Prognostic factors in patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma treated with preoperative radiotherapy and surgery.

Preoperative radiation therapy (PRT) prior to potential curative resection for rectal adenocarcinoma is not widely accepted. This report evaluates the prognostic factors affecting local recurrence and 5-year survival. This is a retrospective study of 214 patients with primary rectal adenocarcinoma treated from January 1986 to December 1994. A PRT dosage of 45 Gy in 20 fractions was administered to patients with clinically tethered or fixed tumors, and 4 to 8 weeks later surgery was performed (group I). Patients with clinically mobile tumors were treated by surgery alone (group II). There were 130 men and 84 women. The median age was 58 years (range 19-85 years). There were 111 patients in group I: 7 patients had no microscopic residual tumor, 80 had Dukes' A and B, and 24 had Dukes' C. There were 103 patients in group II: 70 patients were classified as Dukes' A and B and 33 as Dukes' C. The mean follow-up of the entire cohort was 62 months (range 2-132 months). Local recurrence was seen in 17% of patients in group I and 35% in group II (p = 0.002). Distant recurrence in patients with metastatic lymph nodes was seen in 79% of group I and in 34% of group II (p = 0.001). The favorable prognostic factors for local control were the administration of PRT and well differentiated cancer. The favorable prognostic factors for survival were age < 50 years and the absence of lymph node metastasis. The administration of PRT diminishes the risk of local recurrence. The presence of metastatic lymph nodes in the postirradiated specimen is an ominous prognostic factor for survival. Therefore such patients should be considered for adjuvant chemotherapy.

Colorectal sarcoma: analysis of failure patterns.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Colorectal sarcomas (CRS) are rare and their treatment remains controversial, especially for those located in the rectum. The aim of this paper is to evaluate our experience, with special emphasis on the failure pattern after surgical therapy alone or combined with postoperative radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records and histological slides of 13 CRS patients treated between 1986 and 1996 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The patients included eight males and five females, with a median age of 54 years; nine of their primary tumors were located in the rectum, and four in the colon. The histologies were leiomyosarcoma in nine cases and malignant fibrous histiocytoma in four cases. Surgical treatment consisted of anatomical colectomy (four); local excision (three); abdominoperineal resection (APR)(two); low anterior resection (LAR)(two); LAR en bloc with the prostate (one), and total pelvic exenteration (one). One operative death occurred. The median size of the tumors was 8 cm (range, 5-40). The tumors were graded as low, three, and high, ten. The median follow-up was 24 months. Eight patients in the overall group developed recurrences as follows: local, three; local and distant, three, and distant, two. Five out of nine patients with rectal sarcoma received adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy (PRT). Local recurrence occurred in 20% (1/5) of those who received PRT, and in 100% (3/3) of those who did not. The overall 5-year survival was 40%, and the 5-year survival for patients with low-grade tumors was 66%, as compared with 22% for those with high-grade tumors. CONCLUSIONS: The patterns of failure in CRS are combined in both local and distant sites. However, our results suggest that in rectal sarcoma, the use of surgery + PRT may reduce the local recurrence rate; in selected patients, it may allow for anal sphincter preservation.

Bartter's syndrome, supraventricular tachycardia, mitral valve prolapse, and asthma: a therapeutic challenge.

A 25-year-old man with acquired Bartter's syndrome, mitral valve prolapse, and supraventricular tachycardia secondary to a low atrial focus was diagnosed with asthma. The unique aspects of managing these coexisting diseases are evaluated. Calculation of free-water clearance in the diagnosis of Bartter's syndrome and the etiology and characteristics of the syndrome are discussed.

Anorectal malignant melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Great controversy exists with regard to the best surgical therapy for anorectal malignant melanoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1980 and 1996, 15 patients with anorectal malignant melanoma were treated. The recurrence pattern after therapeutic intervention and their survival were evaluated. RESULTS: There were nine females and six males, their mean age was 66.3 years. At diagnosis their disease stages were: I (n=7), 11 (n=3) and III (n=5). Patients with stage I disease were treated with abdominoperineal resection (APR) (n=6) and local excision (n=1); their average tumour size and thickness were: 4.7 cm and 6.4 mm respectively; their median follow-up and disease-free survival were 11 months and 7 months respectively; their recurrence pattern was: local (n=6), inguinal (n=4) and distant (n=6). Those patients with stage II and III disease were treated with transverse colostomy (n=6); two of them received 50 Gy of radiotherapy and local excision plus interferon alpha-2b (n=2), all had progressive distant disease. Patients with stage I disease had a median survival of 12 months compared with 5 months for those with stages II and III (P=0.10). The overall 5-year survival was 0%. CONCLUSION: The recurrence pattern in anorectal malignant melanoma is mainly at distant sites. The role of APR in maintaining local control over tumours larger than 4 cm or thicker than 5 mm remains elusive.

Morbidity and mortality following preoperative radiation therapy and total pelvic exenteration for primary rectal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic exenteration, the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma infiltrating neighbouring pelvic visceras, carried a significant morbidity and mortality rate. AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the morbidity and mortality rates in a group of patients who were treated with preoperative radiation therapy and total pelvic exenteration. METHODS: Between January 1980 and January 1995, we treated 18 patients. Pretreatment staging was determined by clinical examination and computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis. Each patient received preoperative radiation therapy of 45 Gy in 20 fractions delivered to the whole pelvis; approximately 6 weeks later total pelvic exenteration was performed. RESULTS: There were 17 males and 1 female, with a median age of 59 years. All patients underwent and completed the scheduled radiation therapy treatment. The main complaints related to radiotherapy were transient skin erythema in five patients and diarrhoea in four. Blood loss (estimated by the surgeon) ranged from 1000 ml to 4200 ml, with a mean loss of 2020 ml. Eight patients (44%) developed major complications: anastomatic leak from the uretero-intestinal suture line (n = 1); perineal wound infection (n = 2); abnormal wall infection (n = 1); haemorrhage from the right internal iliac vein (n = 1) and pneumonia (n = 1). Three patients required surgical reintervention for immediate postoperative haemorrhage from the sacral venous plexus (n = 1), small bowel obstruction (n = 1), and intra-abdominal and pelvic abscess (n = 1). There were two postoperative deaths (11%). The mean and median follow-up was 41 and 32 months, respectively. Two patients (12%) developed local recurrence at 5 and 8 months, and six developed distant recurrences (37%). The overall 5-year survival rate was 61%. CONCLUSION: Our treatment approach was associated with high morbidity and mortality rates, but was similar to previously published series based on total pelvic exenteration without prior radiation therapy. In addition, our therapeutic approach was associated with a low rate of overall local recurrences. Surgical Oncology 1995; 4: 295-301.