Endoscopic ultrasound for early stage esophageal adenocarcinoma: implications for staging and survival.

BACKGROUND: Patients often receive induction therapy based on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-identified nodal spread (N1) or deep tumor invasion (T3), although controversy exists regarding the role of induction therapy for early stage disease. We aim to evaluate the reliability of EUS in identifying early stage disease and the subsequent impact on treatment and outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 149 patients who underwent EUS and esophagectomy for adenocarcinoma between January 2000 and December 2008. Computed tomography (CT) was performed in all patients, whereas positron emission tomography (PET) was performed in 91%. Clinical stage (c), pathologic stage (p), operative mortality, and survival were recorded. RESULTS: Unanticipated pathologic nodal disease was similar in patients with cT1N0 and cT2N0 tumors (6/25 [24%] versus 7/18 [38.8%]; p=0.6). Among the 18 cases of cT2N0 disease, 9 (50%) were pathologically staged as T1N0, 8 (44%) were upstaged to pT3N0-1, and 1 (6%) was pT2N0. One case of cT1N0 tumor (4%) was upstaged to pT3N0. Among patients with cT1-2N0 tumors, 5-year disease-free survival for the group that was appropriately staged was 89.8% versus 39.9% for the group that had a higher pathologic stage than their clinical stage (ie, >T2N0) (p<0.001). Operative mortality for patients with cT1-2N0 tumors was 0/43 (0%), which was no different from that in the higher clinical stage groups with (1/37, 2.7%) or without (2/68, 2.9%) induction therapy (p=0.5). Multivariate analysis identified marked/intense uptake on staging PET (odds ratio, 5.76, 95%; confidence interval, 1.25 to 26.52; p=0.021) to be a factor predictive of upstaging of cT1-2N0 tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Current staging techniques are inadequate for predicting T1-2N0 disease in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Survival is excellent with operation alone in patients with tumors appropriately staged as T1-2N0, although patients with tumors upstaged to greater than T2N0 have significantly worse survival. Other preoperative factors such as PET uptake may help select patients with cT1-2N0 tumors that will be upstaged at resection.

Surgical resection in combination with lung volume reduction surgery for stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

Surgical resection remains the favored option of treatment for stage I lung cancer patients. Co-existing obstructive lung disease can reduce lung function and increase the risk of surgery. Severe emphysema may preclude resection of lung cancer due to concerns about low values of postoperative lung function. However, many patients will experience stable or improved lung function simply by resecting hyper-expanded and relatively functionless lung. This so-called "lung volume reduction effect" may occur after standard resection or after rare instances of formal lung volume reduction surgery concurrent with pulmonary resection of the tumor. This review explores these possibilities and informs the readers of pioneering work in this area.

Prediction of patients with acute cholecystitis requiring emergent cholecystectomy: a simple score.

The objective was to develop a score, to stratify patients with acute cholecystitis into high, intermediate, or low probability of gangrenous cholecystitis. The probability of gangrenous cholecystitis (score) was derived from a logistic regression of a clinical and pathological review of 245 patients undergoing urgent cholecystectomy. Sixty-eight patients had gangrenous inflammation, 132 acute, and 45 no inflammation. The score comprised of: age > 45 years (1 point), heart rate > 90 beats/min (1 point), male (2 points), Leucocytosis > 13,000/mm(3) (1.5 points), and ultrasound gallbladder wall thickness > 4.5 mm (1 point). The prevalence of gangrenous cholecystitis was 13% in the low-probability (0-2 points), 33% in the intermediate-probability (2-4.5 points), and 87% in the high probability category (>4.5 points). A cutoff score of 2 identified 31 (69%) patients with no acute inflammation (PPV 90%). This scoring system can prioritize patients for emergent cholecystectomy based on their expected pathology.

