Desmoplastic Melanoma: Clinical Behavior and Management Implications.

INTRODUCTION: Desmoplastic melanoma is a rare variant of melanoma that has been reported to demonstrate unique clinical behavior when compared with other histological subtypes. In this study, we present the clinical course of patients with this unusual diagnosis. We hypothesized that desmoplastic melanoma would differ from nondesmoplastic melanoma with regard to its presentation, rate of regional metastasis, and recurrence pattern. METHODS: After institutional review board approval, a retrospective chart review was performed on all patients with a diagnosis of desmoplastic melanoma since 1998. The following data were collected: patient demographics, histopathological details of the lesion, initial treatment, and clinical course. In addition, the available slides were reviewed by a dermatopathologist. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patient charts were reviewed. Mean age at diagnosis was 65 years. Fifty-seven percent of patients were men, and 67% of the lesions originated from the head and neck. Of the 28 patients, 11 had pathology slides that were adequate for evaluation. Pure desmoplastic melanoma, defined by more than 90% of the specimen demonstrating desmoplastic features, was found in only 3 patients. Taking into account all cases, the mean Breslow thickness was 5.09 mm and ulceration was present in 12.5% of lesions. Regional disease was discovered in 18% of patients. The mean follow-up time was 43 months, and the overall recurrence rate was 32%. 66.7% of first recurrences were local. Two of 3 patients with pure desmoplastic melanoma developed regional metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Our data largely support previous studies that suggest desmoplastic melanoma behaves differently compared with other histological subtypes. However, the incidence of regional disease among patients with pure desmoplastic melanoma appears to be higher in our study than in previous reports. Although this rare variant typically presents with advanced local disease, the rate of regional metastasis is less than what would be expected for similar thickness, nondesmoplastic cutaneous melanoma. The recurrence pattern is different compared with nondesmoplastic melanoma, and the most common site of recurrence is local. Discrepancy in the literature regarding the clinical behavior of this disease may be related to inconsistent pathological criteria for diagnosis. Further research will help clarify the optimal management of desmoplastic melanoma.

Neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer is increasing in incidence more than any other visceral malignancy in North America. Adenocarcinoma has become the most common cell type. Surgery remains the primary treatment modality for locoregional disease. Overall survival with surgery alone has been dismal, with metastatic disease the primary mode of treatment failure after an R0 surgical resection. Cure rates with chemotherapy or radiation therapy alone have been disappointing as well. For these reasons, over the last decade multi-modality treatment has gained increasing acceptance as the standard of care. This review examines the present data and role of neoadjuvant treatment using chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by surgery for the treatment of esophageal cancer.

Health care-associated infections in surgical patients undergoing elective surgery: are alcohol use disorders a risk factor?

BACKGROUND: Health care-associated infections (HAI) result in 100,000 deaths/year. Alcohol use disorders (AUD) increase the risk of community-acquired infections and HAI. Small studies have shown that AUD increase the risk of HAI and surgical site infections (SSI). We sought to determine the risk of HAI and SSI in surgical patients undergoing elective inpatient joint replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, colectomy, and hernia repair. STUDY DESIGN: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was analyzed (years 2007 and 2008). HAI were defined as health care-associated pneumonia, sepsis, SSI, and urinary tract infection. Primary outcomes were risk of HAI and SSI in patients with AUD. Secondary outcomes were mortality and hospital length of stay in patients with HAI and SSI, alpha = 10(-6). RESULTS: There were 1,275,034 inpatient admissions analyzed; 38,335 (3.0%) cases of HAI were documented, and 5,756 (0.5%) cases of SSI were identified. AUD was diagnosed in 11,640 (0.9%) of cases. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that AUD was an independent predictor of developing HAI: odds ratio (OR) 1.70, p < 10(-6), and this risk was independent of type of surgery. By multivariable analysis, the risk of SSI in patients with AUD was also higher: OR 2.73, p < 10(-6). Hospital mortality in patients with HAI or SSI was not affected by AUD. However, hospital length of stay was longer in patients with HAI who had AUD (multivariable analysis 2.4 days longer, p < 10(-6)). Among patients with SSI, those with AUD did not have longer hospital length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AUD who undergo a variety of elective operations have an increased risk of infectious postoperative morbidity.

Prognostic variables and surgical management of foot melanoma: review of a 25-year institutional experience.

