Annals of surgical oncology
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Clinical Trial
Surgery combined with intraoperative brachytherapy in the treatment of retroperitoneal sarcomas.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the results of treatment of retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas (RSTS) by surgery combined with intraoperative brachytherapy (IOBRT). ⋯ The scheduled combined treatment (surgery plus IOBRT) was possible to perform in 66% of RSTS cases that received surgical treatment. The complication rate was high, but we consider it acceptable because of the necessity for extensive aggressive surgical treatment in regionally advanced RSTS. EBRT seems to be an indispensable part of treatment that provides better local control.
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Multimodality therapy for esophageal cancer holds promise for improving outcome in this lethal disease. On the basis of encouraging data from a phase I trial, we conducted a phase II study of preoperative chemotherapy, followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and surgery. ⋯ This regimen of multimodality therapy before resection resulted in an encouraging 2-year survival rate but a disappointing rate of pathologic complete response and was toxic, necessitating a predetermined paclitaxel dose reduction. The incorporation of taxanes into induction strategies for esophageal cancer seems promising, but the optimal schedule remains undefined.
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Multicenter Study
Clinicopathologic features associated with having four or more metastatic axillary nodes in breast cancer patients with a positive sentinel lymph node.
The survival benefit of a completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients after removal of a metastatic sentinel lymph node (SLN) is uncertain and is under study in ongoing clinical trials. The completion ALND remains necessary, however, for the identification of cases with at least four metastatic lymph nodes, in which extended-field locoregional and/or postmastectomy radiation will be recommended. Our goal was evaluate clinicopathologic features that might serve as surrogates for determining which patients with a positive SLN are likely or unlikely to belong to this high-risk subset. ⋯ We conclude that patients with SLN micrometastases face an extremely low likelihood of having extensive nodal disease on completion ALND. Patients with larger primary tumors, lymphovascular invasion, and extranodal extension are more likely to have ALND findings that will affect their cancer management.
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This study evaluated the role of pulsed dose-rate (PDR) brachytherapy (BRT), delivered alone or as a boost to external beam radiotherapy, as adjuvant therapy for the local control of soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and skeletal muscles of the trunk that have undergone surgical treatment. ⋯ PDR interstitial BRT for soft tissue sarcoma is an effective, well-tolerated adjuvant radiation treatment that offers several practical advantages, among which are low acute and late toxicity with maximum normal tissue and critical structure sparing and overall shorter radiotherapy and hospital stay.
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Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a safe and accurate axillary staging procedure for patients with primary operable breast cancer. An increasing proportion of these patients undergo breast-conserving surgery, and 5% to 15% will develop local relapses that necessitate reoperation. Although a previous SLNB is often considered a contraindication for a subsequent SLNB, few data support this concern. ⋯ Second SLNB after previous SLNB is technically feasible and likely effective in selected breast cancer patients. A larger population and longer follow-up are necessary to confirm these preliminary data.