Is splenectomy for dissecting splenic hilar lymph nodes justified for scirrhous gastric cancer?

BACKGROUND: Splenectomy for dissecting splenic hilar lymph nodes (#10) should be avoided for most gastric cancer, considering the high morbidity and lack of any survival benefit, but it is often selected for scirrhous gastric cancer because this type frequently invades the whole stomach and lymph nodes. Splenectomy is necessary for dissecting #10; however, the survival benefit of dissecting #10 is unclear. METHODS: Patients who had scirrhous gastric cancer and underwent D2 total gastrectomy with splenectomy at National Cancer Center Hospital, Japan, between 2000 and 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The therapeutic value index was calculated by multiplying the metastatic rate of each nodal station and the 5-year survival of patients who had metastasis to each node. RESULTS: In total, 137 patients were eligible for the present study. The most frequent metastatic node was #3(58%), followed by #4d(46%), #1(35%), #4sb(23%), #6(22%), #7(21%), #4sa(18%), #10(15%), #2(14%), #11p(14%), #11d(13%), #9(13%), and #8a(11%). These lymph nodes had a metastatic rate of more than 10%. The node station with the highest index was #3(18.9), followed by #4d(14.1), #1(10.8), #4sa(6.11), #4sb(6.06), #10(5.09), #7(4.39), #11d(4.36), #11p(4.06), #2(2.93), #8a(2.18), and #9(1.45). The index of #10 exceeded that of #2, #7, #8a, and #9, which are the key nodes dissected in D2. CONCLUSION: The metastatic rate of the splenic hilar lymph nodes was relatively high, and the therapeutic index was the sixth highest among the 15 regional lymph nodes included in D2 dissection. Splenectomy for dissecting splenic hilar lymph nodes would be justified for scirrhous gastric cancer.

THE RELEVANCE OF CYTOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTIC IN THE MAMMARY GLAND CANCER.

UNLABELLED: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, while in Eastern Europe the most common form of diagnosed cancer. Out of the multiple possibilities of early detection of mammary neoplasia that have been elaborated, only mammography has proved to be a simple, efficient method and of a high sensitivity, almost 90% However, the cytological confirmation of diagnosis allows us to perform the preoperative radiotherapy treatment or poly chemotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: we analyzed the informative value of these diagnosis methods in stage I mammary gland cancer (MGC). In this way, in the present paper we demonstrated that collecting samples through fine-needle aspiration biopsy allows the cytological confirmation of the diagnosis of stage I MGC in 30.7% cases. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In stage I MGC young patients, under 35 years, the cytological confirmation rate is 22.2% and is lower as compared to the cytological confirmation rate in patients older than 35 years which is 37.9% Also, for a tumor diameter < 0.5 cm, the prevalence of cytological confirmation was only 10.3%, while for the diameter of 0.6-1.0 cm the cytological confirmation was around 40.0%. Therefore, in order to improve the cytological diagnosis confirmation rate the tumor biopsy through the USG of the mammary glands is required. Moreover, the cytological investigation of the smear obtained by the first and second puncture was instrumental in confirming the diagnosis in 41.3% and 17.4% cases; the subsequent repetition of the punctures was not useful as it helped to confirmation of the diagnosis only in 9.3% cases. The frequency of diagnosis cytological confirmation depends on the tumor histopathological form and type of growth. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the lowest prevalence was in the mixed forms--12.5% cases, lobular cancer--24.4% cases, while regarding the type of growth, for the rare forms the cytological confirmation rate was 7.7% and 31.5% cases for the schiros growth type.

Prognostic value of extracapsular invasion of axillary lymph nodes combined with peritumoral vascular invasion in patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Extracapsular invasion (ECI) of metastatic axillary lymph nodes has been associated with aggressive nodal disease but its prognostic role in breast cancer is unclear. The present study evaluated nodal ECI as a predictor of breast cancer recurrence. METHODS: We evaluated 154 women with histologically proven node-positive breast cancer who were diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, and investigated the relationships between ECI and recurrences and other clinicopathological factors, particularly vascular invasion and the number of lymph node metastases. RESULTS: The presence of ECI at positive nodes was significantly associated with the number of positive nodes, and with disease recurrence and survival in univariate (but not multivariate) analysis. Interestingly, all ECI(+) patients with distant metastases in our series had peritumoral vascular invasion (PVI), which may have reflected systemic disease; ECI with PVI of the primary tumor strongly predicted recurrent disease and shorter survival. CONCLUSION: ECI of axillary metastases combined with PVI indicates high tumor aggressiveness. Patients with ECI and PVI may be considered for stronger adjuvant therapies because of their high risk for distant recurrences.

