Conformal thyroidectomy is a feasible option in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study with 10-year follow-up results.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been an increasing prevalence of patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) without lymph node involvement in medical centers worldwide. For patients who are unable to undergo active surveillance (AS) and are afraid of postoperative complications, conformal thyroidectomy may be a suitable option to ensure both preservation of function and complete removal of the tumor. METHODS: The patients in the cohort during 2010 to 2015 were retrospectively enrolled strictly following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The observation and control groups were defined based on the surgical approach, with patients in the observation group undergoing conformal thyroidectomy and patients in the control group undergoing lobectomy. Event-free survival (EFS), the interval from initial surgery to the detection of recurrent or metastatic disease, was defined as the primary observation endpoint. RESULTS: A total of 319 patients were included in the study, with 124 patients undergoing conformal thyroidectomy and 195 patients undergoing lobectomy. When compared to lobectomy, conformal thyroidectomy demonstrated reduced hospital stays, shorter operative times, and lower rates of vocal cord paralysis and hypoparathyroidism. Furthermore, the mean bleeding volume during the operation and the rate of permanent hypothyroidism were also lower in the conformal thyroidectomy group than in the lobectomy group. However, there was no statistically significant difference observed in the 5- and 10-year EFS between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Conformal thyroidectomy had advantages in perioperative management and short-term complication rates, with an EFS that was not inferior to that of lobectomy. Thus, conformal thyroidectomy is a feasible option for low-risk PTMC patients.

Transcriptomic and genomic profiling of multiple primary colorectal cancers reveals intratumor heterogeneity and a distinct immune microenvironment.

This study reported on the intratumor genomic and immunological heterogeneity of different tumor lesions from a single patient with multiple primary colorectal cancer (MPCC). The goal of this study was to explore the molecular and microenvironment characteristics of tumor lesions from different primary sites in a patient with MPCC. A total of three tumor lesions located in the hepatic flexure of the transverse colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum were collected from a 72-year-old male patient with MPCC. All three tumor samples were examined by using whole-exome sequencing (WES) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). The transcriptome data of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) colon cancer (COAD) dataset were explored to characterize the biological impacts of certain immune cells. Only three nonsynonymous mutations were shared by all of the tumor lesions, whereas a number of single nucleotide variant (SNV) and copy number variation (CNV) mutations were shared by tumor samples from the sigmoid colon and rectum. Transcriptomic analysis showed that tumor lesions derived from the transverse colon had decreased levels of RTK, ERK, and AKT pathway activity, thus suggesting lower oncogenic properties in the transverse lesion compared to the other two samples. Further immune landscape evaluation by using single-cell transcriptomic analysis displayed significant intratumor heterogeneity in MPCC. Specifically, more abundant mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cell infiltration was found in transverse colon tumor lesions. Afterwards, we found that higher MAIT cell infiltration may correlate with a better prognosis of patients with colon cancer (immunohistochemical status was MSI-L/pMMR) by using a publicly available TCGA dataset.

Hallmarks and novel insights for gastrointestinal stromal tumors: A bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing recognition of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), novel insights have appeared in both preclinical and clinical research and begun to reshape the field. This study aims to map the research landscape through bibliometric analysis and provide a brief overview for the future of the GIST field. METHODS: We searched the Web of Science Core Collection without publication data restrictions for GISTs and performed a bibliometric analysis with CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. RESULTS: In sum, 5,911 of 13,776 records were included, and these studies were published in 948 journals and written by 24,965 authors from 4,633 institutions in 100 countries. Referring to published reviews and bibliometric analysis, we classified the future trends in four groups. In epidemiological study, precise incidence and clinicopathological features in different regions and races might become potential hotspots. Novel therapy, such as drugs, modified strategies, radioligand therapy, was persistent hotspots in GIST fields, and ctDNA-guided diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment might meet future clinical needs. The debate over serosa surgery vs. mucosa surgery will remain active for a long time in GIST surgery, and function reserve surgery, biology-based surgery will play an important role in future. Moreover, rare GIST type, like NF-1-associated GIST, Carney triads and SDH mutant GIST, need more studies in pathogenesis and genetic mutation to provide appropriate treatment for this orphan GIST patients. CONCLUSIONS: Potential hotspots in future GIST trends might involve epidemiology, agents, resection therapy and rare type GIST, moreover, researchers could pay more attention in these four fields.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of colonic and rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors: A propensity score matching analysis.

