Overall survival in elderly patients with acute complications of colorectal cancer

AIM: to assess risk factors affecting the five-year overall survival in patients ≥ 70 years old who underwent emergency surgery for complicated colorectal cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODS: a cohort retrospective study included 268 patients with complicated colorectal cancer for the period from January 10, 2010 to March 03, 2020, operated on in hospitals in Smolensk. Inclusion criteria: 1) patients underwent emergency surgery for decompensated bowel obstruction or tumor perforation with peritonitis; 2) histological type of tumor: adenocarcinoma, signet ring cell carcinoma, undifferentiated cancer; 3) age ≥ 70 years. Non-inclusion criteria: 1) subcompensated bowel obstruction, paratumoral inflammation, intestinal bleeding; 2) non-epithelial malignant tumors; 3) age < 70 years.RESULTS: the significant differences were revealed in overall survival rates depending on the type of surgery. In complicated colon cancer, overall survival after one-stage surgeries was 15.35%, after tumor removal at the first stage — 21.51%, and after surgeries with tumor removal at the second stage — 46.59% (p < 0.00001). For complicated rectal cancer: 1.03%, 1.6%, and 16.49%, respectively (p = 0.00402). The main factors that had an unsatisfactory effect on overall survival: surgery type — one-stage and multi-stage with tumor removal at the first stage (risk ratio (RR) 1.34; 95% coincidence interval (CI) 1.17–1.56; p < 0.0001); tumor perforation (OR 1.46, 95% CI: 1.36–1.55; p < 0.0001); disease stage (OR 1.61, 95% CI: 1.45–1.69; p < 0.0001), tumor site (OR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.29–1.72; p = 0.004); tumor histological type — poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (OR 1.5, 95% CI: 1.24–1.62; p < 0.0001), the number of lymph nodes examined < 12 (OR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.59–0.63; p < 0.0001), presence of positive resection margins (R1 and/or CRM+) (OR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.14–1.47; p < 0.0001); severe comorbidity (OR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.62–1.98; p = 0.003), no adjuvant treatment (OR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.49–0.63; p < 0.0001).CONCLUSION: staged procedures with a minimal volume in an emergency and the second — main stage, performed in a specialized hospital, are the most appropriate in patients ≥ 70 years old.

Overall survival in elderly patients with acute complications of colorectal cancer

AIM: to assess risk factors affecting the five-year overall survival in patients ≥ 70 years old who underwent emergency surgery for complicated colorectal cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODS: a cohort retrospective study included 268 patients with complicated colorectal cancer for the period from January 10, 2010 to March 03, 2020, operated on in hospitals in Smolensk. Inclusion criteria: 1) patients underwent emergency surgery for decompensated bowel obstruction or tumor perforation with peritonitis; 2) histological type of tumor: adenocarcinoma, signet ring cell carcinoma, undifferentiated cancer; 3) age ≥ 70 years. Non-inclusion criteria: 1) subcompensated bowel obstruction, paratumoral inflammation, intestinal bleeding; 2) non-epithelial malignant tumors; 3) age < 70 years.RESULTS: the significant differences were revealed in overall survival rates depending on the type of surgery. In complicated colon cancer, overall survival after one-stage surgeries was 15.35%, after tumor removal at the first stage — 21.51%, and after surgeries with tumor removal at the second stage — 46.59% (p < 0.00001). For complicated rectal cancer: 1.03%, 1.6%, and 16.49%, respectively (p = 0.00402). The main factors that had an unsatisfactory effect on overall survival: surgery type — one-stage and multi-stage with tumor removal at the first stage (risk ratio (RR) 1.34; 95% coincidence interval (CI) 1.17–1.56; p < 0.0001); tumor perforation (OR 1.46, 95% CI: 1.36–1.55; p < 0.0001); disease stage (OR 1.61, 95% CI: 1.45–1.69; p < 0.0001), tumor site (OR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.29–1.72; p = 0.004); tumor histological type — poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (OR 1.5, 95% CI: 1.24–1.62; p < 0.0001), the number of lymph nodes examined < 12 (OR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.59–0.63; p < 0.0001), presence of positive resection margins (R1 and/or CRM+) (OR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.14–1.47; p < 0.0001); severe comorbidity (OR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.62–1.98; p = 0.003), no adjuvant treatment (OR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.49–0.63; p < 0.0001).CONCLUSION: staged procedures with a minimal volume in an emergency and the second — main stage, performed in a specialized hospital, are the most appropriate in patients ≥ 70 years old.

