Multiple Myeloma Spinal Lesion Care: Management of a Primary Bone Malignancy Rather Than a Spinal Metastasis.

OBJECTIVE: Multiple myeloma (MM) is too often wrongly categorized as a spinal metastasis (SpM), although it is distinguishable from SpM in many aspects, such as its earlier natural history at the time of diagnosis, its increased overall survival (OS), and its response to therapeutic modalities. The characterization of these 2 different spine lesions remains a main challenge. METHODS: This study compares 2 consecutive prospective oncologic populations of patients with spine lesions: 361 patients treated for MM spine lesions and 660 patients treated for SpM between January 2014 and 2017. RESULTS: The mean time between the tumor/MM diagnosis and spine lesions was respectively 0.3 (standard deviation [SD] 4.1) and 35.1 months (SD 21.2) for the MM and SpM groups. The median OS for the MM group was 59.6 months (SD 6.0) versus 13.5 months (SD 1.3) for the SpM group (P < 0.0001). Regardless of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, patients with MM always have a significantly better median OS than do patients with SpM: ECOG 0, 75.3 versus 38.7 months; ECOG 1, 74.3 versus 24.7 months; ECOG 2, 34.6 versus 8.1 months; ECOG 3, 13.5 versus 3.2 months and ECOG 4, 7.3 versus 1.3 months (P < 0.0001). The patients with MM had more diffuse spinal involvement (mean, 7.8 lesions; SD 4.7) than did patients with SpM (mean, 3.9; SD 3.5) (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: MM must be considered as a primary bone tumor, not as SpM. The strategic position of the spine in the natural course of cancer (i.e., nurturing cradle of birth for MM vs. systemic metastases spreading for SpM) explains the differences in OS and outcome.

Spine Metastasis: Patients With Poor Performance Status (ECOG) Could benefit From Palliative Surgical Care! A Prospective Cohort Study.

STUDY DESIGN: This study used a French prospective national multi-center database of patients with spine metastasis (SpM). OBJECTIVE: The main challenge was to clarify if SpM patients presenting poor ECOG-PS could benefit from a surgical intervention. BACKGROUND: Spine metastases (SpM) are debilitating lesions commonly found in the evolution of cancer. At present, patients with poor ECOG-PS do not benefit from surgical care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2014 and 2017, 176 SpM patients with poor initial ECOG-PS (3 or 4) were identified. RESULTS: The median overall survival of patients was 2.1 months (SD 0.2). Seventy-one patients (40.3%) underwent surgery: for 49 patients (27.8%) the intervention consisted of a simple decompression and for 22 patients (12.5%) the previous was associated with an osteosynthesis. Patients who underwent surgery demonstrated significantly longer median overall survival than those who did not: 3.5 months (SD 0.4) versus 1.6 (SD 0.2) ( P <0.0001). No significant differences between operated/nonoperated patients were noted concerning median age (66.4 vs. 64.2 y, P =0.897), the median number of SpM (4.1 vs. 4.2, P =0.374), ECOG-PS 4 ratio (41.6 vs. 39.3%, P =0.616), or for primary tumors ( P =0.103). Patients who underwent surgery statistically improved their neurological impairment according to the Frankel score: 5/11 (45.4%) from A to C, 5/17 (29.4%) from B to C or D, 6/11 (54.5%) from C to D and 2/4 (50%). Twelve patients (16.9%) presented a postoperative complication. CONCLUSION: Patients with poor ECOG-PS could benefit from surgery. Even though survival gain is small, it permits the preservation of their neurological function. By making ambulation possible, pain is decreased during the last months of their lives.