Background: Colonic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (cGIST) and rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (rGIST) are two rare subtypes of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). The view that colonic and rectal carcinoma are different is generally accepted; however, whether there is a difference between cGIST and rGIST is still unknown. Here, we aimed to provide evidence for future clinical management and research by comparing the differences between the two types of GIST in the above-mentioned aspects. Methods: Patients were enrolled from three medical centers in China and published literature was collected following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Propensity score matching was used to eliminate differences between cohorts. Results: Between cGIST and rGIST patients, significant differences were observed in age, tumor size, mitotic index, NIH risk category, growth pattern, and symptoms. Adjuvant therapy is used in a high proportion of cGIST patients, and neoadjuvant therapy is used in a high proportion of rGIST patients. Although local resection is the main surgical method in both cohorts, the proportion is higher in cGIST patients. The overall survival of rGIST patients was better than that of the cGIST patients before propensity score matching (PSM). Interestingly, no significant differences in prognosis were observed after PSM. Conclusions: Although there were significant differences between cGIST and rGIST patients in baseline characteristics, clinicopathological features, treatment choice, and overall survival rate before PSM, no significant differences in long-term survival were observed between the two groups after PSM. In our study, there may be no differences in the tumor entity between cGIST and rGIST.

Analysis of Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Partially Cystic Thyroid Nodules Based on Ultrasound Characterization With a TIRADS Grade-4a or Higher Nodules.

Partially cystic thyroid nodules (PCTNs) are a kind of thyroid nodule with both solid and cystic components, and are usually misdiagnosed as benign nodules. The objective of this study was to determine the ultrasound (US) characterizations with a TIRADS Grade-4a or higher partially cystic thyroid nodules (PCTNs) which are associated with being malignant or benign. In this study, 133 PCTNs with a TIRADS Grade-4a or higher were enrolled; 83 were malignant and 50 were benign. TI-RADS classification can detect malignant PCTNs, and its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy are 39.8%, 96.0%, 94.3%, 49.0%, and 60.9%, respectively. Univariate analyses revealed that nodule shape, margin, and structure were related to PCTNs' being benign and malignant, among which nodules taller-than-wide, with an irregular shape, non-smooth margin, eccentric sharp angle, or edge sharp angle were significantly associated with malignancy while ovoid to round nodules, smooth margins, multiple separation, and eccentric obtuse angle structures were significantly associated with a benign nature. For the solid part of PCTNs, its free margin, echo, and calcification are related to benign and malignant PCTNs. Among them, the free margin of the solid part is non-smooth, hypoechoic, and microcalcification, which are related to malignant PCTNs, while the free margin of the solid part is smooth, isoechoic, macrocalcification, non-calcification and are related to benign PCTNs. Calcification of solid part and free margin are important factors for predicting malignant PCTNs. In addition, nodules' composition, blood flow signal, and other factors had nothing to do with PCTNs' being benign or malignant. In the multivariate Logistic regression analysis, solid part calcification (OR: 17.28; 95%CI: 5.14~58.08) and free margin (OR: 3.18; 95%CI: 1.01~10.00) were revealed to be the strongest independent predictors for malignancy (P<0.05). Our study indicated that understanding the ultrasound characteristics of malignant PCTNs, to avoid misdiagnosed PCTNs patients, is important to make a precise diagnosis and prognosis of PCTNs.

