Annals of surgical oncology
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Circumferential resection margins (CRM) for esophageal cancer (EC), defined by the College of American Pathologists (CAP; >0 mm) or the Royal College of Pathologists (RCP; >1 mm) as tumor-free (R0), are based on a surgery-alone approach. We evaluated the usefulness of both definitions in current practice with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). ⋯ nCRT affected the CRM cutoff values. After nCRT, the CRM R0 according to the CAP was only prognostic for 2-year LRFS. However, in the surgery-alone group, it was prognostic for both the 2-year DFS and LRFS.
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Observational analysis of percutaneous repositioning of displaced port-catheters in patients with dysfunctional central-venous port-systems. ⋯ Repositioning of dysfunctional displaced central-venous port-catheters with appropriate catheter-length is safe and effective. Even challenging conditions, e.g., wall-adherent port-catheter tip or a thrombosed catheter-bearing vein are feasible. Repositioning of too short port-catheters is ineffective.
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This study was designed to identify the prevalence of BRAF mutations in Chinese patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and to reveal the association between BRAF mutations and clinicopathological characteristics in these patients. ⋯ The prevalence of BRAF mutations in Chinese patients with lung adenocarcinoma was approximately 1.5 %. BRAF mutations were more frequent in current smokers. Patients harboring BRAF mutations had a higher rate of recurrence and worse RFS compared with other patients.
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Positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) findings in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) range from 1 to 22 % but have unknown biologic significance. This study sought to identify predictors of positive SLNs and to assess their clinical significance for patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS. ⋯ Occult invasion and more than three total interventions were the strongest predictors of positive SLN findings in patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS. This supports the theory of benign mechanical transport of breast epithelial cells. Except for patients at high risk for invasive disease, routine use of SLND in DCIS is not warranted.
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FOLFIRINOX is an active but relatively toxic chemotherapeutic regimen for patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The increased frequency of responding tumors shift interest to neoadjuvant approaches. We report our institutional experience with FOLFIRINOX for therapy-naïve patients with locally advanced and initially unresectable PDAC. ⋯ FOLFIRINOX is a powerful first-line regimen that leads to resectability in a substantial portion of patients with initially unresectable pancreatic cancer.