Temporal trends in the surgical outcomes of patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of breast cancer has been increasing in Japan over the past three decades, and it is the currently the most common malignancy in Japan. This study investigated the temporal trends of the surgical outcomes in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: We evaluated 543 consecutive patients who underwent breast-cancer resection between 1980 and 2009. The temporal trends in the surgical outcome and clinicopathological features were evaluated separately for the periods covering 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 2000 to 2009. RESULTS: The number of patients who underwent resection during these three respective periods were 133, 176, and 234, respectively. All patients were women. The percentage of patients at stages 0 or 1 was 63.2%, 58.5%, and 43.6%, respectively, during the three periods. The mean diameter of tumors in each period was 38, 29, and 30 mm, respectively. The percentage of tumors with positive ER expression was 62.5%, 64.3%, and 69.7%, respectively. In terms of surgical procedures, the use of Halsted's radical mastectomy decreased during each period: from 40.6% of cases to 8.5% and then to 0.4%, while the proportion of breast-conserving therapies increased, from 0% to 12.5%, and finally to 35.9%. The postoperative 10-year survival rates during the three periods were 75.9%, 83.5%, and 84.9%, respectively. The 10-year survival rates of patients with stage II disease during the three periods were 66.2%, 75.7%, and 90.7%, respectively. The prognosis of stage III disease in the three periods also showed a tendency toward improvement, increasing from 37.8% to 64.2%, and finally to 84.5%. CONCLUSION: The survival of patients with stage II and III disease has improved during the past 30 years. Along with the recent advances in drug therapy, the surgical treatment has become less invasive, often because of drug therapy-related modifications.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and long-term prognosis of scirrhous hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Clinicopathologic features and long-term outcomes in patients with scirrhous hepatocellular carcinoma (S-HCC) are not fully defined. METHODS: We compared data of 37 patients with S-HCC and 604 with usual HCC (U-HCC) undergoing surgery. RESULTS: The S-HCC group showed less HBV infection (78.4 vs. 92.0%, P = 0.02), low serum AFP level (2320 ± 6356 vs. 3297 ± 18690 ng/ml, P < 0.0001), less delayed washout during CT (72.7 vs. 90.7%, P = 0.004), and low usefulness of clinical diagnostic criteria (32.4 vs. 57.5%, P = 0.003), compared to the U-HCC group. More portal vein invasion (18.9 vs. 4.1%, P = 0.03) and less liver cirrhosis (35.1 vs. 65.1%, P = 0.001) and fibrous capsule (40.5 vs. 81.6%, P < 0.001) were noted in the S-HCC group than the U-HCC group. Long-term survival rates were similar between the S-HCC and U-HCC groups, even with subgroup analysis according to Child-Pugh score and modified UICC stage. CONCLUSION: The S-HCC group showed distinct patient and tumor characteristics but similar long-term outcome.

Randomized trial of cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil chemotherapy compared with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil with node-positive breast cancer in Japan.

BACKGROUND: To compare the cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy and the anthracycline-containing regimen cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil (CEF) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the latter. METHODS: A total of 294 patients with axillary node-positive primary breast cancer of STAGE I-IIIa were randomly assigned to either CEF [cyclophosphamide (CPA) 500 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1 and 8; epirubicin (EPI) 60 mg/m(2) i.v. day 1; and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 500 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1 and 8] or CMF [CPA 500 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1 and 8; methotrexate (MTX) 40 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1 and 8; and 5-FU 500 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1 and 8]. Both treatment regimens were comprised of six cycles at 4-week intervals. Tamoxifen (TAM) 20 mg/day was concomitantly given to estrogen receptor (ER)-positive patients and those with undetermined ER status for 2 years. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival was 77.1% for CEF and 71.4% for CMF [p = 0.24; hazard ratio 0.79 (95% CI 0.50-1.24)], and the 5-year disease-free survival was 55.7% for CEF and 48.9% for CMF [p = 0.15; hazard ratio 0.80 (95% CI 0.57-1.12)]. Although the log-rank test did not show a significant difference, both overall and disease-free survivals were higher for CEF according to the point estimates. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occurred more frequently in CEF. CONCLUSION: Whereas CEF had a good trend compare with CMF, it could not be proven statistically significant. The principal cause of the failure seems to be insufficient power, that is, the dose intensity (EPI: 60 mg/m(2)) set 10 years ago, when the trial began, was low, and the number of trial subjects was small because of the background of the times, which made the accumulation of cases extremely difficult. However, the trial should be considered to be meaningful, as it was the first, formally conducted controlled trial on chemotherapy in Japan.

