Overweight but not obesity is associated with decreased survival in rectal cancer.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To analyse the influence of overweight and obesity in disease-specific survival (DSS) in rectal cancers at stages I-III in a population with high prevalence of overweight/obesity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The population (N = 304) consisted of Mexican patients with stage I-III rectal cancer during the period between 2009 and 2015. Patients were divided based on their body mass index (BMI) into normal weight 18-25 kg/m2, overweight 25-29 kg/m2, and obesity BMI > 30 kg/m2 groups. Comparison of clinicopathologic features and survival analysis were performed. RESULTS: The median age was 58 years (interquartile range [IQR] 50-65) and the mean BMI was 26.03 ±4.06 kg/m2. Patients in the obesity and overweight groups received a lower proportion of preoperative treatment and had a higher proportion of patients in stage II. Overweight patients had a lower baseline neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and lower survival rate than patients with normal weight and with obesity (mean survival of 69.5 months vs. 81.15 months and 86.4 months, respectively). The estimated five-year DSS was 51% for the overweight group, 81% for the normal group, and 82% for the obesity group (p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with stage I-III rectal cancer in the overweight group showed a lower DSS compared to groups with normal weight and with obesity, with the last two being similar.

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Risk of Recurrence Stratification by Tumor Volume is a Best Predictor Compared with Risk Based on Mitosis and Tumor Size.

PURPOSE: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have the potential to recur and metastasize. Several prognostic schemes have been developed, mostly based on the mitotic count, diameter, and tumor site. However, these systems are not precise enough. The research question was whether the tumor size determined by volumetry allows a better risk stratification than the traditional system, and our aim was to determine the value of tumor volumetry, a feasible and simple parameter, in the recurrence of GIST. METHODS: Seventy-four cases of GIST were studied. The cases presented with non-metastatic disease, which were resected and did not receive imatinib. We compared the clinico-pathologic features of the cases with recurrence against those with non-recurrence and compared the tumor volumetry against the classification system based on tumor size and mitosis. RESULTS: The median age was 58 years (range: 25 to 91 years). Half of the cases were presented in the stomach. The tumor size had a median of 8 cm (range of 1-30 cm). The median mitosis count for 50 HPF was 4 (range 0-92). During the period of study, 16 (21.6%) patients suffered recurrence. The significant differences were that patients with recurrence accounted for more deaths and the follow-up period was larger. The area under the curve (AUC) of the volumetry classification was superior to the AUC of the classification system based on tumor size and mitosis (NIH-criteria) (p = .05). CONCLUSION: Tumor volumetry calculated in the surgical specimen and/or pre-operative tomography was superior to the NIH consensus in stratifying the risk of recurrence in GIST.

Association of ki67 Index with Recurrence in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors.

PURPOSE: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have the potential to recur and metastasize. Several prognostic schemes have been developed but none are precise enough and most times the pathologist faces a small biopsy where it is not possible to evaluate the mitotic count. Our aim was to determine the influence of ki67 index and other clinicopathologic characteristics in the recurrence of GIST. METHODS: Forty-three consecutive cases of GIST were studied. The cases presented with non-metastatic disease. We compared the clinicopathologic features of cases with recurrence against those with non-recurrence. The ki67 index was determined by square-millimeters. RESULTS: The median age was 55 years (IQR 45-63), the most frequent site of involvement was the stomach with 21 (48.8%) cases, and the median of tumor diameter was 10 cm (IQR 5.5-17.5). Twenty-six (60.5%) cases were spindle cell, 13 (30.2%) were mixed, and 4 (9.3%) were epithelioid. The median mitosis count for 50 high power fields was 4 (IQR 0-16), while per square millimeter it was 1 (IQR 0-5, range 0-32). The median of the ki67 proliferation index was 5% (IQR 1-20). During the period of study, 11 (25.6%) patients recurred. The only significant differences between patients with GIST with recurrence and without recurrence were the sex and tumor size. CONCLUSION: We did not find an association of the ki67 index with recurrence. The factors associated with recurrence were a high tumor size (> 10 cm) and male sex.