Detection of cancer cells and tumor margins during colorectal cancer surgery by intraoperative flow cytometry.

BACKGROUND: Flow Cytometry is an analytical technique for the precise quantification of cellular phenotype. Intraoperative Flow Cytometry (iFC) utilizes flow cytometry for DNA content/ploidy and cell cycle distribution analysis during surgery for cancer cell characterization and evaluation of tumor margins. Various types of cancers, including intracranial, head and neck, breast and liver malignancies have been evaluated with iFC. In the current study we present an intraoperative Flow Cytometry protocol for colorectal cancer cell detection and potential resection margin evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study includes 106 colorectal cancer patients in which samples from cancer and normal colon epithelium were prospectively collected intraoperatively and comparatively assessed with iFC. Patients' demographics, tumor data and cytometry parameters were assessed. RESULTS: We have demonstrated that a cut-off value of 10.5% for tumor-index (fraction of cells in S and G2/M cell cycle phases) predicts with ∼91% accuracy (82.2% sensitivity and 99.9% specificity) the presence of cancer cells. Evaluation of tumor margins by iFC in the subpopulation of rectal cancer patients with or without neoadjuvant therapy, revealed an accuracy of 79% and 88%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data support that regarding colorectal cancer, iFC is a useful adjunct method for tumor cell identification and probably margin evaluation, which could be utilized in rectal cancer treatment in the era of organ sparing procedures.

A patient presenting with acute abdomen due to metastatic small bowel melanoma: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant tumors of the small bowel are rare. Melanoma of the small intestine is in most cases metastatic from a primary skin lesion. Perforation of small bowel melanoma is an extremely rare entity. To the best of our knowledge this is the fifth case published to date. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a rare case of acute abdomen due to perforated metastatic small bowel melanoma in a 38-year-old Caucasian man. CONCLUSIONS: In the majority of cases small bowel melanoma represents metastasis from cutaneous sites. Although rare, the possibility of abdominal metastatic melanoma presenting with the clinical picture of acute abdomen must be always considered by the operating surgeon in patients with a history of primary cutaneous malignant lesion.