Local recurrence of rectal cancer after total mesorectal excision without preoperative radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: At this moment, it is still debatable whether all patients with mobile rectal cancer who undergo surgical removal of the tumor should be treated with preoperative radiotherapy, since it is likely that only certain patients will benefit from this strategy. In this study, patients with mobile rectal cancer were immediately operated upon and only those with positive nodes or with incomplete resection received adjuvant radiotherapy. AIMS OF THE STUDY: To investigate the local recurrence rate after the use of a selective policy of adjuvant radiotherapy and to determine risk factors for local recurrence. METHODS: In a 5-yr-period, 178 patients with rectal cancer were referred to our institute. A total of 131 patients with mobile rectal cancer were treated with curative intent, which implied a microscopically radical resection and no signs of distant metastasis at operation. A retrospective analysis was undertaken to investigate the incidence of local recurrence in this curative group and to determine risk factors for local recurrence. RESULTS: The postoperative mortality in the curative group was 5.3%. Local recurrences were observed in 6 patients (4.6%) after a median period of 25 mo (range 11-37); two of them also had distant metastases detected at the same time. The highest local recurrence rates were seen in men (5.3%), in distal rectal cancers (6.9%), and in the node-positive group (8.7%). CONCLUSION: A low local recurrence rate can be achieved after total mesorectal excision (TME) without preoperative radiotherapy. Our results suggest using preoperative radiotherapy only for those patients who are at a higher risk for local recurrence. Staging techniques for selection of these patients are at this moments till inappropriate.

Anterior resection of rectal cancer without bowel preparation and diverting stoma.

PURPOSE: Since the introduction of total mesorectal excision (TME) as the standard operation technique for rectal cancer, anastomotic leakage percentages of up to 18% have been reported. To prevent such leakage, the use of mechanical bowel preparation and also the construction of a diverting ileostoma or colostomy have been standard procedures for years. In our institute, however, all patients undergoing colorectal surgery are operated upon without these measures. The present study was undertaken to investigate the results of this strategy in terms of the occurrence of postoperative anastomotic leakage. METHODS: All patients who underwent an elective (low) anterior resection between January 1996 and December 2001 (n = 144) entered the study. The clinical and pathological records of these patients were reviewed retrospectively. The exclusion criteria were patients with fixed rectal carcinoma who received preoperative radiotherapy and/or a stoma only at operation, emergency operations, abdominoperoneal resections, and Hartmann's procedures. RESULTS: Anastomotic leakage occurred in 7 out of 144 patients (4.9%). There was a trend toward a higher leakage frequency in men, in patients with a distal anastomosis, in patients with a stapled anastomosis, and in patients with a T3-T4 tumor or with positive lymph nodes. None of these factors, however, had a significant prognostic value based on a univariate or multivariate analysis. Those who died after leakage tended to be older than those who did not (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: A (low) anterior resection can be performed safely without mechanical bowel preparation or a diverting stoma, and results in an anastomotic leakage percentage of less than 5%. Appropriate selection of patients may be important, but none of the investigated patient- or tumor-related factors could be identified as decisive.

Anterior mediastinal presentation of a giant angiomyolipoma.

Angiomyolipomas are benign, solitary, noninvasive lesions that most often arise in the kidney. Extrarenal manifestations of these tumors include the skin, oropharynx, the abdominal wall, retroperitoneum, gastrointestinal tract, heart, lung, liver, uterus, penis, and spinal cord. We report a patient with a giant angiomyolipoma located in the anterior mediastinum. We believe this is the seventh reported case of mediastinal angiomyolipoma and the largest reported by size. It is the second reported lesion to arise in the anterior mediastinum. Distinction from other pulmonary or thoracic masses relies on the appreciation of the unique and characteristic histologic features of these mediastinal angiomyolipomas. We conclude that, although rare, angiomyolipoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a mediastinal tumor.