P < 0.01) and pocket probing depth (after first year; P < 0.02-0.04) displayed significant differences with disadvantage for split skin grafts. Sulcus bleeding did not exceed index 1. Attached mucosa had no significant effect on periimplant health. CONCLUSION: Transplanted extraoral tissues behaved similarly when compared with local gingiva, showing no detrimental effect on periimplant health in oral cancer patients. Split skin and mucosal grafts had worst performance.

Life stage differences in mammary gland gene expression profile in non-human primates.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy of women in the developed world. To better understand its pathogenesis, knowledge of normal breast development is crucial, as BC is the result of disregulation of physiologic processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of reproductive life stages on the transcriptional profile of the mammary gland in a primate model. Comparative transcriptomic analyses were carried out using breast tissues from 28 female cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) at the following life stages: prepubertal (n = 5), adolescent (n = 4), adult luteal (n = 5), pregnant (n = 6), lactating (n = 3), and postmenopausal (n = 5). Mammary gland RNA was hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChip(®) Rhesus Macaque Genome Arrays. Differential gene expression was analyzed using ANOVA and cluster analysis. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed distinct separation of life stage groups. More than 2,225 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified. Gene families or pathways that changed across life stages included those related to estrogen and androgen (ESR1, PGR, TFF1, GREB1, AR, 17HSDB2, 17HSDB7, STS, HSD11B1, AKR1C4), prolactin (PRLR, ELF5, STAT5, CSN1S1), insulin-like growth factor signaling (IGF1, IGFBP1, IGFBP5), extracellular matrix (POSTN, TGFB1, COL5A2, COL12A1, FOXC1, LAMC1, PDGFRA, TGFB2), and differentiation (CD24, CD29, CD44, CD61, ALDH1, BRCA1, FOXA1, POSTN, DICER1, LIG4, KLF4, NOTCH2, RIF1, BMPR1A, TGFB2). Pregnancy and lactation displayed distinct patterns of gene expression. ESR1 and IGF1 were significantly higher in the adolescent compared to the adult animals, whereas differentiation pathways were overrepresented in adult animals and pregnancy-associated life stages. Few individual genes were distinctly different in postmenopausal animals. Our data demonstrate characteristic patterns of gene expression during breast development. Several of the pathways activated during pubertal development have been implicated in cancer development and metastasis, supporting the idea that other developmental markers may have application as biomarkers for BC.

Female surgeons' mentoring experiences and success in an academic career in Switzerland.

PRINCIPLES: An increasing proportion of women are working in medicine, although only very few choose surgical specialties and the interest in an academic pursuit is generally smaller among women compared to their male colleagues. The aim of the present study was to analyse factors critical for a successful academic career for female surgeons in Switzerland and to assess the value of mentor-mentee relationships in this context. METHODS: An anonymous national survey among board-certified female surgeons and female residents was conducted in Switzerland during spring 2008. The support in career advancement was investigated with five scales: networking, career planning, coaching, role model and emotional support scale. Career development was assessed based on the following criteria: number of talks at scientific conferences, number of peer-reviewed publications, participation in research projects, months of research as a fulltime activity, amount of awarded scholarships, amount of obtained third-party funds and number of research awards obtained. RESULTS: In total, 189/318 (59.4%) questionnaires were returned. Mentor-mentee relationships were reported by 109/189 (58%) respondents. The bivariate analysis showed a positive influence on the sum score regarding the respondents who were in a mentor-mentee relationship or who had support in doing household work (p = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: A supporting network, especially in terms of a mentor, is crucial so that female physicians interested in an academic career get the opportunity to accomplish their purpose. There is considerable potential for improvement as almost half of the respondents did not have a mentor in this survey.

Women in surgery: a survey in Switzerland.

An increasing proportion of women work in medicine; however, only few choose surgical specialties. The objective of this study was to analyze the current situation of female surgeons and surgical residents in Switzerland concerning their personal and professional fulfillment. Of 318 female surgeons and surgical residents included in our study, 189 (59.4%) returned the anonymous questionnaire. Mentor-mentee relationships were mentioned by 110 (58.2%) of the 189 respondents. On the basis of a 7-point Likert scale, these women responded that they were moderately satisfied with their professional (mean score [SD], 2.7 [1.3]) and personal (mean score [SD], 3.0 [1.7]) lives. Of the 189 respondents, 113 (59.8%) mentioned that they felt underappreciated. The most important ways suggested for increasing the attractiveness of a surgical career for women were a reduction in workload (49 respondents [25.9%]), more flexible working hours (38 respondents [20.1%]), and better structured residency programs (23 respondents [12.2%]).