Uncut Roux-en-Y might reduce the rate of reflux gastritis after radical distal gastrectomy: An evidence mapping from a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy, safety, technical feasibility, and effect of reducing the incidence of reflux gastritis from uncut Roux-en-Y (URY) reconstruction after radical distal gastrectomy (RDG) for gastric cancer. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang databases until June 30, 2020, to identify studies comparing URY reconstruction with other gastrointestinal tract reconstruction methods after RDG. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the Cochrane Collaboration's risk for bias assessment tool were used to assess the risk of bias. The study was performed using review manager RevMan 5.3.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 35 original studies (six randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and 29 cohort studies) were included in this analysis with a total of 4100 patients. For reflux gastritis, URY anastomosis was significantly superior to the other four types of anastomoses (Billroth-I (odds ratio (OR) = 0.16 [0.10, 0.27], P < 0.00001); Billroth-II (OR = 0.32 [0.20, 0.51], P < 0.00001); Billroth-II with Braun (OR = 0.14 [0.007, 0.26], P < 0.00001), and Roux-en-Y (OR = 0.59 [0.38, 0.91], P = 0.02)). Furthermore, URY anastomosis was better than Billroth-II with Braun (OR = 0.07, 95%confidence interval (CI): [0.02, 0.28], P = 0.0001) and Billroth-II (OR = 0.14, 95%CI: [0.09, 0.24], P < 0.00001) anastomoses for preventing bile reflux. In addition, for anastomotic leakage, URY anastomosis was significantly superior to Roux-en-Y (OR = 0.34, 95%CI: [0.13, 0.87], P = 0.02) anastomosis, and no statistically significant difference between URY and the other three reconstruction methods was found. The postoperative hospital stay of patients receiving URY anastomosis was substantially shorter than those receiving Billroth-II with Braun (MD: 2.84, 95%CI: [-3.16, -1.80], P < 0.00001), Bollroth-II (MD: 1.23, 95%CI: [-2.10, -0.37], P = 0.005) and Roux-en-Y (MD: 1.98, 95%CI: [-2.17, -1.78], P < 0.00001) anastomoses. CONCLUSION: URY reconstruction significantly reduce the rate of reflux gastritis after RDG, and it was a more favorable reconstruction method after RDG for its operative simplicity, safety, and reduced postoperative complications especially in Roux-en-Y stasis syndrome. Large sample size cohort studies and well-designed RCTs are needed for further confirmation of our findings. OTHER: This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No.81871962), Industry-University-Research Innovation Fund in the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (No. 2018A01013) and the Autonomous Intelligent Unmanned System (No. 62088101). This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020200906).

Genetic mutations associated with sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in metastatic colon cancer: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal liver metastases (CLM) occur in 15%-30% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Advancements in next generation sequencing (NGS) can provide more precise prognoses for cancer patients and help guide clinical treatment. However, the genetic variants that predict high sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy remain unclear, especially in patients with CLM. The aim of this study was to identify the relevant genetic variants in a single CLM patient and to summarize the current evidence on mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that objectively predict sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. CASE SUMMARY: A 76-year-old male patient, who was diagnosed as stage IV colon cancer with liver metastases, was found to have APC/TP53/KRAS mutations. He showed a good therapeutic response to 12 courses of oxaliplatin regimens combined with Bevacizumab. Genetic analysis of the patient identified 5 genes with 7 detected SNPs that may be related to a better response to chemotherapy drugs. In addition, a critical literature review was performed based on a standardized appraisal form after selecting the articles. Ultimately, 21 eligible studies were appraised to assess the association between gene mutations and good prognosis. Mutations in KRAS, TP53, SMAD4, and APC were identified as being associated with a poor response to chemotherapy drugs, whereas mutations of CREBBP and POLD1 were associated with longer overall survival. CONCLUSION: NGS can identify precise predictors of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, leading to improved outcomes for CRC patients.

Clinical features of gastric duplications: evidence from primary case reports and published data.

