Financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic:Report from a high-volume academic neurosurgery.

BACKGROUND: The global healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). In order to mitigate the risk of spread of the virus, most elective surgical procedures have been cancelled especially during the lockdown periods. The purpose of this study was to assess the financial impact of the COVID outbreak due to the supposed reduced workload from our neurosurgery department in 2020. METHODS: Number of neurosurgical procedures (NSP) within the Department of Neurosurgery and their associated estimated income were retrospectively reviewed globally and month wise from administrative records of billing in 2020 and 2019 based on the Diagnosis related group (DRG) and severity of illness (4 levels). RESULTS: Overall, 824 and 818 inpatient surgical procedures were performed in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The total estimate revenue generated from inpatient surgeries was moderately decreased (3%): 9 498 226.41 euros in 2020 versus 9 817 361.65 euros in 2019 without significant difference across DRG (P=0.96) and severity of illness. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests a moderate negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had on neurosurgical and financial activity. However, a more in-depth medico-economic analysis need to be performed to assess the real financial impact.

[Adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiotherapy in breast cancer: A literaure review and update on the state of the evidence in 2020]. / Radiothérapie adjuvante et néoadjuvante des cancers du sein : mise au point sur les données de la littérature disponibles en 2020.

Radiation therapy has benefited from many developments over the past 20 years. These developments are mainly linked to the technology, imaging and informatics evolutions which allow better targets definitions, ensure better organs-at-risk sparing and excellent reproducibility of treatments, with a perfect control of patient positioning. In breast cancer radiotherapy, the evolution was marked by the possibility of reducing the duration of treatments from 6-7 to 3-4 weeks by using hypofractionated regimens, or by further reducing the irradiation to one week when treatment is solely focalised to the tumour bed. This concept of accelerated partial breast irradiation has challenged the paradigm of the obligation to irradiate the whole breast after conservative surgery in all patients. In addition, the technical mastery of accelerated partial breast irradiation and the development of stereotactic radiotherapy techniques are currently contributing to the development of research projects in neoadjuvant settings. Thus, numerous ongoing studies are evaluating the impact of high-dose preoperative tumour irradiation, alone or in combination with systemic treatments, on biological tumor changes, on anti-tumour immunity, and on the pathologic complete response, which is considered as predictive of better long-term survival in some molecular breast cancer subtypes. In this review, we discuss all these developments which allow breast radiation therapy to enter the era of personalisation of treatments in oncology.

[Locoregional control and patterns of locoregional failure in women with breast cancer treated by highly conformal electron beam irradiation]. / Caractérisation des rechutes locorégionales chez des patientes atteintes d'un cancer du sein traité par irradiation pariétale par électrons : expérience monocentrique de l'institut Curie.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate locoregional control and describe the patterns of locoregional failure in women with breast cancer irradiated by a previously described post-mastectomy highly conformal electron beam radiotherapy technique. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We included all women irradiated by post-mastectomy highly conformal electron beam radiotherapy technique for non-metastatic breast cancer between 2007 and 2011 in our department. All cases of bilateral breast cancer were excluded. All patients who experienced locoregional recurrence have been studied. Mapping patterns of regional recurrences was also performed and compared with the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and Radiotherapy Oncology Group (RTOG) guidelines of volume definition and delineation guidelines. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 64 months (range: 6-102 months), 5-year locoregional recurrence-free and overall survival probabilities were 90 % (95 % confidence interval [95 %CI]: 88.1-92.4) and 90.9 % (95 %CI: 88.9-93), respectively. Among the 796 patients included in the study, 23 patients (2.9 %) presented locoregional recurrences of them only 13 (1.6%) were presented with local recurrence. The majority of them presented aggressive biological features with grade III tumours in 17 patients (74 %) with high mitotic index in 16 cases (70 %) and triple negative tumours in 12 (52 %). Lymphovascular invasion was observed in 11 cases (48 %). In 14 cases the locoregional recurrences were diagnosed at the same time as the metastatic disease whereas 4 patients presented distant metastases secondarily. Locoregional recurrences occurred in 11 cases "in field" although adequate doses and volumes were used and in 12 cases "outfield", out of irradiated volume. Local recurrences occurred in 13 patients with 12 recurrences within the irradiated volumes. Regional recurrences occurred in 13 patients with 15 lymph nodes metastases identified. Four nodal recurrences occurred outside the ESTRO clinical target volume and within the RTOG clinical target volume and two occurred outside both RTOG and ESTRO clinical target volumes. CONCLUSION: In presented series, the local recurrence resulted mostly from of biologic radio resistance whereas regional recurrences were caused by geographical miss. A number of nodal recurrences could occur outside the target volumes defined by ESTRO and RTOG.

Radiotherapy of relapse-refractory follicular lymphoma.

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of treatment and outcomes of patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma treated with external beam irradiation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients who received external beam radiotherapy for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma were studied. The median age was 68.3 years (range: 37.9-87.08 years) with four men and 11 women. Seven patients had early stage (I or II); eight advanced stage (III or IV). Median FLIPI score was 2. Two patients had high tumour bulk disease. Six patients had extranodal invasion, with five patients having bone marrow invasion. RESULTS: The median time of follow-up after relapse or first-line treatment in case of refractory disease was 61.9 months (range: 9.1-119.7 months). Complete response after external beam radiotherapy was seen in 11 cases (73%) and partial response in two (13%), with a median dose of 30Gy (range: 2-40Gy) and median number of fractions of 15 (range: 2-20). Eight patients (53%) relapsed after external beam radiation therapy in a median of 20.2 months, mostly out of irradiated volumes. Most patients (66%) had a disease control after one or two courses of external beam radiation therapy. At last follow-up, 86% of patients were in remission including those with salvage chemotherapy. The toxicity profile was favourable with toxicity higher than grade 1. In univariate analysis, a Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score above 2 was the only predicting factor for non-control disease. CONCLUSION: For relapsed and refractory follicular lymphoma, external beam radiotherapy should be considered as an effective modality when integrated in a multimodality approach. Randomised studies are warranted to validate this strategy.

[Rectal squamous cell carcinoma treatment: Retrospective experience in two French university hospitals, review and proposals]. / Prise en charge du carcinome épidermoïde du rectum : expérience de deux centres universitaires français, revue de la littérature et recommandations.

After publishing a retrospective series of 23 patients treated for a rectal squamous cell carcinoma with exclusive curative and conservative intent chemoradiation, we aim to propose a review of the literature about this rare tumour. We identified 11 retrospective studies, on 106 patients, treated between 2007 and 2016. Treatment of rectal squamous cell carcinoma should be similar to anal carcinoma, based on exclusive chemoradiation, displaying a 5-year overall survival rate over 80%, while it was 32% in surgical series. Baseline explorations should be similar as for anal carcinoma, with an interest in PET-CT at diagnosis and monitoring, after a delay over 6 weeks after chemoradiation. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy is legitimate, to a prophylactic dose between 36 and 45Gy, and over 54Gy to the tumour. Concomitant chemotherapy should combine an antimetabolite (5-fluorouracil or capecitabine) and mitomycin C, or cisplatin. This treatment seems well tolerated, associated with grade 2 or above toxicity below 30%. Follow-up should be established on anal squamous cell carcinoma schedule, with endoscopic ultrasonography and PET-CT. Rectal squamous cell carcinoma is a rare tumour; it management should be based on anal curative and conservative intent chemoradiation.