Outcomes after surgical resection of primary non-myxoma cardiac tumors

Abstract Objective: Primary cardiac tumors are rare lesions with different histological type. We reviewed our 17 years of experience in the surgical treatment and clinical results of primary non-myxoma cardiac tumors. Methods: Between July 2000 and February 2017, 21 patients with primary cardiac tumor were surgically treated in our institution. The tumors were categorized as benign non-myxomas and malignants. Data including the demographic characteristics, details of the tumor histology and grading, cardiac medical and surgical history, surgical procedure of the patients were obtained from the hospital database. Results: Eleven patients were diagnosed with benign non-myxoma tumor (male/female:7/4), ranging in age from 10 days to 74 years (mean age 30.9±26.5 years). Papillary fibroelastoma was the most frequent type (63.6%). There were two early deaths in benign group (all were rhabdomyoma), and mortality rate was 18%. The mean follow-up period was 69.3±58.7 months (range, 3 to 178 months). All survivals in benign group were free of tumor-related symptoms and tumor relapses. Ten patients were diagnosed with malignant tumor (sarcoma/lymphoma:8/2, male/female:3/7), ranging in age from 14 years to 73 years (mean age 44.7±18.9 years). Total resection could be done in only three (30%) patients. The mean follow-up period was 18.7±24.8 months (range, 0-78 months). Six patients died in the first 10 months. Conclusion: Complete resection of the cardiac tumors, whenever possible, is the main goal of surgery. Surgical resection of benign cardiac tumors is safe, usually curative and provides excellent long-term prognosis. On the contrary, malignant cardiac tumors still remain highly lethal.

Comparative study of planned and unplanned excisions for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities

OBJECTIVE: Unplanned excision of soft tissue sarcomas is common because benign soft tissue lesions are very frequent. This study evaluated the impact of unplanned resections on overall survival, local recurrence and distant metastasis in patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities. METHODS: In total, 52 patients who were diagnosed with soft tissue sarcomas between May 2001 and March 2011 were analyzed in a retrospective study. Of these patients, 29 (55.8%) had not undergone previous treatment and the remaining 23 (44.2%) patients had undergone prior resection of the tumor without oncological planning. All subsequent surgical procedures were performed at the same cancer referral center. The follow-up ranged from 6 to 122 months, with a mean of 39.89 months. Age, lesion size and depth, histological grade, surgical margins, overall survival, local and distant recurrence and adjuvant therapies were compared. RESULTS: Residual disease was observed in 91.3% of the re-resected specimens in the unplanned excision group, which exhibited greater numbers of superficial lesions, low histological grades and contaminated surgical margins compared with the re-resected specimens in the planned excision group. No differences were observed in local recurrence and 5-year overall survival between the groups, but distant metastases were significantly associated with planned excision after adjustment for the variables. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference between patients undergoing unplanned excision and planned excision regarding local recurrence and overall survival. The planned excision group had a higher risk of distant metastasis, whereas there was a high rate of residual cancer in the unplanned excision group. .

Descriptive analysis of and overall survival after surgical treatment of lung metastases / Analise descritiva e sobrevida global do tratamento cirurgico das metastases pulmonares

OBJECTIVE: To describe demographic characteristics, surgical results, postoperative complications, and overall survival rates in surgically treated patients with lung metastases. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 119 patients who underwent a total of 154 lung metastasis resections between 1997 and 2011. RESULTS: Among the 119 patients, 68 (57.1%) were male and 108 (90.8%) were White. The median age was 52 years (range, 15-75 years). In this sample, 63 patients (52.9%) presented with comorbidities, the most common being systemic arterial hypertension (69.8%) and diabetes (19.0%). Primary colorectal tumors (47.9%) and musculoskeletal tumors (21.8%) were the main sites of origin of the metastases. Approximately 24% of the patients underwent more than one resection of the lesions, and 71% had adjuvant treatment prior to metastasectomy. The rate of lung metastasis recurrence was 19.3%, and the median disease-free interval was 23 months. The main surgical access used was thoracotomy (78%), and the most common approach was wedge resection with segmentectomy (51%). The rate of postoperative complications was 22%, and perioperative mortality was 1.9%. The overall survival rates at 12, 36, 60, and 120 months were 96%, 77%, 56%, and 39%, respectively. A Cox analysis confirmed that complications within the first 30 postoperative days were associated with poor prognosis (hazard ratio = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.09-3.06; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment of lung metastases is safe and effective, with good overall survival, especially in patients with fewer metastases. .

OBJETIVO: Descrever características demográficas, resultados operatórios, complicações pós-operatórias e taxa de sobrevida global em pacientes com metástases pulmonares tratados cirurgicamente. MÉTODOS: Análise retrospectiva de 119 pacientes submetidos a um total de 154 cirurgias de ressecção de metástase pulmonar entre 1997 e 2011. RESULTADOS: Do total de 119 pacientes, 68 (57,1%) eram do sexo masculino, e 108 (90,8%) eram brancos. A mediana de idade foi de 52 anos (variação, 15-75 anos). Nessa amostra, 63 pacientes (52,9%) apresentaram comorbidades, sendo as mais frequentes hipertensão arterial sistêmica (69,8%) e diabetes (19,0%). Tumores primários colorretais (47,9%) e musculoesqueléticos (21,8%) foram os principais sítios de origem das metástases. Aproximadamente 24% dos pacientes foram submetidos a mais de uma ressecção das lesões, e 71% fizeram tratamento adjuvante prévio à metastasectomia. A taxa de recidiva de metástase pulmonar foi de 19,3%. A mediana do intervalo livre de doença foi de 23 meses. A principal via de acesso usada foi toracotomia (78%), e o tipo de ressecção mais frequente foi em cunha e segmentectomia (51%). O índice de complicações pós-operatórias foi de 22% e o de mortalidade perioperatória foi de 1,9%. As taxas de sobrevida global em 12, 36, 60 e 120 meses foram, respectivamente, de 96%, 77%, 56% e 39%. A análise de Cox confirmou que complicações nos primeiros 30 dias pós-operatórios associaram-se a pior prognóstico (hazard ratio = 1,81; IC95%: 1,09-3,06; p = 0,02). CONCLUSÕES: O tratamento cirúrgico das metástases pulmonares oriundas de diferentes sítios tumorais é efetivo e seguro, com boa sobrevida global, especialmente nos casos com um menor número de lesões ...

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies for soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities are still controversial. The aim of this study was to analyze the results of a protocol of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for extremity sarcomas. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was carried out in a consecutive series of 49 adult patients with advanced extremity soft tissue sarcomas that could not be resected with adequate margins during the primary resection. All patients were treated with a protocol of preoperative radiation therapy at a total dose of 30 Gy, concomitant with doxorubicin (60 mg/m²) chemotherapy. The main endpoints assessed were local recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and overall survival. The median follow-up time was 32.1 months. RESULTS: The five-year local recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and overall survival rates were 81.5 percent, 46.7 percent and 58.3 percent, respectively. For high-grade tumors, the five-year metastasis-free and overall survival rates were only 36.3 percent and 41.2 percent, respectively. Severe wound complications were observed in 41.8 percent of the patients who underwent surgery. These complications precluded adjuvant chemotherapy in 73.7 percent (14/19) of the patients eligible to receive it. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy was associated with a good local control rate, but the distant relapse-free rate and overall survival rate were still poor. The high rate of wound complications modified the planning of adjuvant treatment in most patients.