BACKGROUND: Alimentary tract duplications are rare congenital lesions, and only 2-8% of them are located in the stomach. Gastric duplications (GD) can lead to severe adverse events. Thus, surgical resection is required once the disease is diagnosed. The main purpose of this study is to describe the clinical features of gastric duplications and to provide evidence for the diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: A retrospective review of eight gastric duplications at two medical centers Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH) and Shandong Provincial Hospital from 2010 to 2020 was conducted. Furthermore, the literature search was also conducted by retrieving data from PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases from the date of the database inception to January 15, 2021. RESULTS: Eight patients who were diagnosed as gastric duplications and 311 published records were included in this study. In all, 319 patients were identified: Vomiting and abdominal pain were the most frequent clinical presentations among juveniles and adults respectively. There was no difference in gender distribution (F: 53.16% vs M: 46.84%), and the cystic gastric duplications were the most common type of the gastric duplications (87.04%). More than half (53.30%) of included cases were located in the greater curvature of stomach. CONCLUSIONS: Gastric duplications could present with a wide spectrum of symptomatology, which might be misdiagnosed easily as other diseases. For cystic gastric duplications, the optimal treatment was a complete surgical removal. But conservative treatment might be an alternative strategy for tubular gastric duplications.

Current Trends and Research Topics Regarding Intestinal Organoids: An Overview Based on Bibliometrics.

Currently, research on intestinal diseases is mainly based on animal models and cell lines in monolayers. However, these models have drawbacks that limit scientific advances in this field. Three-dimensional (3D) culture systems named organoids are emerging as a reliable research tool for recapitulating the human intestinal epithelium and represent a unique platform for patient-specific drug testing. Intestinal organoids (IOs) are crypt-villus structures that can be derived from adult intestinal stem cells (ISCs), embryonic stem cells (ESCs), or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and have the potential to serve as a platform for individualized medicine and research. However, this emerging field has not been bibliometric summarized to date. Here, we performed a bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database to evaluate 5,379 publications concerning the use of organoids; the studies were divided into four clusters associated with the current situation and future directions for the application of IOs. Based on the results of our bibliometric analysis of IO applications, we systematically summarized the latest advances and analyzed the limitations and prospects.

Characterization of Global Research Trends and Prospects on Single-Cell Sequencing Technology: Bibliometric Analysis.

BACKGROUND: As single-cell sequencing technology has been gradually introduced, it is essential to characterize global collaboration networks and map development trends over the past 20 years. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to illustrate collaboration in the field of single-cell sequencing methods and explore key topics and future directions. METHODS: Bibliometric analyses were conducted with CiteSpace and VOSviewer software on publications prior to November 2019 from the Web of Science Core Collection about single-cell sequencing methods. RESULTS: Ultimately, we identified 2489 records, which were published in 495 journals by 14,202 authors from 1970 institutes in 61 countries. There was a noticeable increase in publications in 2014. The United States and high-income countries in Europe contributed to most of the records included. Harvard University, Stanford University, Karolinska Institutes, Peking University, and the University of Washington were the biggest nodes in every cluster of the collaboration network, and SA Teichmann, JC Marioni, A Regev, and FC Tang were the top-producing authors. Keywords co-occurrence analysis suggested applications in immunology as a developing research trend. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the global collaboration network was unformed and that high-income countries contributed more to the rapidly growth of publications of single-cell sequencing technology. Furthermore, the application in immunology might be the next research hotspot and developmental direction.

Gastric cancer complicated with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: case report and a brief review.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) comprises a group of severe immune function disorders that can lead to immune-mediated organ damage. There are two subtypes of HLH: primary and secondary. Secondary HLH is associated with infectious, oncologic, chemotherapeutic, and other underlying causes, and studies on HLH triggered by tumors have mainly focused on hematological malignancies. Secondary HLH in patients with solid tumors is rare. Here, we present two cases of gastric cancer complicated with HLH. The patient 1 was diagnosed as gastric cancer at stage I and got intractable fever after a distal subtotal gastrectomy without any evidence of infections or other complications. The patient 2 suffered from unresectable gastric adenocarcinoma and got fever, hemorrhagic rashes, and petechiae in mouth after six cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. After detailed and comprehensive examinations, HLH was diagnosed in the two patients according to 2004 HLH diagnostic criteria, and the patients received treatment including immunosuppressive agents immediately. After therapy, the two patients showed partial remission, but both eventually died due to HLH relapse or progression of the primary tumor. The treatment regimen for HLH is intricate, and only a few relevant studies have focused on the treatment of cancer patients with HLH. The high mortality associated with this disease calls for more attention and additional research to improve the prognosis for these patients.

