Epidemiology and survival outcomes of colorectal mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms are a rare subtype of neuroendocrine neoplasm consisting of ≥30% each of neuroendocrine and non-neuroendocrine differentiation. Neuroendocrine carcinomas are poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. The epidemiology and prognosis of colorectal mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinomas are not clearly defined in the literature. We sought to examine the presentation, patterns of care, and outcomes of patients with mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinomas. METHODS: We identified patients diagnosed with stage I-III colorectal (excluding appendix) mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms or neuroendocrine carcinomas with only one-lifetime cancer diagnosis who underwent surgical resection between 2010 and 2018 from the National Cancer Database. We performed bidirectional selection to identify variables to include in a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: We identified 189 patients with a diagnosis of stage I to III colorectal mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms, 66% of whom had poorly differentiated tumors and 482 with neuroendocrine carcinomas. Among patients with stage III disease, 68% of patients with mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and 54% of patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas received adjuvant chemotherapy. The median survival for the overall patients with mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinomas cohorts were 38 and 42 months, respectively (P = .22), and the median survival for patients with mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinomas with stage III disease were 30 and 25 months, respectively (P = .27). In multivariable analysis, fewer number of positive nodes and receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy were independently associated with decreased risk of mortality for patients with mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinomas. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant chemotherapy is associated with improved survival in stage III mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and neuroendocrine carcinomas. Future studies are warranted to identify subsets of patients benefiting most from adjuvant therapy.

CNS toxoplasmosis, a rare presentation in a patient with Myasthenia Gravis.

We report the case of a 78-year-old man with a past medical history of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma s/p chemotherapy and Myasthenia Gravis on chronic mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), who presented with altered mental status and was found to have ring enhancing brain lesions. A brain biopsy revealed organisms consistent with Toxoplasma gondii. Cerebral toxoplasmosis has been rarely reported in patients with hematologic malignancies or in those receiving immunosuppressive agents. There needs to be a high degree of suspicion for T. gondii in HIV-negative individuals who are on immunosuppressants drugs including MMF.

Data on length of parathyroidectomy surgery and intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) assay turnaround times following a switch in the location for intraoperative PTH testing from near point-of-care to central laboratory.

Intraoperative monitoring of parathyroid hormone (PTH) is commonly used during parathyroidectomies. There are a number of practical challenges in achieving rapid turnaround time (TAT) for intraoperative PTH testing, whether the testing is performed point-of-care, near point-of-care, or in a central clinical laboratory. In the related research article, we analyzed a decade of data from 3025 intraoperative PTH tests on 897 unique patients. Of these, 1787 tests on 514 unique patients (375 female, 139 male) occurred while intraoperative PTH measurement was done as near point-of-care testing; the remaining 1238 tests on 383 unique patients (282 female, 101 male) occurred after a switch to intraoperative PTH measurement by the hospital central laboratory. The data in this article provides the patient age, gender, location of surgery (main operating rooms vs. ambulatory surgery center), incision to close time for surgery, and operation start to end times. For the central laboratory testing, additional data are provided for the intraoperative PTH TAT. The analyzed data is provided in the supplementary tables included in this article. Plots of operation start and end times are also included. The dataset reported is related to the research article entitled "Evaluation of Switch from Satellite Laboratory to Central Laboratory for Testing of Intraoperative Parathyroid Hormone" [D. Jacob, G. Lal, D.R. Voss, T. Bebber, S.R. David, J. Kulhavy, S.L. Sugg, A.E. Merrill, M.D. Krasowski, Evaluation of Switch from Satellite Laboratory to Central Laboratory for Testing of Intraoperative Parathyroid Hormone, Pract. Lab. Med. (2020) 22: e00176] [1].

Evaluation of switch from satellite laboratory to central laboratory for testing of intraoperative parathyroid hormone.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate testing turnaround time (TAT) and incision to close time in parathyroid surgeries before and after switching intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) testing from a near point of care location to a central clinical laboratory. DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective study covered a ten-year period. Both testing locations used the same Roche Diagnostics PTH immunoassay but on different analyzers. The predominant site for surgeries was the main operating rooms (ORs) in an adjacent building, with a limited number of parathyroid surgeries performed at a more distant ambulatory surgery center (ASC). Under ideal conditions, TAT for near point-of-care testing was 20 â€‹min, although multiple factors could increase TAT. Incision to close time from the electronic health record was used to define time of surgery. RESULTS: A total of 897 unique patients were identified for which 3031 orders for intraoperative PTH were placed (383 unique patients and 1244 orders after switch in testing site). The average total TAT times for testing (mean â€‹± â€‹SD) in the central laboratory were 23.9 â€‹± â€‹16.0 â€‹min (median, 22 â€‹min) for all specimens, 22.8 â€‹± â€‹7.9 â€‹min (median, 21 â€‹min) for main OR specimens, and 26.4 â€‹± â€‹7.1 â€‹min (median, 25 â€‹min) for ASC specimens. Incision to close time for parathyroidectomies showed decreases in mean, median, and standard deviation following testing change. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery time for parathyroidectomies may remain consistent or decrease if intraoperative PTH testing is moved from a near point of care to a central laboratory.