Novel Guarded Needle Trans-Scleral Biopsy for Uveal Melanoma: A Pilot Study

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Trans-scleral biopsy of uveal melanoma (UM) poses an inherent risk of tumor and possibly retinal perforation. We describe a novel technique for trans-scleral biopsy of UM and evaluate its safety and efficacy in an initial cohort of patients. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A retrospective, consecutive observational case series was conducted from October 14, 2019, to April 15, 2020, at Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, CA among patients with UM of the ciliary body or anterior choroid undergoing trans-scleral fine-needle aspiration biopsy using a novel guarded needle technique. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 6 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 64.3 (range 35–77) years (5 women 83%). Mean (±SD) tumor thickness and maximal basal diameter were 6.4 (±2.66) and 11.9 (±2.13) mm, respectively. Five out of 6 patients achieved a successful biopsy with reliable gene expression profiling (GEP) results. The only failure to obtain specimen occurred in the first attempted patient and, after a minor technique modification, all subsequent biopsies were successful. No intraoperative or short-term postoperative complications were observed in any patient. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This novel trans-scleral biopsy technique appears to be safe and effective when obtaining UM tissue for GEP. This method may provide a more controlled biopsy depth thereby minimizing the risk of tumor perforation and its associated complications while still obtaining adequate biopsy yield.

Assessing the risk of postoperative mortality in patients undergoing emergency surgery for complicated colorectal cancer

Objective: to analyze factors affecting the mortality of patients who have undergone emergency surgeries for complicated colorectal cancer.Materials and methods. In this retrospective study, we evaluated treatment outcomes of 112 patients who underwent surgeries for complicated colorectal cancer in 3 clinical hospitals of Smolensk between 2014 and 2019. We included patients with moderate or severe disease (ASA II or III) who have undergone emergency resections for intestinal obstruction or tumor perforation. We assessed clinical, laboratory, and tumor‑associated factors affecting postoperative mortality.Results. Patients’ gender had no significant impact on postoperative mortality (p = 0.69). Mean age of study participants was 65 years (range: 43–86 years). Age also did not affect postoperative mortality; most of the patients both among those died (n = 19) and survived (n = 93) were older than 60 years (p = 0.46). We observed no significant correlation between tumor location and postoperative mortality (p = 0.27). Of 19 patients with lethal outcomes, five died due to pulmonary embolism. They have elevated level of D‑dimer, which was significantly higher than that in survivors (p = 0.014). The lowest mortality was observed in patients who have undergone two‑stage surgeries with tumor removed at the second stage compared to patients operated on using other techniques (p = 0.041). Using multivariate logistic regression, we identified independent factors that affected mortality. They included: tumor perforation (odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.2–7.6; p = 0.003), severe comorbidity (OR 1.6; 95 % CI 1.7–8.2; p = 0.02), D‑dimer level >510.1 ± 10.2 ng/L (OR 1.5; 95 % CI 1.3–4.5; p = 0.01), type of surgery, namely resections with primary anastomosis formation and two‑stage surgeries with tumor removal at the first stage (OR 1.2; 95 % CI 1.1–6.3; p = 0.04).Conclusions. Tumor perforation, cardiovascular disease in combination with other comorbidities, type of surgery (resections with primary anastomosis formation and two‑stage surgeries with tumor removal at the first stage), and elevated preoperative level of D‑dimer had the most significant impact on postoperative mortality.

Prophylactic HIPEC in pT4 Colon Tumors: Proactive Approach or Overtreatment?