Different Medical Features and Strategies of Large Rectal Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: A Multi-Central Pooling Analysis.

PURPOSE: The rectum is a rare site for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Tumors in this critical anatomical site are prone to develop local recurrence, and this occurs at a high level even in low-risk tumors. Previous studies found that high-risk was the most common category in rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (RGISTs), and size was the most important factor affecting the long-term prognosis. We aimed to find out the most influential factor on clinical outcomes, and describe demographics, oncological differences, and surgical procedures in patients with poor prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data on consecutive patients with RGIST, who were diagnosed at Peking University People's Hospital, Shandong Province Hospital, and The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University from 2010 to 2020, were retrospectively evaluated. Further, a literature search was conducted by retrieving data from PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases from inception up to March 20, 2020. RESULTS: In all, 50 patients were diagnosed with RGIST at three medical centers, and 86 published records were finally included in the literature review. Combined analysis of the whole individual patient data showed that 5.5 cm was deemed an appropriate cut-off value for L-RGIST, and that patients usually showed a male predominance (67.59%), younger age at onset (56.61 years), higher operative difficulty, and poorer prognosis. CONCLUSION: Separation of patients with large RGIST from general patients may contribute to the recognition of the oncological characteristics and clinical management of this rare type of tumor.

N6-methyladenosine Regulator-Mediated Immune Genes Identify Breast Cancer Immune Subtypes and Predict Immunotherapy Efficacy.

Breast cancer (BRCA) is a heterogeneous malignancy closely related to the tumor microenvironment (TME) cell infiltration. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of mRNA plays a crucial regulator in regulating the immune microenvironment of BRCA. Immunotherapy represents a paradigm shift in BRCA treatment; however, lack of an appropriate approach for treatment evaluation is a significant issue in this field. In this study, we attempted to establish a prognostic signature of BRCA based on m6A-related immune genes and to investigate the potential association between prognosis and immunotherapy. We comprehensively evaluated the m6A modification patterns of BRCA tissues and non-tumor tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the modification patterns with TME cell-infiltrating characteristics. Overall, 1,977 TME-related genes were identified in the literature. Based on LASSO and Cox regression analyses, the m6A-related immune score (m6A-IS) was established to characterize the TME of BRCA and predict prognosis and efficacy associated with immunotherapy. We developed an m6A-IS to effectively predict immune infiltration and the prognosis of patients with BRCA. The prognostic score model represented robust predictive performance in both the training and validation cohorts. The low-m6A-IS group was characterized by enhanced antigen presentation and improved immune checkpoint expression, further indicating sensitivity to immunotherapy. Compared with the patients in the high-score group, the overall survival rate after treatment in the low-score group was significantly higher in the testing and validation cohorts. We constructed an m6A-IS system to examine the ability of the m6A signature to predict the infiltration of immune cells of the TME in BRCA, and the m6A-IS system acted as an independent prognostic biomarker that predicts the response of patients with BRCA in immunotherapy.

Clinical features of multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors: A pooling analysis combined with evidence and gap map.