[Role of surgical resection for scirrhous gastric cancer with minimal peritoneal metastasis].

Prognosis of scirrhous gastric cancer with minimal peritoneal metastasis was poor, and the role of resection has not been clarified yet. Analysis 1: Overall survival was examined in 79 patients who underwent R0/R1 resection during 1970-1995 at Kanagawa Cancer Center (Group A), and in 47 patients who underwent R0/R1 resection and received S1 chemotherapy at the 30 hospitals of Japan Clinical Oncology Group (Group B). Hazard ratio (HR) of group B to group A was examined. HR was 0.64 at 1 year, 0.76 at 2-year, and 0.92 at 3-year. Analysis 2: HR of S1 group in SPIRITS phase III trial to FU group in JCOG 9205 phase III trial was examined. HR was 0.64 at 1 year and 0.84 at 2-year. Analysis 3: HR was compared each other including HR of ACTS-GC phase III trial. HR was ACTS

[Intra-peritoneal chemotherapy for scirrhous gastric cancer].

Preoperative intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (IPC) for scirrhous gastric cancer (SGC) has been performed and followed after laparoscopic diagnosis of peritoneal metastasis (P) or washing cytology (CY) in our hospital. Between 2002 and 2005, 15 SGC patients were treated with 3 times of IPC using CDDP (50 mg/body) before operation (CDDP group). Between 2006 and 2008, 9 SGC patients were treated with IPC using docetaxel: DOC (40 mg/m2) and treated with systemic chemotherapy using S-1 (80 mg/m2) before operation (DOC group). Cases with P (+) or CY (+) were detected in 80% in CDDP group and in 89% in DOC group. Gastrectomy was performed in 67% of CDDP group and in 56% of DOC group. All of the 15 patients died in CDDP group but 4 of 9 were still alive in DOC group. The median survival time of DOC group (22 months) was longer than that of CDDP group (10 months, p=0.123). Thus, preoperative IPC using DOC combined with systemic chemotherapy using S-1 should be effective treatment for SGC.

A novel transforming growth factor beta receptor kinase inhibitor, A-77, prevents the peritoneal dissemination of scirrhous gastric carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Transforming growth factor beta receptor (TGFbeta-R) is reported to correlate with the malignant potential of scirrhous gastric carcinoma. The aim of the current study is to clarify the possibility of molecular target therapy with a TGFbeta-R inhibitor, A-77, for the treatment of peritoneal dissemination of scirrhous gastric cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Three scirrhous gastric cancer cell lines and two fibroblasts were used. For in vivo experiments, the A-77 was administered i.p. to mouse models of peritoneal dissemination. The influences of A-77 on the adhesion ability, invasion ability, and the expression of adhesion molecules were examined in vitro. RESULTS: The A-77 administration resulted in a significantly (P < 0.01) better prognosis for the mice with peritoneal dissemination (median survival time, 51 days), compared with the control (median survival time, 25 days). A-77 therefore significantly (P < 0.01) decreased the weight and number of metastatic nodes. The adhesive ability and invasion ability of cancer cells were significantly decreased by A-77. A-77 decreased the expression of alpha(2), alpha(3), and alpha(5) integrins in gastric cancer cells. The histologic findings showed the degree of fibrosis to be less in the tumors treated by A-77. A-77 decreased the growth of fibroblast and invasion-stimulating activity of fibroblasts on cancer cells. CONCLUSION: The TGFbeta-R inhibitor, A-77, decreased the expression of integrins in cancer cells and the proliferation of fibroblasts, which resulted in the decreased adhesive and invasive abilities of scirrhous gastric cancer cells to peritoneum. A-77 is thus considered to be useful for the inhibition of peritoneal dissemination of scirrhous gastric carcinoma.

[Treatment strategy for the type IV gastric cancer--from the standpoint of the surgery].

