Annals of surgical oncology
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Pleomorphic carcinomas of the lung are uncommon malignant tumors composed of carcinomatous and sarcomatous components and are distinguished from other non-small-cell lung carcinomas by a more aggressive clinical course with early distant metastases and far worse survival. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and p53 are common genes involved in the pathogenesis of non-small-cell lung carcinomas, but their roles in pleomorphic carcinomas are unclear. The potential clinical activity of EGFR-targeted therapy is also unknown. ⋯ The occurrence (23.8%) of EGFR mutations, including the exons 19 and 21 mutations observed frequently in our series, suggests that the patients with inoperable pleomorphic carcinomas are likely to benefit from treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
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The optimal management of patients with clinically localized prostate carcinoma remains undefined due in part to the absence of well-designed, randomized trials. ⋯ The biochemical failure rates were similar between PR and EBRT in low- and intermediate-risk subgroups. Outcome was determined by classic pre-treatment features, perineural invasion, low-dose EBRT (≤72 Gy), and nadir PSA value in the RT cohort.
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The rate of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) has recently increased. The aim of this study is to assess perceptions of contralateral breast cancer (CBC) risk among breast cancer patients and to evaluate tumor and patient factors associated with risk perception. ⋯ At time of surgical evaluation, women with unilateral breast cancer substantially overestimated their risk of CBC; however, this elevated risk perception was not associated with choosing CPM. Early physician counseling is needed to provide women with accurate information regarding their true CBC risk.
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Determining how many sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) should be removed for melanoma is important. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency at which nodes that are less radioactive than the "hottest" node (which is negative) are positive for melanoma, how low of a radioactivity should warrant harvest, and if isosulfan blue is necessary. ⋯ To decrease the miss rate, all SLNs with ≥10% of the ex vivo radioactivity of the "hottest" SLN should be removed and blue dye is not essential.