Natural Course and Prognosis of Primary Spinal Glioblastoma: A Nationwide Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Primary spinal glioblastoma (PsGBM) is extremely rare. The dramatic neurologic deterioration and unresectability of PsGBM makes it a particularly disabling malignant neoplasm. Because it is a rare and heterogeneous disease, the assessment of prognostic factors remains limited. METHODS: PsGBMs were identified from the French Brain Tumor Database and the Club de Neuro-Oncologie of the Société Française de Neurochirurgie retrospectively. Inclusion criteria were age 18 years or older at diagnosis, spinal location, histopathologic diagnosis of newly glioblastoma according to the 2016 World Health Organization classification, and surgical management between 2004 and 2016. Diagnosis was confirmed by a centralized neuropathologic review. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Therapeutic interventions and neurologic outcomes were also collected. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients with a histopathologically confirmed PsGBM (median age 50.9 years) were included (27 centers). The median OS was 13.1 months (range 2.5-23.7), and the median progression-free survival was 5.9 months (range 1.6-10.2). In multivariable analyses using Cox model, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status at 0-1 was the only independent predictor of longer OS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.801; p = 0.02), whereas a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score <60 (HR 2.89, 95% CI 1.05-7.92; p = 0.03) and a cervical anatomical location (HR 4.14, 95% CI 1.32-12.98; p = 0.01) were independent predictors of shorter OS. The ambulatory status (Frankel D-E) (HR 0.38, 95% CI 0.07-1.985; p = 0.250) was not an independent prognostic factor, while the concomitant standard radiochemotherapy with temozolomide (Stupp protocol) (HR 0.35, 95% CI 0.118-1.05; p = 0.06) was at the limit of significance. DISCUSSION: Preoperative ECOG performance status, KPS score, and the location are independent predictors of OS of PsGBMs in adults. Further analyses are required to capture the survival benefit of concomitant standard radiochemotherapy with temozolomide.

Efficacy and safety of anakinra in adults presenting deteriorating respiratory symptoms from COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate whether anakinra, an interleukin-1receptor inhibitor, could improve outcome in moderate COVID-19 patients. METHODS: In this controlled, open-label trial, we enrolled adults with COVID-19 requiring oxygen. We randomly assigned patients to receive intravenous anakinra plus optimized standard of care (oSOC) vs. oSOC alone. The primary outcome was treatment success at day 14 defined as patient alive and not requiring mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. RESULTS: Between 27th April and 6th October 2020, we enrolled 71 patients (240 patients planned to been enrolled): 37 were assigned to the anakinra group and 34 to oSOC group. The study ended prematurely by recommendation of the data and safety monitoring board due to safety concerns. On day 14, the proportion of treatment success was significantly lower in the anakinra group 70% (n = 26) vs. 91% (n = 31) in the oSOC group: risk difference-21 percentage points (95% CI, -39 to -2), odds ratio 0.23 (95% CI, 0.06 to 0.91), p = 0.027. After a 28-day follow-up, 9 patients in the anakinra group and 3 in the oSOC group had died. Overall survival at day 28 was 75% (95% CI, 62% to 91%) in the anakinra group versus 91% (95% CI, 82% to 100%) (p = 0.06) in the oSOC group. Serious adverse events occurred in 19 (51%) patients in the anakinra group and 18 (53%) in the oSOC group (p = 0·89). CONCLUSION: This trial did not show efficacy of anakinra in patients with COVID-19. Furthermore, contrary to our hypothesis, we found that anakinra was inferior to oSOC in patients with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia.

IgA vasculitis with underlying monoclonal IgA gammopathy: innovative therapeutic approach targeting plasma cells. A case series.

OBJECTIVE: There is currently no evidence of the possible benefit of plasma cell-targeting therapies (PCTT) in immunoglobulin A (IgA) monoclonal gammopathy (MG) associated with IgA vasculitis (IgAV). We report the outcome of different PCTT regimens in a cohort of MG-IgAV. METHODS: We used a French network to retrospectively describe the outcome of MG-IgAV patients treated with PCTT. RESULTS: Five patients were included (mean age 65 years). All patients had severe baseline presentation including extensive necrotic purpura (n = 5), gastrointestinal involvement (n = 2), peripheral neuropathies (n = 2), and glomerulonephritis (n = 1). Two patients had IgA indolent multiple myeloma and three had IgA "MG of undetermined significance." Monotypic IgA deposition in the skin vessels wall was highlighted using an immunofluorescence assay. Cases of vasculitis in three patients (n = 3) were refractory to multiple line therapies, including cyclophosphamide (n = 3) or rituximab. Finally, PCTT including bortezomib plus cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone, bortezomib plus melphalan and prednisone, or bortezomib plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone were proposed, allowing complete remission in 4/5 patients without major adverse drug events. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the MG-IgAV phenotype might be distinctive of usual IgAV (severe and refractory to conventional immunosuppressive regimens) and supports the benefit of PCTT. This study sheds new light on the overall biology of IgAV, strengthening the pathogenic role of the monoclonal IgA component in IgAV.