Prevalence of burnout among surgical residents and surgeons in Switzerland.

Burnout is a pathologic reaction in response to long-term work-related stress. The aim of this study was 2-fold: first, to assess the prevalence and degree of burnout among surgical residents and surgeons in Switzerland and, second, to identify predictors of burnout in the surgical community. Four hundred five of 618 anonymous questionnaires (65.5%) were returned. Among respondents, 3.7% and 35.1% showed high and moderate degrees of burnout, respectively. Respondents with high and moderate degrees of burnout had higher summary scores of perceived stress (P < .001). In multiple logistic regression analysis, the strongest predictors of burnout were poor interaction with nurses, disturbances due to telephone consultations, and high overall workload. To reduce burnout, new work models should be sought, in addition to decreasing work intensity and workload rather than restricting work hours alone.

Positive sentinel lymph nodes are a negative prognostic factor for survival in T1-2 oral/oropharyngeal cancer-a long-term study on 103 patients.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate prognostic value of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in oral/oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer (OOSCC) concerning overall/disease-free survival. METHODS: One hundred three consecutive patients with T1-2N0 OOSCC were consecutively recruited for SNB as single invasive staging method for the neck. Two hundred seventy-three sentinel nodes (SNs) were removed (mean, 2.65 per patient). Nine patients had 10 positive SNs (upstaging rate, 8.7%) found in levels I to III, leading to a therapeutic neck dissection. RESULTS: Mean observation time of all patients was 6.7 years; mean survival time of patients with negative or positive SNs was 6.9 and 3.7 years, respectively. There has been no false-negative result of SNB to date becoming manifest in ipsilateral node metastasis during follow-up. Five-year overall/disease-free survival of all patients was 82%/72%, respectively. The same parameters for the patients with negative SNs were 85%/74%, for those with positive SNs 38%/47%, respectively (statistically significant). There has been a higher statistical risk for locoregional recurrence for patients with positive SNs. Rates of metachronous second primary tumors developing during follow-up were 10.6% (negative SNs) and 44.4% (positive SNs). CONCLUSION: SNB was a valuable diagnostic method in patients with T1-2N0 OOSCC avoiding elective neck dissections. Patients with positive SNs had statistically significantly higher rates of locoregional recurrences, second primary tumors, tumor-related deaths, and a worse overall/disease-free survival. To date, no therapeutic consequences in case of a positive SN beyond execution of modified radical neck dissection (to remove other positive nodes) and closer attention during follow-up can be concluded from this study.

Growth of the orbit after frontoorbital advancement using nonrigid suture vs rigid plate fixation technique.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate whether a measurable difference occurs on the growth of the orbit when using 2 forms of stabilization of the supra-orbital rim after upper orbital osteotomy in children with craniosynostosis. The 2 methods of fixation include sutures providing nonrigid fixation and titanium or resorbable osteosynthesis plates. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective randomized study, the influence of the mentioned fixation materials was analyzed in a tertiary care center (university hospital). Sixteen consecutive children with craniosynostoses (trigonocephaly, brachycephaly, plagiocephaly) were included. All patients underwent bilateral frontoorbital advancement surgery. In 8 patients each, the fixation of the mobilized and reshaped supraorbital rim was carried out using either miniplates or sutures, resulting in a rigid or nonrigid fixation. By means of computed tomography scans taken preoperatively (mean age, 8months) and postoperatively (mean age, 6.5years), the development of the orbit was measured using the anterior interorbital distance, lateral orbital distance, medial orbital-wall length, lateral orbital-wall length, and medial orbital-wall protrusion. The results were compared to norm values and statistically evaluated. RESULT: In all patients, a long-term improvement of the orbit was achieved with absolute distances staying below norm values. The choice of the fixation material was of minor importance. CONCLUSION: Sutures providing nonrigid fixation of bone flaps seem to be feasible in reaching the aims of surgery in craniosynostotic children.