Sclerotherapy of the Post renal Transplant Lymphoceles: A Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of sclerotherapy in treating lymphoceles after kidney transplantation, focusing on factors such as recurrence rates and procedural success. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective studies using sclerotherapy as the only form of treatment for postrenal transplant lymphoceles were included. All studies used percutaneous transcatheter sclerotherapy as treatment, and the success rate of the intervention was recorded. Sixty-one references were obtained by manually searching the MEDLINE (n = 20), Embase (n = 41), and Cochrane Library databases (n = 0) for retrospective research studies that included the keywords "sclerotherapy post renal transplant lymphoceles." After removing 3 duplicates, 50 of the remaining articles were excluded after the screening, and the remaining studies were extracted for demographic data and our primary outcome of the success rate of sclerotherapy. RESULTS: A descriptive analysis of the outcomes and complication rates associated with sclerotherapy interventions for lymphoceles is provided. A high degree of variation across the different studies was observed. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, there was no correlation between the sclerosant used and the sclerotherapy complication rate (P = .472) or the success rate (P = .591). There was also no correlation between the gender of the patient and the success rate; however, there was a significant difference in the complication rate by gender (P < .005). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, different sclerosant products have been used for therapy with no consensus on the most efficacious product because the success rate has been variable. In addition, the gender of the patient may influence the complication rates associated with sclerotherapy for lymphoceles in patients post-kidney transplant.

Comparable and Complimentary Modalities for Treatment of Small-Sized HCC: Surgical Resection, Radiofrequency Ablation, and Microwave Ablation.

BACKGROUND: Over the past decade, there has been continual improvement in both ablative and surgical technologies for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The efficacy of ablative therapy compared to surgical resection for HCC has not been thoroughly evaluated using multiple large-scale randomized controlled trials. By international consensus, if a patient is eligible, surgery is the primary curative treatment option, as it is believed to confer superior oncologic control. OBJECTIVE: to determine the efficacies of percutaneous ablative therapies and surgical resection (SR) in the treatment of HCC. Data sources, study appraisal, and synthesis methods: A meta-analysis using 5 online databases dating back to 1989 with more than 31,000 patients analyzing patient and tumor characteristics, median follow-up, overall survival, and complication rate was performed. RESULTS: Ablative therapies are suitable alternatives to surgical resection in terms of survival and complication rates for comparable patient populations. For the entire length of the study from 1989-2019, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) produced the highest 5-year survival rates (59.6%), followed by microwave ablation (MWA) (50.7%) and surgical resection (SR) (49.9%). In the most recent era from 2006 to 2019, surgical resection has produced the highest 5-year survival rate of 72.8%, followed by RFA at 61.7% and MWA at 50.6%. Conclusions and key findings: Depending on the disease state and comorbidities of the patient, one modality may offer superior overall survival rates over the other available techniques. Interventional ablative methods and surgical resection should be used in conjunction for the successful treatment of small-sized HCC.

Social Determinants of Health are Associated With Postoperative Outcomes in Children With Complicated Appendicitis.

INTRODUCTION: Socioeconomic disadvantage has been associated with increased complicated appendicitis rates. Our purpose was to analyze the complex interactions between social determinants of health (SDOH) and postoperative outcomes in pediatric appendicitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Children who underwent appendectomy at our institution (1/2015-12/2020) were retrospectively reviewed. We used home addresses to determine composite measures of neighborhood/area-level socioeconomic advantage (Area Deprivation Index [ADI] and Social Deprivation Index [SDI]), and other area-level indicators. We created a novel, composite outcome score computed as a weighted average of eight outcome measures. Feature selection and exploratory factor analysis were used to create a multivariate model predictive of outcomes. RESULTS: Of 1117 children with appendicitis, 20.59% had complicated (perforated) appendicitis. Factor analysis identified two multivariate latent factors; Factor 1 contained SDI, ADI, and % unemployed in the population, and Factor 2 contained % Hispanic and % foreign-born in the population. Low Factor 2 scores (communities with more Hispanic/foreign-born residents) were associated with increased length of stay, more frequent postoperative percutaneous drainage, and increased postoperative imaging. CONCLUSIONS: Interactions between SDOH and pediatric surgical care go beyond the individual patient and suggest that vulnerable populations are exposed to contextual conditions that may impact outcomes. Specifically, neighborhood-level factors, including the prevalence of Hispanic ethnicity and foreign-born individuals, are associated with outcomes in pediatric patients with complicated appendicitis. Reducing disparities in complicated appendicitis outcomes may involve addressing neighborhood-level SDOH through strategic reallocation of healthcare resources and developing targeted interventions to improve access to pediatric surgical care in underserved communities.

Inferior Survival Is Associated With Socioeconomic Deprivation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Pernicious health disparities have been reported in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Few tools exist to screen patients in order to facilitate educational and outreach initiatives. We hypothesize that neighborhood-level socioeconomic metrics such as the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) can predict inferior outcomes in patients with early-stage HCC. METHODS: A single institution's retrospective review of patients with Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Stage I HCC between 2000 and 2020 was conducted. Univariate and multivariate models were constructed to identify clinical and socioeconomic variables correlated with treatment-specific survival. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare survival differences between cohorts. RESULTS: A total of 558 patients were included in this study with newly diagnosed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Stage I HCC. Multivariate models demonstrated native model of end-stage liver disease, largest tumor size, insurance type, the distance to our transplant center, and the ADI score, a validated metric for a patient's socioeconomic status, are independent risk factors for worse overall survival (all P-values < 0.05). Concerningly, despite similar maximal tumor size, number of tumors, and native model of end-stage liver disease scores, patients from high ADI neighborhoods are 20% less likely to receive surgical treatment, especially liver transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: The ADI is a useful tool for identifying patients at the time of presentation who are at risk for inferior treatment for early stage HCC, and the ADI should be incorporated as a social vital sign.

GM-CSF drives myelopoiesis, recruitment and polarisation of tumour-associated macrophages in cholangiocarcinoma and systemic blockade facilitates antitumour immunity.

OBJECTIVE: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is rising in incidence, and at present, there are limited effective systemic therapies. iCCA tumours are infiltrated by stromal cells, with high prevalence of suppressive myeloid populations including tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Here, we show that tumour-derived granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and the host bone marrow is central for monopoiesis and potentiation of TAMs, and abrogation of this signalling axis facilitates antitumour immunity in a novel model of iCCA. METHODS: Blood and tumours were analysed from iCCA patients and controls. Treatment and correlative studies were performed in mice with autochthonous and established orthotopic iCCA tumours treated with anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody. RESULTS: Systemic elevation in circulating myeloid cells correlates with poor prognosis in patients with iCCA, and patients who undergo resection have a worse overall survival if tumours are more infiltrated with CD68+ TAMs. Mice with spontaneous iCCA demonstrate significant elevation of monocytic myeloid cells in the tumour microenvironment and immune compartments, and tumours overexpress GM-CSF. Blockade of GM-CSF with a monoclonal antibody decreased tumour growth and spread. Mice bearing orthotopic tumours treated with anti-GM-CSF demonstrate repolarisation of immunosuppressive TAMs and MDSCs, facilitating T cell response and tumour regression. GM-CSF blockade dampened inflammatory gene networks in tumours and TAMs. Human tumours with decreased GM-CSF expression exhibit improved overall survival after resection. CONCLUSIONS: iCCA uses the GM-CSF-bone marrow axis to establish an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment. Blockade of the GM-CSF axis promotes antitumour T cell immunity.