Long-term functional outcomes and vision-related quality of life after vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane: a prospective cohort study.

To investigate the long-term effect of unilateral idiopathic epiretinal membrane (uiERM) removal on monocular and binocular visual function, and on vision-related quality of life (VR-QoL). Prospective, single-center study. The following data were collected before and after surgery: distance monocular and binocular best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), horizontal and vertical metamorphopsia, horizontal and vertical aniseikonia, stereoacuity and National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 item (NEI VFQ-25). Forty-two patients (mean age: 72.7 ± 7.4 years; 24 men) were included. At 6 months postoperatively, distance monocular BCVA (p < 0.001), horizontal metamorphopsia (p = 0.001) and the composite score of NEI VFQ-25 (p < 0.001) significantly improved, in comparison to baseline. At 2 years postoperatively, distance monocular (p < 0.001) and binocular (p = 0.01) BCVA, horizontal (p < 0.001) and vertical (p = 0.02) metamorphopsia, vertical aniseikonia (p = 0.01), stereoacuity (p < 0.001) and 3 subscales scores of the NEI VFQ-25 (p < 0.05) ("general vision", "mental health", "driving") significantly improved in comparison to baseline. Removal of uiERM improves VR-QoL and achieves good visual outcomes on both monocular and binocular visual parameters over long-term. Visual symptoms induced by macular contraction have different improvement kinetics after surgery. Stereopsis, the highest level of binocular vision, can be improved in some cases.

Spinal metastases from thyroid cancer: Some prognostic factors.

BACKGROUND: Spinal metastases (SpMs) from thyroid cancers (TC) significantly reduce quality of life by causing pain, neurological deficits in addition to increasing mortality. Moreover, prognosis factors including surgery remain debated. METHODS: Data were stored in a prospective French national multicenter database of patients treated for SpM between January 2014 and 2017. Fifty-one consecutive patients affected by TC with 173 secondary SpM were included. RESULTS: Mean overall survival (OS) time for all patients from the diagnosis of a thyroid SpM event was 9.1 years (SD 8.7 months). The 1-year, 5-year and 10-year survival estimates were 94% (SD 3.3), 83.8.0% (SD 5.2), and 74.5% (SD 9.9). The median period of time between primary thyroid tumor diagnosis and the SpM event was 31.4 months (SD 71.6). In univariate analysis, good ECOG-PS (status 0 and 1) (p < 0.0001), ambulatory status (Frankel score) (p < 0.0001) and no epidural involvement (p = 0.01), were associated with longer survival, whereas cancer subtype (p = 0.436) and spine surgery showed no association (p = 0.937). Cox multivariate proportional hazard model only identified good ECOG-PS: 0 [HR: 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.941; p < 0.0001], 1 [HR: 0.8, 95% CI 0.04-2.124; p = 0.001] and ambulatory neurological status: Frankel E [HR: 0.262, 95% CI 0.048-1.443; p = 0.02] to be independent predictors of better survival. CONCLUSION: For cases presenting SpM from TC, we highlighted that the only prognostic factors were the progression of the cancer (ECOG-PS) and the clinical neurological impact of the SpM (Frankel status). Surgery should be discussed mainly for stabilization and neurological decompression.

Chronic low back pain during COVID-19 lockdown: is there a paradox effect?

