Patterns of recurrent disease after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and esophageal cancer surgery with curative intent in a tertiary referral center.

BACKGROUND: Recurrence is frequently observed after esophageal cancer surgery, with dismal post-recurrence survival. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy is the gold standard for resectable esophageal tumors in the Netherlands. This study investigated the recurrence patterns and survival after multimodal therapy. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients with recurrent disease after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy for an esophageal adenocarcinoma in the Amsterdam UMC between 01 and 01-2010 and 31-12-2018. Post-recurrence treatment and survival of patients were investigated and grouped by recurrence site (loco-regional, distant, or combined loco-regional and distant). RESULTS: In total, 278 of 618 patients (45.0%) developed recurrent disease after a median of 49 weeks. Thirty-one patients had loco-regional (11.2%), 145 distant (52.2%), and 101 combined loco-regional and distant recurrences (36.3%). Post-recurrence survival was superior for patients with loco-regional recurrences (33 weeks, 95%CI 7.3-58.7) compared to distant (12 weeks, 95%CI 6.9-17.1) or combined loco-regional and distant recurrent disease (18 weeks, 95%CI 9.3-26.7). Patients with loco-regional recurrences treated with curative intent had the longest survival (87 weeks, 95%CI 6.9-167.4). CONCLUSION: Recurrent disease after potentially curative treatment for esophageal cancer was most frequently located distantly, with dismal prognosis. A subgroup of patients with loco-regional recurrence was treated with curative intent and had prolonged survival. These patients may benefit from intensive surveillance protocols, and more research is needed to identify these patients.

Incidence and oncological implication of adrenal incidentalomas in esophageal cancer patients.

Adrenal incidentalomas are regularly encountered during imaging for esophageal cancer patients, but their oncological significance remains unknown. This study aimed to describe the incidence and etiology of adrenal incidentalomas observed throughout the diagnostic workup. This retrospective cohort study included all esophageal cancer patients referred to or diagnosed in the Amsterdam UMC between January 2012 and December 2016. Radiology and multidisciplinary team meeting reports were reviewed for adrenal incidentalomas. In case of adrenal incidentaloma, the 18FDG-PET/CT was reassessed by a radiologist blinded for the original report. In case of a metachronous incidentaloma during follow-up, visibility on previous imaging was reassessed. Primary outcome was the incidence, etiology and oncological consequence of synchronous adrenal incidentalomas. This study included 1,164 esophageal cancer patients, with a median age of 66 years. Patients were predominantly male (76.1%) and the majority had an adenocarcinoma (69.0%). Adrenal incidentalomas were documented in 138 patients (11.9%) during the diagnostic workup. At primary esophageal cancer workup, 22 incidentalomas proved malignant. However, follow-up showed that four incidentalomas were inaccurately diagnosed as benign and three malignant incidentalomas were visible on staging imaging but initially missed. Stage migration occurred in 15 of 22 (68.2%), but this would have been higher if none were missed or inaccurately diagnosed. The oncological impact of adrenal incidentalomas in patients with esophageal cancer is significant as a considerable part of incidentalomas changed treatment intent from curative to palliative. As stage migration is likely, pathological examination of a synchronous adrenal incidentaloma should be weighted in mind.

The Influence of Body Contouring Surgery on Weight Control and Comorbidities in Patients After Bariatric Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: A considerable number of patients experience some long-term weight regain after bariatric surgery. Body contouring surgery (BCS) is thought to strengthen post-bariatric surgery patients in their weight control and maintenance of achieved improvements in comorbidities. OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of BCS on long-term weight control and comorbidities after bariatric surgery. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study in a prospective database. All patients who underwent primary Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and presented for preoperative consultation of BCS in the same hospital were included in the study. Linear and logistic mixed-effect model analyses were used to evaluate the longitudinal relationships between patients who were accepted or rejected for BCS and their weight loss outcomes or changes in comorbidities. RESULTS: Of the 1150 patients who underwent primary RYGB between January 2010 and December 2014, 258 patients (22.4%) presented for preoperative consultation of BCS. Of these patients, 126 patients eventually underwent BCS (48.8%). Patients who were accepted for BCS demonstrated significant better ∆body mass index (BMI) on average over time (- 1.31 kg/m2/year, 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.52 - -0.10, p = 0.034) and percent total weight loss (%TWL) was significantly different at 36 months (5.79, 95%CI 1.22 - 10.37, p = 0.013) and 48 months (6.78, 95%CI 0.93 - 12.63, p = 0.023) after body contouring consultation. Patients who were accepted or rejected did not differ significantly in the maintenance of achieved improvements in comorbidities. CONCLUSION: BCS could not be associated with the maintenance of achieved improvements in comorbidities after bariatric surgery, whereas it could be associated with improved weight loss maintenance at 36 and 48 months after body contouring consultation. This association should be further explored in a large longitudinal study.

Recommendations on the most suitable quality-of-life measurement instruments for bariatric and body contouring surgery: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to systematically assess the quality of existing patient-reported outcome measures developed and/or validated for Quality of Life measurement in bariatric surgery (BS) and body contouring surgery (BCS). METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews and CENTRAL identifying studies on measurement properties of BS and BCS Quality of Life instruments. For all eligible studies, we evaluated the methodological quality of the studies by using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments checklist and the quality of the measurement instruments by applying quality criteria. Four degrees of recommendation were assigned to validated instruments (A-D). RESULTS: Out of 4,354 articles, a total of 26 articles describing 24 instruments were included. No instrument met all requirements (category A). Seven instruments have the potential to be recommended depending on further validation studies (category B). Of these seven, the BODY-Q has the strongest evidence for content validity in BS and BCS. Two instruments had poor quality in at least one required quality criterion (category C). Fifteen instruments were minimally validated (category D). CONCLUSION: The BODY-Q, developed for BS and BCS, possessed the strongest evidence for quality of measurement properties and has the potential to be recommended in future clinical trials.