From the standpoint of the surgery, the treatment strategy for the type IV gastric cancer (GC) was studied. Recently, the resected rate of type IV GC has been increasing, though the number of operated GC patients is decreasing. The five-year survival rate was about 20% in all and around 30% in the curatively resected pts. As a result of examination of our pts with type 4 GC, multimodality therapy including neoadjuvant chemotherapy and extended surgery is recommended for pts with P 0/CY 0 or P 0/CY 1 but without other remaining GC lesions. Palliative gastrectomy and postoperative chemotherapy are recommended if performed safely to prevent such symptoms in spite of unresectable metastasis for pts with urgent symptoms such as bleeding, stricture, pain or malnutrition. For pts with P 2/P 3 but without passage disturbance, intensive chemotherapy is selected. But the propriety for selection of reduction surgery for pts with P 2/P 3 is controversial. The results of the prospective randomized controlled study of reduction surgery in non-curative advanced gastric cancer by the Gastric Cancer Surgical Study Group in Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) are expected.

[Therapeutic strategy for type 4 gastric cancer from the clinical oncologist standpoint].

Type 4 gastric cancer has a poor prognosis compared with other types of advanced gastric cancer because of the high incidence of peritoneal metastasis which causes intestinal obstruction, hydronephrosis, or obstructive jaundice. Surgical treatment is often only palliative, and systematic chemotherapy is considered to be important for long survival. S-1 showed a higher response rate for undifferentiated-type adenocarcinoma, and S-1 alone or its combination regimens demonstrated greater anti-tumor effects and longer survival time for gastric linitis plastica compared with conventional 5-FU regimens in our historical control study (response rate: S-1/non S-1 57.9%/27.9%, p<0.01; MST: S-1/non S-1 402 days/213 days, p<0.01). S-1 regimens may also improve the survival in patients with type 4 gastric cancer in neoadjuvant or adjuvant settings, but further prospective studies are warranted to prove its significance. Paclitaxel also has a high response rate for undifferentiated-type adenocarcinoma, and can be expected to show high efficacy for peritoneal dissemination. Irinotecan should not be administered in case of intestinal obstruction because its toxicity may be increased. However,survival of patients with type 4 gastric cancer may improve with the availability of active agents like S-1, taxanes, irinotecan as reported in colorectal cancer. Therefore,irinotecan should be administered carefully before intestinal obstruction occurs.

[Peritoneal dissemination of scirrhous type 4 gastric cancers].

We examined 198 cases of primary scirrhous type 4 gastric cancer at our department from 1984 to 2003. Of these, 139 cases underwent gastrectomy. The essential cause of inoperability was peritoneal dissemination with malignant abdominal abscises. The incidence of peritoneal dissemination was 48.2% of all resected cases. The 5-year survival rate of all resected cases was 12% and that of non-resectable cases was 0%. One of the 59 nonresectable cases who responded remarkably to treatment by TS-1/paclitaxel combination chemotherapy obtained survival of 12 months. Six cases with peritoneal dissemination were treated by chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide infused intra-peritoneally and 2 of them were diagnosed as P 0 after 4 weeks. One case with type 4 gastric cancer who had right hydronephrosis and malignant abdominal ascites underwent curative resection after successful treatment with TS-1. We have selected the way of conventional chemotherapy for inoperable type 4 gastric cancers, but the prognosis is still poor. It is thought necessary to improve survival by newly developed anticancer agents such as TS-1, etoposide and taxanes. Immuno-cellular therapy with autologous tumor cell stimulated lymphocyte may be examined as a neo-adjuvant therapy as well as chemotherapy.

Therapeutic strategy for scirrhous type gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: As no appropriate therapeutic strategy has yet been established in scirrhous type gastric cancer, we retrospectively analyzed the therapeutic outcomes in patients with this type of cancer. METHODOLOGY: A total of 183 patients with scirrhous type gastric cancer were enrolled in the study. 127 of them underwent resection; 61 potentially curative gastrectomy; 66 palliative resection; and 56 had no surgery. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that the number of metastatic lymph nodes and the depth of invasion influenced prognosis in curatively resected cases, whereas no factor did so after palliative resection. Multivariate analysis showed that prognosis was affected independently by peritoneal metastasis and non-regional lymph node metastasis in all resected cases, but by the number of metastatic lymph nodes in curatively resected cases. There was no significant difference in survival between patients undergoing and those not undergoing palliative gastrectomy. Prophylactic (6) and therapeutic CHPP (12) had no efficacy on peritoneal metastasis. Furthermore, left upper abdominal evisceration (LUAE) (9) did not improve long-term results in curatively resected cases. CONCLUSIONS: In scirrhous type gastric cancer, gastrectomy including extended lymph node dissection is justified only in patients with limited lymph node metastasis, and palliative gastrectomy should be not performed because it has no efficacy on survival.

