Asymptomatic Pulmonary Allograft Kaposi Sarcoma: A Case Report.

Solid-organ transplant recipients are at high risk of developing malignancies. A greater risk of Kaposi sarcoma has been reported in lung recipients in our country, particularly in those from Southern Italy, probably due to the high prevalence of Human herpes virus 8 infection. Kaposi sarcoma affecting only the lung allograft is extremely rare. We describe a case of a lung recipient who developed Kaposi sarcoma only in the graft, 22 months after transplant. The patient, a 65-year-old man from Southern Italy, underwent bilateral lung transplant for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in January 2009. He developed mild/moderate acute cellular rejection (≥A2) in 4 of 6 scheduled transbronchial biopsies thus was treated with increased immunosuppressive therapy, shifting from cyclosporine to tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. In July 2010, a high-resolution computed tomography scan showed small bilateral lung nodules, despite a generally good condition. After 2 months, his condition worsened with a severe weight loss. A positron emission tomography scan showed mild metabolic activity in the lesions with no other localizations. In October 2010, a lung biopsy was performed, with results showing typical histologic and immunohistochemical features of Kaposi sarcoma. Molecular tissue evaluations and serologic analyses were positive for Human herpes virus 8. The patient's immunosuppressive therapy was suspended, and he started liposomal doxorubicin treatment; however, after the first cycle, he developed severe respiratory dysfunction. The patient died 27 months after lung transplant for neoplasm. Our report highlights the importance of considering Kaposi sarcoma in the differential diagnosis for lung nodules in lung transplant recipients, even in the absence of any initial specific symptom or cutaneous lesion.

Superior sulcus tumors (Pancoast tumors).

Superior Sulcus Tumors, frequently termed as Pancoast tumors, are a wide range of tumors invading the apical chest wall. Due to its localization in the apex of the lung, with the potential invasion of the lower part of the brachial plexus, first ribs, vertebrae, subclavian vessels or stellate ganglion, the superior sulcus tumors cause characteristic symptoms, like arm or shoulder pain or Horner's syndrome. The management of superior sulcus tumors has dramatically evolved over the past 50 years. Originally deemed universally fatal, in 1956, Shaw and Paulson introduced a new treatment paradigm with combined radiotherapy and surgery ensuring 5-year survival of approximately 30%. During the 1990s, following the need to improve systemic as well as local control, a trimodality approach including induction concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by surgical resection was introduced, reaching 5-year survival rates up to 44% and becoming the standard of care. Many efforts have been persecuted, also, to obtain higher complete resection rates using appropriate surgical approaches and involving multidisciplinary team including spine surgeon or vascular surgeon. Other potential treatment options are under consideration like prophylactic cranial irradiation or the addition of other chemotherapy agents or biologic agents to the trimodality approach.

Successful Treatment of a Recurrent Wide Tracheoesophageal Fistula With a Bioabsorbable Patch.

Acquired nonmalignant tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is a rare condition that requires proper treatment. We present the case of a 55-year-old woman with a 4.5-cm recurrent TEF, which had developed after an attempted surgical repair. After closure of the esophageal defect in two layers, a tracheoplasty technique was used to repair the tracheal membranous wall with a synthetic bioabsorbable patch (Gore Bio-A tissue reinforcement) covered with an intercostal muscle flap. The use of Gore Bio-A tissue reinforcement is an innovative and effective method to close a wide tracheal defect while achieving a scaffold for epithelial colonization.

Results of surgical resection after induction chemoradiation for Pancoast tumours †.

OBJECTIVES: Pancoast tumour is a rare neoplasia in which the optimal therapeutic management is still controversial. The traditional treatment of Pancoast tumour (surgery, radiotherapy or a combination of both) have led to an unsatisfactory outcome due to the high rate of incomplete resection and the lack of local and systemic control. The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy of the trimodality approach. METHODS: Fifty-six patients (male/female ratio: 47/9, median age: 64 years) in stage IIB to IIIB were treated during a period between 1994 and 2013. Induction therapy consisted of 2-3 cycles of a platinum-based chemotherapy associated with radiotherapy (30-44 Gy). After restaging, eligible patients underwent surgery 2 to 4-week post-radiation. RESULTS: Thirty-two (57.1%) patients were cT3 and 24 (42.9%) cT4, 47 (83.9%) were N0 and 9 (16.1%) N+. Forty-eight (85.7%) patients underwent R0 resection and 10 (17.9%) had a complete pathological response (CPR). Thirty-day mortality rate was 5.4%, major surgical complications occurred in 6 (10.7%) patients. At the end of the follow-up, 17 (30.4%) patients were alive and 39 (69.6%) died (29 for cancer-related causes), with an overall 5-year survival of 38%. At statistical analysis, stage IIB (P = 0.003), R0 resection (P = 0.03), T3 tumour (P = 0.002) and CPR (P = 0.01) were significant independent predictors of better prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: This combined approach is feasible, and allows for a good rate of complete resection. Long-term survival rates are acceptable, especially for early stage tumours radically resected. Systemic control of disease still remains poor, with distant recurrence being the most common cause of death.

