Is c-Met oncoprotein expression an adverse prognosticator in extrahepatic bile duct cancer treated with curative resection followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy?

PURPOSE: To analyze the expression of c-Met, and to investigate correlations between the expression of c-Met, clinicopathologic variables, and survival in patients undergoing curative surgery followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for extrahepatic bile duct (EHBD) cancer. METHODS: Ninety EHBD cancer patients who underwent curative resection followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy were enrolled. Expression of c-Met was assessed with immunohistochemical staining on tissue microarray. The correlation between clinicopathologic variables and survival outcomes was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: On univariate analysis, 66 patients (76.7 %) showed c-Met expression. c-Met expression had a significant impact on 5-year overall survival (OS) (43.0 % in c-Met(+) vs. 25.0 % in c-Met(-), p = 0.0324), but not on loco-regional relapse-free survival or distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). However, on multivariate analysis incorporating tumor location and nodal involvement, survival difference was not maintained (p = 0.2940). Tumor location was the only independent prognostic factor predicting OS (p = 0.0089). Hilar location tumors, nodal involvement, and poorly differentiated tumors were all identified as independent prognostic factors predicting inferior DMFS (p = 0.0030, 0.0013, and 0.0037, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that c-Met expression was not associated with survival outcomes in EHBD cancer patients undergoing curative resection followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Further studies are needed to fully elucidate the prognostic value of c-Met expression in these patients.

[Evaluation of different technics of uterine evacuation as a risk factor for invasive and metastatic trophoblastic neoplasms]. / Avaliação de diferentes técnicas de esvaziamento uterino como fator de risco para neoplasia trofoblástica invasora e metastática.

A study was conducted to determine the effect of the form of uterine evacuation (curettage or vacuum aspiration) and of the use of oxytocin on the incidence of invasive/metastatic gestational trophoblastic neoplasia among patients with a diagnosis of molar abortion. The study was conducted on 42 patients with a histopathological diagnosis of benign complete hydatidiform mole and with a uterine height of more than 12cm. Twenty-five patients were submitted to uterine evacuation by curettage and 17 to uterine evacuation by vacuum aspiration. Twenty-seven of the same 42 patients received oxytocin to promote dilation of the cervix and/or partial mole expulsion, and 15 were not treated with this drug. Statistical analysis showed that the use of oxytocin before uterine evacuation was a factor contributing to a higher risk of development of invasive neoplasia, especially when associated with curettage of the uterus.