BACKGROUND: Multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors (MGISTs) are a very rare type of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and are usually observed in syndrome. AIM: The paper aimed to describe the clinical and oncological features of MGISTs and to offer evidence for the diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Data of consecutive patients with MGISTs who were diagnosed at Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH) from 2008 to 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Further, a literature search was conducted by retrieving data from PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library databases from inception up to November 30, 2019. RESULTS: In all, 12 patients were diagnosed with MGISTs at PKUPH, and 43 published records were ultimately included following the literature review. Combined analysis of the whole individual patient data showed that female (59.30%), young (14.45%), and syndromic GIST (63.95%) patients comprised a large proportion of the total patient population. Tumors were mainly located in the small intestine (58.92%), and both CD117 and CD34 were generally positive. After a mean 78.32-mo follow-up, the estimated median overall survival duration (11.5 years) was similar to single GISTs, but recurrence-free survival was relatively poorer. CONCLUSION: The clinical and oncological features are potentially different between MGISTs and single GIST. Further studies are needed to explore appropriate surgical approach and adjuvant therapy.

Human colorectal cancer cells frequently express IgG and display unique Ig repertoire.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence proving that many human carcinomas, including colon cancer, can overexpress immunoglobulin (Ig); the non B cancer cell-derived Ig usually displayed unique V(D)J rearrangement pattern that are distinct from B cell-derived Ig. Especially, the cancer-derived Ig plays important roles in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. However, it still remains unclear if the colon cancer-derived Ig can display unique V(D)J pattern and sequencing, which can be used as novel target for colon cancer therapy. AIM: To investigate the Ig repertoire features expressed in human colon cancer cells. METHODS: Seven cancerous tissue samples of colon adenocarcinoma and corresponding noncancerous tissue samples were sorted by fluorescence-activated cell sorting using epithelial cell adhesion molecule as a marker for epithelial cells. Ig repertoire sequencing was used to analyze the expression profiles of all 5 classes of Ig heavy chains (IgH) and the Ig repertoire in colon cancer cells and corresponding normal epithelial cells. RESULTS: We found that all 5 IgH classes can be expressed in both colon cancer cells and normal epithelial cells. Surprisingly, unlike the normal colonic epithelial cells that expressed 5 Ig classes, our results suggested that cancer cells most prominently express IgG. Next, we found that the usage of Ig in cancer cells caused the expression of some unique Ig repertoires compared to normal cells. Some VH segments, such as VH3-7, have been used in cancer cells, and VH3-74 was frequently present in normal epithelial cells. Moreover, compared to the normal cell-derived Ig, most cancer cell-derived Ig showed unique VHDJH patterns. Importantly, even if the same VHDJH pattern was seen in cancer cells and normal cells, cancer cell-derived IgH always displayed distinct hypermutation hot points. CONCLUSION: We found that colon cancer cells could frequently express IgG and unique IgH repertoires, which may be involved in carcinogenesis of colon cancer. The unique IgH repertoire has the potential to be used as a novel target in immune therapy for colon cancer.

Low- Versus High-Risk Rectal Cancer Based on MRI Features: Outcomes in Patients Treated Without Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the prognoses of patients with low- and high-risk rectal cancer detected by MRI who were treated without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) and to determine independent risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 185 patients with pathologically proven rectal adenocarcinoma who were treated without NCRT. Cancer was defined as high risk if one or more of the following factors were present: extramural depth of tumor invasion greater than 5 mm or stage T4a or T4b for tumor in the mid or high rectum; involvement of intersphincteric space, levators, or adjacent organs for tumor in the low rectum; extramural venous invasion (EMVI); or circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement. Patients without any of those risk factors were placed in the low-risk group. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to compare the survival outcomes between the two groups and to investigate the univariate and multivariate influences of the risk factors. RESULTS: Cancer was deemed to be low risk in 65 (35.1%) patients and high risk in 120 (64.9%) patients. The two patient groups had statistically significant differences in 3-year actuarial overall survival (OS; 100% vs 88.3%, p = 0.0044), disease-free survival (DFS; 92.3% vs 60.0%, p < 0.0001), and local recurrence (LR; 1.5% vs 10.0%, p = 0.0297). CRM involvement was identified as an independent risk factor for OS (hazard ratio [HR], 4.78; 95% CI, 1.24-18.45), DFS (HR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.24-4.81), and LR (HR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.07-14.41). Moreover, EMVI was identified as an independent risk factor for DFS (HR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.28-4.74). CONCLUSION: The LR and long-term survival of patients in the low-risk group were more favorable than those of patients in the high-risk group. EMVI and CRM status were independent risk factors.