Management protocol for scirrhous gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for patients with scirrhous gastric cancer (SGC) is extremely poor. However, the management protocol for this type of cancer has not been well discussed. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the management of SGC and we introduced a new treatment protocol for SGC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1991 and 2001, 58 patients with SGC were treated. Thirty-nine, who underwent gastrectomy, were divided into 3 sub-groups according to peritoneal metastasis (P) and peritoneal washing cytology (CY) status [P(-)/CY(-), P(-)/CY(+), and P(+)/CY(+)]. The survival rates of these 3 sub-groups were compared with patients who did not have a gastrectomy (n=19), retrospectively. From 2002, we started a new treatment protocol for SGC. Laparoscopic diagnosis of P or CY and intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) were performed before performing laparotomy on 10 patients with SGC. RESULTS: The 5-year survival rate of the 19 patients in P(-)/CY(-) was 11.6%. The survival rates of patients with P(-)/CY(+) or patients with P(+)/CY(+) were no different from patients who did not have gastrectomy (pleural effusion or ascites negative). In 10 patients who were treated with the new protocol, 7 with P(-)/CY(-) underwent gastrectomy after IPC and 3 with P(+)/CY(+) underwent repeated IPC. CONCLUSION: Gastrectomy may not have prognostic benefit for patients with SGC with CY(+). Thus, we recommend laparoscopic diagnosis of peritoneal metastasis or peritoneal cytology before performing laparotomy on these patients.

Outcome of surgical treatment for patients with scirrhous carcinoma of the stomach.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative survival in patients with scirrhous gastric carcinoma is poorer than that in patients with other gastric carcinomas. METHODS: We retrospectively examined outcome in patients with scirrhous gastric carcinoma who underwent gastrectomy to determine how to increase postoperative survival. Postoperative survival in patients with scirrhous gastric carcinoma was compared with that in patients having other gastric cancers overall and by disease stage. Prognostic factors were examined for all patients including those with stage III disease. RESULTS: By multivariate analysis, disease stage, patient age, and scirrhous carcinoma were significant prognostic factors. Five-year survival in patients with stage III scirrhous carcinoma was significantly worse than those with other stage III gastric carcinomas. Extent of lymphadenectomy was one of the variables influencing survival in patients with stage III scirrhous carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Gastrectomy with extended lymphadenectomy should be performed to maximize survival in patients with stage III scirrhous gastric carcinoma.

Poorly differentiated carcinomas of the thyroid with trabecular, insular, and solid patterns: a clinicopathologic study of 183 patients.

BACKGROUND: The term poorly differentiated (PD) carcinoma was proposed 20 years ago to define aggressive, follicular-derived thyroid carcinomas with behavior intermediate between follicular/papillary and anaplastic carcinomas. Among the variable histologic patterns recognized in such tumors, trabecular-insular-solid (TIS) areas usually are predominant. Conversely, some authors pointed out that PD carcinomas are characterized by unequivocal, high-grade histology with atypias, high mitotic counts, and necrosis rather than by a specific growth pattern. METHODS: The clinicopathologic features of a series of 183 thyroid carcinomas with predominant (n = 165 tumors) or focal (n = 18 tumors) TIS growth patterns were studied by univariate and multivariate overall survival analyses and were compared with clinical outcomes. Subgroups included tumors with predominant oxyphilic features (n = 66 tumors) and (residual) papillary carcinoma features (n = 24 tumors). Control groups of papillary (n = 68 tumors), follicular (n = 71 tumors), and anaplastic (n = 35 tumors) carcinomas also were included for overall survival analysis. RESULTS: TIS carcinomas had an intermediate behavior between papillary/follicular and anaplastic carcinomas (P < 0.0001). Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses demonstrated that age > 45 years (P = 0.007), the presence of necrosis (P < 0.0001), and a mitotic count > 3 per 10 high-power fields (P = 0.01) were associated with poor outcome. A simplified scoring system based on statistically significant parameters allowed the identification of three prognostic subgroups (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: PD TIS carcinomas overall followed a more aggressive course compared with differentiated thyroid carcinomas, irrespective of the extent of the TIS component. However, a numeric scoring system applied to specific clinicopathologic parameters further may identify three prognostic categories of patients who have significantly different survival rates at 5 years and 10 years.

[Significance of tissue thymidine phosphorylase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activities in ovarian cancer].

Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) are important enzymes in the pyrimidine salvage pathway. In the meantime, TP and DPD are a converting enzyme of 5'-DFUR to 5-FU and the major catabolic enzyme of 5-FU, respectively. Because little is known about their protein expressions in ovarian cancers, we investigated TP and DPD protein expressions quantitatively in 24 ovarian cancers and their normal counterparts by ELISA. Higher TP expression was observed in ovarian cancers than in normal ovaries. The higher expression was also correlated with the histological grade and clinical stage. No relation was observed between the expression of DPD and the clinical and pathological parameters. The higher TP/DPD ratio, which appears to be a predictor of 5-fluorouracil sensitivity, was observed in ovarian cancers than in normal counterparts. In univariate analysis, a higher TP/DPD ratio was found to be a predictor of progression-free survival in ovarian cancer patients. This would suggest that capecitabine and 5'-DFUR are potential candidates for ovarian cancer chemotherapy.

Prognostic value of tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells expressing CD83 in human breast carcinomas.

DCs are the most potent antigen-presenting cells that play a major role in initiating the antitumor immune response. Although the clinical significance of TIDCs has been investigated in a variety of human cancers, few studies have focused on the in situ maturation status of DCs. We have analyzed the maturation-specific significance of TIDCs in the prognosis of patients with breast carcinoma. We evaluated 130 breast carcinomas for the presence of TIDCs using immunohistochemistry with an anti-CD1a antibody for immature DCs and an anti-CD83 antibody for mature DCs. Intratumoral expression of immunosuppressive cytokines was also examined. All samples contained CD1a(+) TIDCs, and 82 (63.1%) samples contained CD83(+) TIDCs. The number of CD83(+) TIDCs was inversely correlated with lymph node metastasis and with tissue expression of VEGF and TGF-beta, whereas the number of CD1a(+) TIDCs was not. Kaplan-Meier analysis (log rank statistics) revealed a significant association of increasing number of CD83(+) TIDCs with longer relapse-free (p = 0.002) and overall (p < 0.001) survival. Furthermore, among patients with lymph node metastasis, the survival rate of those with larger numbers of CD83(+) TIDCs was significantly better than that of patients with fewer CD83(+) TIDCs. Multivariate analysis revealed that CD83(+) TIDCs had independent prognostic relevance in breast carcinomas. The infiltration of tumors by mature DCs expressing CD83 may be of great importance in initiating the primary antitumor immune response and is confirmed as an independent, immunologic prognostic parameter for survival in patients with breast cancer.

Should scirrhous gastric carcinoma be treated surgically? Clinical experiences with 233 cases and a retrospective analysis of prognosticators.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognosis of patients with scirrhous gastric carcinoma has been poorest. METHODOLOGY: To clarify the role of surgical treatment, 233 patients with a primary scirrhous gastric carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 233 patients, 182 underwent surgical resection, while the other 51 did not. The median survival time of those with unresectable tumors was 88.0 +/- 15.3 days and that of those who underwent resection was 380.0 +/- 41.8 days. In the 182 patients who underwent resection, multivariate analysis revealed four significant factors; lymphatic invasion, serosal invasion, curability, and lymph node dissection. Of these, curability was the most significant. The median survival time of patients whose tumor were curatively resected was 727.0 +/- 116.3 days, significantly longer than 272 +/- 34.9 days for those whose resection ended noncuratively. In 65 patients whose tumor was curatively resected, subset analyses of factors by multivariate analyses revealed an absence of serosal invasion as the single significant prognosticator. The 5-year survival rate was 55.6% in patients with scirrhous cancer without serosal invasion. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with scirrhous gastric carcinoma, palliative resection should not be attempted for poor outcome. However, if curative resection seems feasible, radical surgery would be justified, especially for tumors without serosal exposure.

[Prognostic factors influencing results of the surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer]. / Prognosticheskie faktory, vliiaiushchie na rezul'taty khirurgicheskogo lecheniia pri rake podzheludochnoi zhelezy.

In patients with carcinoma of the pancreas 128 gastropancreatoduodenal resections (GPDR), 15 distal resections of the pancreas and 3 pancreatectomies were performed. After GPDR 5-year survival was 12%, the survival median was 24.3 months. Only one patient is living 6 years after left-sided resection and pancreatectomy. Long-term results of the operative treatment for carcinoma of the pancreas depended on the amount of regional metastases, degree of differentiation of the tumor, its size and invasion into the vessels. The long-term results were considerably worse if the tumor was localized in the uncinate process, body and tail of the pancreas. The 5-year survival was noted mainly in patients with the 0 and I stages of the disease. It shows the early diagnostics to be necessary.