PURPOSE: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a compulsory lockdown of 3 months with strict restrictions. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown broad repercussions on patients with chronic pain; especially for conditions that present a significant emotional participation such as chronic low back pain (cLBP). METHODS: We performed a prospective study on 50 patients. Pre- and 1-month post-lockdown questionnaires such as: the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the Roland-Morris questionnaire (RMQ) and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for back and leg pain intensity were collected. RESULTS: The mean time of the evolution of cLBP was 33.04 months (range 5-120 months). Eighteen (36%) patients improved their cLBP (i-cLBP), whereas for 14 (28%) it was worse (w-cLBP). Cox multivariate proportional hazard model identified that MODIC 1 disc disease [OR 19.93, IC95% (2.81-102.13), p = 0.015] and at-home workouts [OR 18.854, IC95% (1.151-204.9), p = 0.040] were good prognosis factors of the improvement of cLBP while subclinical/mild Covid-19 anxiety (IES score < 26) was a poor prognosis factor in improving cLBP [OR 0.21, IC95% (0.001-0.384), p = 0.009]. Furthermore, pre-lockdown benzodiazepine medication [OR 2.554, IC95% (1.20-9.9), p = 0.002] was a prognosis factor of worse cLBP. In contrast, patients with severe Covid-19 anxiety (IES score > 26) significantly improved their cLBP [OR 0.58, IC95% (0.025-0.834), p = 0.01]. CONCLUSION: Lockdown affected the somatic component of cLBP by decreasing activities and physical measures, whereas the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic spectrum paradoxically improved the psychic and emotional component of cLBP.

Cauda Equina Syndrome: Poor Recovery Prognosis Despite Early Treatment.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective patient's database operated on a cauda equina syndrome (CES). OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to identify prognosis factors for favorable functional recovery after CES. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: CES is a neurologic impairment of variable symptoms associating urinary, bowel, and sexual dysfunctions with or without motor or sensitive deficits caused by nerve root compression of the cauda equina. The definition of CES remains debated, as well as the prognosis factors for favorable functional recovery and the benefit of early surgery. METHODS: One hundred forty patients were included between January 2010 and 2019. Univariate and multivariate cox proportional hazard regression models were conducted. RESULTS: The patients were young with a median age of 46.8 years (range 18-86 yrs). At presentation, 60% were affected by a motor deficit, 42.8% a sensitive deficit, 70% urinary dysfunctions, and 44% bowel dysfunctions. The mean follow-up was 15.5 months. Bilateral motor deficit (P = 0.017) and an initial deficit severity of 0 to 2 (P = 0.001) represented prognosis factors of poor motor recovery. Initial anal incontinence (P = 0.007) was associated with poor bowel recovery. Only 32.8% of the patients went back to work. Initial motor deficit (P = 0.015), motor sequelae (P = 0.001), sphincter dysfunctions sequelae (P = 0.02), and long LOS (P = 0.02) were poor return-to-work prognosis factors. Time to surgery within an early timing < 24 or 48 hours or later did not represent a prognosis factor of recovery in CES. Incomplete versus complete CES did not show better recovery. CONCLUSION: CES remains a profound disabling syndrome with poor functional prognosis: in the long run, few patients go back to work. The main prognosis factors established in our series regarded the initial severity of deficits whether motor or sphincteral. Early or later surgical cauda equina decompression did not show to represent a prognosis factor for functional recovery.Level of Evidence: 4.

Are spine metastasis survival scoring systems outdated and do they underestimate life expectancy? Caution in surgical recommendation guidance.