Outcomes and prognostic factors of non-small-cell lung cancer with lymph node involvement treated with induction treatment and surgical resection.

OBJECTIVES: Induction therapy (IT) has gained popularity in recent years, becoming a standard of treatment in resectable lymph node-positive NSCLC. IT aims to downstage the disease (shrinkage of tumour and clearance of lymph node-metastases), clear distant micrometastases and prolong survival. Potential disadvantages are increased morbidity and/or mortality after surgery and risk of progression of disease that could have been initially resected. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and prognostic factors in a series of patients with lymph node-positive NSCLC receiving IT followed by surgery. METHODS: A total of 86 patients (75.6% males, median age 63 years) affected by NSCLC in clinical stage IIIA (n = 80) or IIIB (n = 6), with pathologically proven lymph node involvement, underwent platinum-based IT followed by surgery between 2000 and 2009. RESULTS: Eighty (93%) patients received a median of 3 cycles of chemotherapy, and 6 (7%) underwent induction chemoradiotherapy. Response to IT was complete in 3.5%, partial in 59.3% and stable disease in 37.2% of patients. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were 25.6 and 2.3%, respectively. At pathological evaluation, 38.4% of patients had a downstaging of disease with a complete lymph node clearance in 31.4%. Median overall survival was 23 months (5-year survival 33%). Univariate analysis found clinical stage (P = 0.02), histology (P = 0.01), response to IT (P = 0.02) and type of intervention (P = 0.047) to have predictive roles in survival. A better but not significant survival was also found for pN0 vs pN+ (P = 0.22), downstaged tumours (P = 0.08) and left side (P = 0.06). On multivariate analysis, clinical response to neoadjuvant therapy (P = 0.01) and age (P = 0.03) were the only independent predictors of survival. CONCLUSIONS: The use of IT for lymph node-positive NSCLC seems justified by low morbidity and/or mortality and good survival rates. Patients with response to IT showed greater benefit in the long term.

Early and late outcome after surgical treatment of acquired non-malignant tracheo-oesophageal fistulae.

OBJECTIVES: Tracheo-oesophageal fistula (TOF) is a rare, life-threatening condition. We report our results of surgical treatment and evaluation of the outcome of acquired non-malignant TOF. METHODS: Twenty-five patients (aged 49 ± 21 years) with TOF were operated on between 2001 and 2011. Tracheo-oesophageal fistula was due to prolonged intubation/tracheostomy (84%), was secondary to other surgery (8%) or trauma (4%) or was idiopathic (4%). The tracheal defect was 2.4 ± 1.3 cm long and was associated with tracheal stenosis in seven (28%) patients. Surgical treatment consisted of direct suturing of the oesophageal defect in two layers (or end-to-end oesophageal resection and anastomosis in one case) associated with tracheal suturing (n = 15; 60%), tracheal resection and anastomosis (n = 8; 32%) or covering of a large tracheal defect by an intercostal muscle flap or by a resorbable patch with muscle apposition (n = 2; 8%). The surgical approach was cervicotomy (n = 14; 56%), cervicotomy plus median sternotomy or split (n = 6; 24%), thoracotomy (n = 4; 16%) or cervicotomy plus sternal spit plus thoracotomy (n = 1; 4%). In 18 (72%) cases a muscular flap was used and in six (24%) a protective tracheostomy was performed. RESULTS: No perioperative deaths occurred. Morbidity occurred in eight (32%) patients; none of them required a second surgical look. At median follow-up of 41 months, the outcome was excellent or good for 22 patients (88%), two (8%) are still dependent on jejunostomy and tracheostomy for neurological diseases and one (4%) is under mechanical ventilation for end-stage respiratory failure. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment of TOF is associated with good results in terms of control of acute symptoms and long-term outcome, particularly concerning oral intake and spontaneous breathing.