Introduction. Cutaneous foot melanoma is rare, challenging to manage, and not adequately examined in the literature. This study evaluated the prognostic variables and surgical management of foot melanoma. Materials and Methods. Foot melanoma cases managed at an academic center from 1985 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Results. 46 patients were identified with a broad range of demographic characteristics. Overall recurrence was 32.6%: 19% acral lentiginous, 57% nodular, 66% superficial spreading, 30% melanoma unspecified, 50% severely atypical; 53% ulcerated, 23% nonulcerated; 29% on the dorsum of the foot, 17% heel, 60% ankle, 22% toe, 50% plantar; 0% <1 mm thick, 47% 1-4 mm, 33% >4 mm. 13 had positive nodes, 4 (31%) of whom recurred. Prognostic factors and recurrence did not correlate, and survival was 96% with a median followup of 91 months. Conclusions. Aggressive management of foot melanoma may result in excellent long-term survival even following disease recurrence.

Correlation of manual dexterity with USMLE scores and medical student class rank.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical programs often rely on objective measures of medical school cognitive performance, including United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE) scores and class rank, to predict success of an applicant in their training program. Although job applicants in non-medical fields often undergo dexterity testing prior to being hired, this has not been widely used in the selection process for surgical residency applicants. Thus, successful identification of applicants likely to succeed in surgical fields remains elusive. Given this difficulty, we wondered if performance on tests of manual dexterity would correlate with USMLE board scores and medical school class rank. METHODS: Fourth year medical students underwent a clinical study of dexterity testing using the Stromberg Dexterity Test (gross motor), the O'Conner Tweezer Test (fine motor), and the MIST-VR laparoscopic simulator (Mentice Corporation, Gothenberg, Sweden). Performance times were compared with USMLE Step I & II scores and class rank, as well as a self-assessment of manual dexterity. RESULTS: A total of 113 medical students participated. Gross motor dexterity was significantly correlated with class rank (P = 0.04) and USMLE Step I score (P = 0.04). Fine motor dexterity and MIST-VR performance did not correlate with class rank or USMLE scores. Self-assessment of good manual dexterity correlated with faster performance times on the MIST-VR laparoscopic simulator (0.0174). CONCLUSIONS: Gross motor skill is associated with objective measures of medical school cognitive performance, such as class rank and USMLE scores. Furthermore, self-assessment of dexterity may predict baseline laparoscopic abilities. Further research is necessary to determine whether such dexterity testing could be helpful in identifying applicants who possess the ability to develop into competent surgeons.

Prognostic value of tumor thickness in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Merkel cell carcinoma is an aggressive skin malignancy that often presents with tumor metastases. We hypothesized that tumor thickness might correlate with both regional and metastatic tumor spread and could, therefore, be used as an independent prognostic variable. The purpose of this study was to see if depth of tumor invasion would predict prognosis independent of tumor stage. METHODS: Data pertaining to clinical presentation, pathology, treatment, and survival were collected for patients diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma from 1972 to 2005. Patients were staged according to AJCC guidelines. Pathologic specimens were evaluated for tumor thickness. The relationship between tumor thickness and disease-free survival or overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. RESULTS: Sixty patients were identified. Five-year disease-free survivals for Stages 1, 2, and 3 patients were 20%, 33%, and 0%, respectively. Five-year overall survivals for Stages 1, 2, and 3 patients were 33.3%, 60%, and 16.7%, respectively. There was no correlation between tumor thickness and either disease-free survival or overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that tumor thickness is not an independent risk factor for survival. Mean tumor thickness did increase with the AJCC stages, but this most likely represents more advanced stage of disease.

Esophageal cancer: outcomes of surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and three-dimension conformal radiotherapy.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation are being utilized with increasing frequency in the multimodal treatment of esophageal cancer, although their effects on morbidity, mortality, and survival remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the outcome of multimodal treatment in patients with localized esophageal cancer treated at a single institution. Between 1995 and 2002, 118 patients underwent treatment for localized esophageal cancer, utilizing surgery alone, chemoradiation alone, or surgery following neoadjuvant chemoradiation. There was no statistically significant difference in morbidity, mortality, or length of stay between the patients who received multimodal therapy when compared to surgery alone. A surgical resection after down-staging was possible in 9 out of 28 patients (32%) with a clinically non-resectable tumor (T4 or M1a). Forty-seven percent of the patients who received neoadjuvant therapy had a complete pathologic response with a 3-year survival of 59% as compared to only 20 months in those patients who did not achieve a complete response (P = 0.037). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy administered concomitantly with conformal radiotherapy can be performed safely in the treatment of esophageal cancer, without increasing the operative morbidity, mortality, or length of stay. The higher complete response rates to neoadjuvant treatment (as compared to other reports) may be due to the use of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or the novel use of weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel.