OBJECTIVE: Survival scoring systems for spine metastasis (SPM) were designed to help surgical practice. The authors sought to validate the prognostic accuracy of the main preoperative scoring systems for SPM. METHODS: It was hypothesized that true patient survival in SPM was better than that predicted using prognosis scores. To investigate this hypothesis, the authors designed a French national retrospective study of a prospectively collected multicenter database involving 739 patients treated for SPM between 2014 and 2017. RESULTS: In this series, the median survival time for all patients from an SPM diagnosis was 17.03 ± 1.5 months. Sensitivity and specificity were estimated using the area under the curve (AUC). The AUC of Tomita's prognosis score was the lowest and poorest (0.4 ± 0.023, range 0.35-0.44), whereas the AUC of the Tokuhashi score was the highest (0.825). The Lei score presented an AUC of 0.686 ± 0.022 (range 0.64-0.7), and the Rades score showed a weaker AUC (0.583 ± 0.020, range 0.54-0.63). Differences among AUCs were all statistically significant (p < 0.001). The modified Bauer score and the Rades score had the highest rate of agreement in predicting survival, with a weighted Cohen's kappa of 0.54 and 0.41, respectively, indicating a moderate agreement. The revised Tokuhashi and Lei scores had a fair rate of agreement (weighted Cohen's kappa = 0.24 and 0.22, respectively). The van der Linden and Tomita scores demonstrated the worst performance, with only a "slight" rate of agreement (weighted Cohen's kappa = 0.19 and 0.16, respectively) between what was predicted and the actual survival. CONCLUSIONS: The use of prognostic scoring systems in the estimation of survival in patients with SPM has become obsolete and therefore underestimates survival. Surgical treatment decisions should no longer be based on survival estimations alone but must also take into account patient symptoms, spinal instability, and quality of life.

Monocular and binocular visual parameters associated to vision-related quality of life in patients with epiretinal membrane: a prospective cohort.

PURPOSE: Binocular visual impairment related to unilateral idiopathic epiretinal membranes (uiERM) and its association with vision-related quality of life (VR-QoL) has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to explore binocular visual parameters (distance binocular best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), aniseikonia, stereopsis) and VR-QoL in patients with uiERM. METHODS: We carried out a prospective single-centre cohort study. The following data were collected: VR-QoL (NEI VFQ-25), distance monocular and binocular BCVA, horizontal and vertical metamorphopsia (M-charts test), horizontal and vertical aniseikonia (NAT TEST) and stereoacuity (TNO test). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate factors influencing VR-QoL. RESULTS: Forty-six patients with uiERM and visual complaints were included. Aniseikonia was found in 40 (80%) participants. Stereoacuity was poor (above 120 s of arc) in 46 (100%) participants. Distance monocular BCVA, horizontal metamorphopsia and horizontal aniseikonia were the factors associated with VR-QoL in patients with uiERM. CONCLUSIONS: In subjects presenting uiERM, aniseikonia is frequently found and stereopsis is constantly impaired. We advocate quantitative testing of metamorphopsia and aniseikonia in addition to BCVA for the assessment of global visual function. Further investigations are needed to evaluate the effect of vitrectomy on these parameters and VR-QoL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT Number/ID RCB: 2016-A00252-49.

Ambulatory surgery centers: possible solution to improve cataract healthcare in medical deserts.

PURPOSE: To investigate the epidemiological impact of an ambulatory cataract surgery center providing a fast-track procedure without anesthetic evaluation on the access to cataract healthcare. SETTING: French nationwide study. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. METHODS: The study included individuals undergoing cataract surgery from the French national administrative database of medical information. Data analyses focused on patients living in the Cher and neighboring areas. Epidemiological indicators of patient flow and healthcare efficiency were calculated. A medicoeconomic analysis was performed. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2018, activity increased by +50.2% (3665 to 5506) interventions in the Cher area compared with a national increase of +22.7% (720 351/884 254), while maintaining a constant ophthalmologist workforce. The leakage ratio decreased by 5.9 points (26.3% to 20.4%), whereas the attractiveness and self-sufficiency ratios increased by 2.3 (8.6% to 10.9%) and 8.6 (80.6% to 89.2%) points, respectively. The age- and sex-standardized rate of healthcare utilization for cataract surgery increased by 4.3 points (11.6 to 15.9 cataract surgeries per 1000 inhabitants), making the Cher the second best French area in 2018 for the rate of cataract surgery despite ranking 96th of 109 French areas for ophthalmologist density. The cost of the cataract removal procedure was 523.99€ (666.22€ in the conventional operating room). CONCLUSIONS: An ambulatory cataract surgery center with a fast-track procedure could represent a solution in medical deserts to improve cataract healthcare without supplementary funding. Nonetheless, consulting activity should be optimized to detect eye disorders and schedule interventions.