Pathological outcomes of transanal versus laparoscopic total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since 2010, comparative studies on transanal and laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) have been published and it remains unclear about the oncological benefit from transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME). METHODS: We have searched English databases to identify all taTME studies published between January 2010 and August 2017. Pathological outcomes included circumferential resection margin (CRM), positive CRM (< 1 M), length of distal resection margin (DRM), positive DRM, quality of mesorectum (complete mesorectum), harvested lymph node, and length of the specimen. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for dichotomous outcomes and weighted mean differences (WMDs) for continuous outcomes. RESULTS: We have included ten studies comprising of 762 patients. Compared with laparoscopic TME, taTME had a longer CRM (WMD, 0.833; 95% CI 0.366-1.299; P < 0.001), a lower positive rate of CRM (OR, 0.505; 95% CI 0.258-0.991; P = 0.047), and a longer DRM (WMD, 6.261; 95% CI 1.049-11.472; P = 0.019). There were no significant differences in other pathological outcomes. Both cumulative meta-analysis and sensitivity analysis were unable to detect potential sources of the heterogeneity in DRM. There was no evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis revealed that taTME had more advantages on positive CRM, CRM, and DRM compared with laparoscopic TME. Compared with laparoscopic TME, more benefits of taTME on pathological outcomes remained undetected. The current findings are all based on observational studies, RCTs with adequate power are required.

Extramural vascular invasion detected by contrast-enhanced multiple-row detectors computed tomography (ceMDCT) as a predictor of synchronous metastases in colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Extramural Vascular Invasion (EMVI) is histologically defined as the presence of tumor cells beyond the muscularis propria in vessels resulting in disease metastases. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether EMVI, detected by contrast-enhanced multiple-row detectors computed tomography (MDCT), has closely association with synchronous metastases in colon cancer. METHODS: Patients with pathology proven colon cancer were included in this retrospective study. Preoperative imaging status, including Extramural tumor depth, Lymph nodes, tumor location, and ctEMVI status, were defined on MDCT. Postoperative pathological tumor stage, lymph node stage, and tumor differentiation, were defined in accordance with the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th Edition. Synchronous metastases were detected on follow-up MDCT 3 months after initial diagnosis or by surgery, if available. Associations between ctEMVI and other preoperative and postoperative factors were analyzed using Chi-squared tests. Logistic regression analyses were performed to analyze the preoperative and postoperative factors of synchronous metastases in colon cancer. RESULTS: ctEMVI was observed in 96 patients (96/241, 39.8%). The presence of ctEMVI varied significantly depending on ctEMD (χ2 = 66.557, P<0.001), lymph nodes status on MDCT (χ2 =24.533, P=0.001), pathological tumor status (χ2 = 36.267, P <0.001) and pathological lymph nodes status analyses (χ2 =32.103, P <0.001). Synchronous metastases were seen in 36 patients (36/96, 37.5%) with ctEMVI and 11 (11/145, 7.6%) patients without ctEMVI. The incidence of synchronous metastases was significantly higher in the cohort of positive ctEMVI with odds ratio (OR) of 7.309 (95% CI 3.485∼15.330, P<0.001). Positive ctEMVI (Odds ratio 4.654, 95%CI: 1.987∼10.898, P <0.001) and ctEMD larger than 5 mm (Odds ratio 2.654, 95%CI: 1.116∼6.309, P =0.027) were demonstrated to be significant preoperative factors in predicting synchronous metastases. CONCLUSION: MDCT-detected EMVI could be used as a preoperative factor to predict synchronous metastases in colon cancer.