Incidentally discovered gallbladder cancer: role of cryotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Carcinoma of the gallbladder is the most common malignancy of the biliary tree. There is no standard surgical approach to the treatment of gallbladder cancer. Extended cholecystectomy with partial or complete hepatic lobectomy has resulted in high morbidity and poor long-term survival. This report describes cryotherapy of the gallbladder fossa as an alternative to liver resection in the treatment of gallbladder cancer. METHODS: A group of patients underwent cryotherapy to the gallbladder fossa for local control of gallbladder cancer. Portal lymph node dissection was performed at the same time and patients with positive lymph nodes received post-operative chemotherapy and radiation; negative node patients were observed. RESULTS: Seven patients underwent surgery. Gallbladder cancer had been incidentally found in all patients. Median hospital stay was 4 days. Five patients had positive nodes. Complications included biliary stricture, pleural effusion, congestive heart failure exacerbation, and pulmonary embolus. Mean disease-free survival for patients with T2 tumors was 11.7 months. Mean disease-free survival for patients with T3 tumors was 16.3 months. Mean disease-free survival for lymph node positive patients was 14.8 months compared to 13 months for node negative patients. No local recurrences have been detected in the gallbladder fossa. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests cryotherapy to the gallbladder fossa done concomitantly with portal lymph node dissection may represent a safe and effective alternative to hepatic resection in the treatment of gallbladder cancer.

Vascular tumors of the abdominal wall.

BACKGROUND: Vascular tumors of the abdominal wall are rare, benign congenital malformations that may cause pain or cosmetic disfigurement and are of significance for their ability to mimic more clinically aggressive tumors. There have been no previous reports of vascular tumors of the abdominal wall. This investigation reports the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of three patients with vascular tumors of the abdominal wall. METHODS: Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was used to identify feeding and draining vessels and to aid in operative planning for two patients; in a third patient, standard magnetic resonance imaging revealed the feeding vessels. RESULTS: MRA accurately identified the feeding and draining vessels and aided in operative planning, thus facilitating complete tumor resection. To date, patients have not experienced tumor recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: These cases suggest that MRA can be employed as a noninvasive imaging technique and should be the standard preoperative modality to plan the operative approach to vascular tumors of the abdominal wall.

Breast conservation therapy rates are no different in medically indigent versus insured patients with early stage breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Multiple prospective, randomized studies show that breast conservation therapy (BCT) results in survival rates equal to mastectomy (Mx) for patients with early stage breast cancer (ESBC). Nevertheless, BCT remains underused in certain areas of the nation, without clearly definable reasons. Several studies have implicated socioeconomic status as one potential cause for this disparity in BCT usage. We sought to compare BCT rates in the medically indigent versus insured patients, within the same institution. METHODS: Data from 1993 to 2000, collected from the institutional tumor registry and the hospital's claims records, were analyzed for 928 patients with ESBC (Stages 0, I, and II), treated at a single medical center. The same surgeons treated both insured and indigent patients. Patients treated by BCT or Mx were compared for age, race, stage, insurance status, access to a radiation therapy center, surgeon, and year of diagnosis. RESULTS: Patient age, race, surgeon, or insurance status did not significantly affect the rate of mastectomy. Stage I patients (P < 0.001) and those treated after 1995 had higher BCT rates (54.9% in 1993-95 vs. 70.7% in 1996-2000; P < 0.001). Travel distance to a radiation therapy center had no significant impact on BCT rates, except for patients >40 miles distant. CONCLUSIONS: These data refute the hypothesis that socioeconomic status, as reflected by medical insurance, is a determinant of BCT in women with ESBC. Distance of <40 miles to a radiation therapy facility, Stage I disease, and diagnosis after 1995 were factors associated with higher BCT rates.