Spine metastasis in patients with prostate cancer: Survival prognosis assessment.

BACKGROUND: Patients presenting spine metastasis (SpM) from prostate cancer (PC) form a heterogeneous population, through this study, we aimed to clarify and update their prognostic assessment. METHODS: The patient data used in this study was obtained from a French national multicenter database of patients treated for PC with SpM between 2014 and 2017. A total of 72 patients and 365 SpM cases were diagnosed. RESULTS: The median overall survival time for all patients following the event of SpM was 28.8 months. First, we identified three significant survival prognostic factors of PC patients with SpM: good Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group/World Health Organization personnel status (Status 0 hazard ratio [HR]: 0.031, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.008-0.127; p < .0001) or (Status 1 HR: 0.163, 95% CI: 0.068-0.393; p < .0001) and SpM radiotherapy (HR: 2.923, 95% CI: 1.059-8.069; p < .0001). Secondly, the presence of osteolytic lesions of the spine (vs. osteoblastic) was found to represent an independent prognosis factor for longer survival [HR: 0.424, 95% CI: 0.216-0.830; p = .01]. Other factors including the number of SpM, surgery, extraspinal metastasis, synchrone metastasis, metastasis-free survival, and SpM recurrence were not identified as being prognostically relevant to the survival of patients with PC. CONCLUSION: Survival and our ability to estimate it in patients presenting PC with SpM have improved significantly. Therefore, we advocate the relevance of updating SpM prognostic scoring algorithms by incorporating data regarding the timeline of PC as well as the presence of osteolytic SpM to conceive treatments that are adapted to each patient.

Spine Metastasis in Elderly: Encouraging Results for Better Survival.

MINI: The incidence of spinal metastasis (SpM) is increasing, and life expectancy for patients with malignancy is also rising. The "elderly" represent a population with steady growth in SpM proportion. Bracing is associated with lower survival. We believe that surgery should be considered, regardless of the patient's age.

Multicentric prospective study. Through this study, we aimed to clarify and update the prognostic assessment of elderly with spine metastasis (SpM). The incidence SpM is rising, in parallel life expectancy is getting longer and the number of elderly patients presenting malignancy is increasing. Elderly patients with SpM constitute a growing heterogeneous population The patient data used in this study were obtained from a French national multicenter database of patients treated for SpM between 2014 and 2017. Two hundred and forty-three consecutive patients >70 years' old were diagnosed. Median overall survival (OS) time for elderly patients following the event of SpM was 16.3 months. First, we identified significantly worse survival prognostic factors for elderly patients with SpM: poor WHO status 3/4: (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.245, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.899­2.655; P  < 0.0001), >80 years (HR: 1.758, 95% CI 1.117­2.765; P  = 0.015) no-ambulatory neurological status (Franckel A/B status [HR: 3.219, 95% CI 1.621­6.390; P  < 0.0001)], gastrointestinal cancer (HR: 3.530, 95% CI 1.75­7.1; P  < 0.0001), lung cancer (HR: 3.452, 95% CI 1.784­6.680; P  < 0.0001), orthopedic brace treatment (HR: 1.329; 95% CI 1.050­1.683; P  = 0.018), and epiduritis (HR: 1.52, 95% CI 1.041­2.22; P  = 0.03) were independently poor prognostic factors of survival. The only good prognosis factor identified was thyroid cancer (HR: 0.257, 95% CI 0.07­0.952; P  = 0.04). Prognosis factors concerning the survival of elderly patients seem to be the same as those for the general population such as primary cancer histology, neurological status, WHO status, and epiduritis. Age >80 years also appears to be an independently poor prognosis factor. Our data suggest that orthopedic brace treatment is also associated with lower survival. Level of Evidence: 2.

Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Fundoplications in Pediatric Surgery: Experience Review.

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic fundoplicature for gastroesophageal reflux disease has become the gold standard because of the improvement of postoperative rehabilitation compared with the open procedure. The robot-assisted surgery has brought new advantages for the patient and the surgeon compared with laparoscopy. We studied this new approach and the learning curve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty robot-assisted fundoplicatures were performed in two university pediatric surgery centers. Data of the patients were recorded, including peroperative data (operation length and complications), postoperative recoveries, and clinical evolution. The learning curve was evaluated retrospectively and each variable was compared along this learning curve. RESULTS: We observed a flattening of the learning curve after the 20th case for one surgeon. The mean operative time decreased significantly to 80 ± 10 minutes after 20 cases. There were no conversions to an open procedure. A revision surgery was indicated for 4.7% of the patients by a surgical robot-assisted laparoscopic approach. CONCLUSION: The robotic system appears to add many advantages for surgical ergonomic procedures. There is a potential benefit in operating time with a short technical apprenticeship period. The setting up system is easy with a short docking time.

Can anticancer chemotherapy promote the progression of brain metastases?

Brain metastases natural history from one primary tumor type might be accelerated or favored by using certain systemic chemotherapy. A great deal was described in mice and suggested in human with antiangiogenic drugs, but little is known about the metastatic progression generated by the perverse effect of anticancer drugs. A total of 413 patients who underwent treatment for brain metastasis (2013-2016) were included. The identification of all previous anticancer drugs received by patients from primary tumor diagnosis to brain metastases diagnosis was collated. The median value for the time of first appearance of brain metastasis in all patients was 13.1 months (SD 1.77). The values of brain metastasis-free survival (bMFS) for each primary cancer were: 50.9 months (SD 8.8) for breast, 28.5 months (SD 11.4) for digestive, 27.7 months (SD 18.3) for melanoma, 12.3 months (SD 8.3) for kidney, 1.5 months (SD 0.1) for lung and 26.9 months (SD 18.3) for others (p < 0.009). Through Cox multivariate proportional hazard model, we identified that the only independent factors associated with short bMFS were: lung primary tumor [odd ratio (OR) 0.234, CI 95% 0.16-0.42; p < 0.0001] and mitotic spindle inhibitor (taxanes) chemotherapy [OR 0.609, CI 95% 0.50-0.93; p < 0.001]. Contrariwise, breast primary tumor [odd ratio (OR) 2.372, CI 95% 1.29-4.3; p < 0.005] was an independent factor that proved a significantly longer bMFS. We suggest that anticancer drugs, especially taxane and its derivatives, could promote brain metastases, decreasing free survival. Mechanisms are discussed but still need to be determined.

Polyurethane versus silicone port a cath: What's going on at removal?

BACKGROUND: Port-a-cath (PAC) is an essential device in the management of the patients of chronic illness, but despite theirs benefits there are many complications either at the time of insertion or at time of removal. Our aim of this study is to evaluate the fracture rate of the catheter at removal time in comparison with catheter type either polyurethane or silicone. METHODS: A retrospective monocentric study of all PACs which were removed at our university pediatric hospital between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2016. Two groups were compared: polyurethane group and silicone group. RESULTS: Total of 216 central lines were removed, the mean age at the time of extraction was 9.7±4.9years and the mean time for both catheter was 2.7±1.6years, fracture occurred in 11 catheter of the polyurethane group (n=119), with no fracture of silicone group (n=86), in the polyurethane group, the risk of catheter fracture is significantly related to the duration of the PAC in place. CONCLUSION: We found that the polyurethane-based catheters are more vulnerable for rupture and retained fragment in the blood vessels, especially if left in place for long time, for this reason we have switched to silicone-based catheter and all catheters should be remove within duration maximal of 2years. TYPE OF STUDY: Prognosis study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II.