Background The peritoneum is the second most common site for metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer. Various factors have been studied to identify patients at risk of developing peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), including T4 tumors. The objectives were to assess the incidence of synchronous and metachronous PC, explore potential risk factors for developing PC as the only site of metastasis, and identify which patients might be candidates for prophylactic hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 125 patients with pT4 colon cancer who underwent surgery in a single center between January 2010 and December 2014. Results Of the 947 colon cancer patients who underwent surgery, 125 (13.2%) were diagnosed with pT4a or b colon carcinoma. The median follow-up was 3.7 years. The overall rate of PC was 34.3%, being synchronous in 12% and metachronous in 22.3% of cases. The 8% and 6% of synchronous and metachronous cases of PC respectively were isolated (single site) metastasis. The incidence of PC was 6.1% at 1 year and 14.5% at 3 years after surgery. pT4 was not found to be an independent risk factor for the development of PC (p = 0.231). Nonetheless, the rate of metachronous PC as a single site of metastasis was higher in patients with pT4 tumors and peritoneal nodules around the primary tumor and/or tumor perforation (p = 0.027) and/or who underwent emergency surgery (p = 0.043) than other patients. Conclusions Considering pT4 tumor stage as the only risk factor for the development of PC in deciding whether to administer prophylactic HIPEC would lead to unjustified overtreatment.

TACTICS OF THE SURGEON IN URGENT COMPLICATIONS OF COLON CANCER

Aim. The aim of the work is to develop the tactics for the treatment of complicated colon cancer (tumor perforation, tumor bleeding, acute obturation obstruction).Materials and methods. The clinical development included 324 patients with urgent complications of colon cancer. 269 patients were operated urgently and immediately, 56 operations were deferred. The diagnosis was based on anamnesis, clinical, laboratory and special research methods (ultrasound, CT, EGD, colonoscopy, histological examination). Results. Postoperative mortality in urgent complications of colon cancer was 3.5%.Conclusion. The rationale for the choice of method and volume of surgery, depending on the location and nature of complications of colon cancer, is provided.

Do the types of perforation impact the outcomes in perforated stage II/III colorectal cancer patients?

Purpose: To compare the oncological outcomes between colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with tumor perforation and those with perforation proximal to the tumor. Patients and methods: Medical charts of 39 patients who underwent emergency surgery for colonic perforation related to potentially curable CRC were reviewed. Results: Eighteen patients developed tumor perforation (group A), whereas 21 patients developed perforation proximal to the tumor (group B). Twenty-four patients were pathological stage II and 15 patients were stage III. There were no significant differences in the clinicopathological and surgical data, including hospital mortality, between the groups; however, the incidence of diffuse peritonitis was higher in group B than that in group A (P &lt; 0.01). The induction rates of adjuvant chemotherapy for survivors were identical between the two groups. Disease-free and overall survival periods did not significantly differ between the groups. Conclusion: Perforation type was not found to be associated with oncological outcomes in patients with CRC-related perforation.

Gastric cancer with lesion extending to spleen and perforation into free peritoneum

Summary Perforated gastric carcinoma is a rare condition that is hard to diagnose preoperatively. It is associated with advanced cancer stages and has a high mortality, particularly in cases presenting preoperative shock. Few studies have investigated the presentation and adequate management of these carcinomas. In addition, there are no reports in the literature on perforations extending to the spleen, as described in this case, making the management of these lesions challenging. Our article reports a case of gastric tumor perforation extending to the spleen, which presented as a perforated acute abdomen. The patient was treated with total gastrectomy and D2 lymph node resection with splenectomy and progressed well with current survival of one year at disease stage IV.

Intraoperative Tumor Perforation is Associated with Decreased 5-Year Survival in Colon Cancer: A Nationwide Database Study

Background: It is a widely held belief that intraoperative tumor perforation in colon cancer impairs survival and causes local recurrence, although the prognostic importance remains unclear. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of unintended intraoperative tumor perforation on postoperative mortality and long-term survival. Material and Methods: This national cohort study was based on data from a prospectively maintained nationwide colorectal cancer database. We included 16,517 colon cancer patients who were resected with curative intent from 2001 to 2012. Results: Intraoperative tumor perforation produced a significantly impaired 5-year survival of 40% compared to 64% in non-perforated colon cancer. Intraoperative tumor perforation was an independent risk factor for death, hazard ratio 1.63 (95% confidence interval: 1.4–1.94), with a significantly increased 90-day postoperative mortality of 17% compared to 7% in non-perforated tumors, p < 0.001. We showed that tumor fixation, emergency operations, and laparotomies were associated with an increased risk of intraoperative tumor perforation. Conclusion: This nationwide study demonstrates that intraoperative tumor perforation in colon cancer is associated with statistically significant reduced long-term survival and increased postoperative mortality.