Plasma DNA is more reliable than carcinoembryonic antigen for diagnosis of recurrent esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and plasma DNA are known to be elevated in patients with esophageal cancer and are higher in patients with disseminated disease. The sensitivity and specificity of these markers in the diagnosis of recurrent esophageal cancer have not been compared. STUDY DESIGN: Plasma DNA was measured using polymerase chain reaction in 45 patients with esophageal cancer and 44 asymptomatic volunteers. The 95(th) percentile (19 ng /mL) in the volunteers was used to define normal. Thirty-nine patients had localized cancer and underwent resection, and six had disseminated disease at operation. Plasma DNA was measured preoperatively in all patients, with serum CEA measured in 31. Plasma DNA was measured sequentially during followup in 21 patients, including 7 who developed recurrence. CEA was measured in 14 of 21 patients who had sequential plasma DNA measured and in 6 of 7 patients with recurrence. CEA levels greater than 5.0 ng/mL were used as cut-off. RESULTS: Plasma DNA was more sensitive than CEA for detecting unresectable esophageal cancer (100% versus 40%), but it had a lower specificity (22% versus 89%). The positive predictive value (19% versus 40%) and negative predictive value (100% versus 89%) were similar for plasma DNA and serum CEA, respectively. Plasma DNA was also more sensitive than CEA in detecting recurrent esophageal cancer (100% versus 33%). The specificity and positive predictive values were 100% for both tests, but the negative predictive values were higher for plasma DNA. Plasma DNA rose before there was clinical evidence of recurrence in 67% compared with only 17% for CEA. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated plasma DNA is an extremely reliable indicator of the presence of recurrent disease, and, in the majority of patients, it rises before clinical evidence of recurrence. In contrast, a normal CEA should be interpreted cautiously, because it does not exclude recurrent disease.

Psoas abscess rarely requires surgical intervention.

BACKGROUND: Surgeons are increasingly encountering psoas abscesses. METHODS: We performed a review of 41 adults diagnosed and treated for psoas abscess at a county hospital. Treatment modalities and outcomes were evaluated to develop a contemporary algorithm. RESULTS: Eighteen patients had a primary psoas abscess, and 23 had a secondary psoas abscess. Patient characteristics were similar in both groups. Intravenous drug abuse was the leading cause of primary abscesses. Secondary abscesses developed most commonly after abdominal surgery. Treatment was via open drainage (3%), computed tomography-guided percutaneous drainage (63%), or antibiotics alone (34%). Four recurrences occurred in the percutaneous group. Statistical analysis showed that the median size of psoas abscesses in the percutaneous group was significantly larger than in the antibiotics group (6 vs 2 cm; P < .001). The mortality rate was 3%. CONCLUSIONS: Initial management of psoas abscesses should be nonsurgical (90% success). Small abscesses may be treated with antibiotics alone, and surgery can be reserved for occasional complicated recurrences.

Plasma DNA as a molecular marker for completeness of resection and recurrent disease in patients with esophageal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To identify a marker for completeness of resection and recurrent disease in patients with esophageal cancer. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Department of Surgery of the University of Southern California. PATIENTS: Forty-four healthy subjects and 45 patients with esophageal cancer prior to esophagectomy. Six patients were unresectable and 39 had a complete resection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Plasma DNA levels were measured using polymerase chain reaction. Twenty resected patients had follow-up plasma DNA levels measured. RESULTS: Preoperatively, plasma DNA levels exceeded the normal level in 38 (84%) of 45 patients. Preoperatively, 12 patients received neoadjuvant therapy and 11 had plasma DNA levels higher than normal. All 6 unresectable patients had DNA levels higher than normal. At initial follow-up, the plasma DNA levels remained higher than normal in 2 (10%) of 20 patients, and systemic disease was subsequently detected in each. Plasma DNA levels dropped lower than or remained normal in 18 (90%) of 20. In 14 of 18 patients, there was no evidence of recurrent disease at a median of 12 months (range, 3-20 months); in 4 patients, the plasma DNA level rose higher than normal on follow-up and all developed subsequent systemic disease on computed tomographic or positron emission tomographic scan. Six of the 20 patients developed systemic disease during the follow-up (2 had persistently elevated plasma DNA levels, and 4 developed elevated plasma DNA levels at subsequent follow-ups). In 4 of these 6 patients, elevated plasma DNA levels were detected prior to imaging evidence of disease. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma DNA levels are significantly elevated in patients with esophageal cancer and following complete resection should return to normal. Persistently elevated plasma DNA levels after resection or levels that rise on follow-up indicate residual or recurrent disease.