Journal of Cancer
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Introduction: The TaTME surgery has been developed to overcome the difficulties encountered in the practice of laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer, especially in male, obese patients with a narrow pelvis and mid and low rectal tumours. Although the TaTME shows some promising results regarding oncological and operative outcomes, some pitfalls have been indicated. Thus, the real benefits of this novel technique over the laparoscopic surgery remain unknown. ⋯ It appears that the TaTME procedure achieved a better resection quality and smoother recovery in selected patients, without compromising the short-term safety. Nevertheless, it is too early to draw any conclusion, since results of high quality clinical evidence from randomized controlled trials have to be awaited. As it is technically demanding, the procedure needs to be taught and learned systematically to ensure safe implementation.
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Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignancies in women. Advanced bone metastases (BM) commonly result in the poor prognosis. We aim to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors for the de novo BM development and prognosis in OC. ⋯ Multivariable Cox regression showed serous histology [Hazard ratio (HR)=1.44; 95% CI: 1.01-2.06; P=0.046] was positively associated with overall death, while surgery of the primary site (HR=0.42; 95% CI: 0.29-0.61; P<0.001) was negatively associated with overall death. Conclusion: Bone metastasis is rare in ovarian cancer patients. The factors associated with BM development and prognosis can be potentially used for BM early screening and individualized treatment.
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Background: In recent years, great improvement has been made in immunotherapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Current data have suggested that Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression might not be an ideal marker for patient selection in isolation. Evidence has been increasing that alternative markers, such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a biomarker of systemic inflammation response (SIR) previously associated with outcomes in a variety of cancers including NSCLC, might be a predictor for patient selection and the response to therapy. ⋯ Stratified analysis showed that the prognostic value of combined PD-L1/NLR can only be observed in cases without epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations (DFS: log-rank χ2 =5.593, P=0.018, Figure 2C, OS: log-rank χ2 =9.323, P=0.002, Figure 2D). In EGFR mutation subgroup, combination of PD-L1 expression and NLR has no relationship with DFS or OS. Conclusion: We found that combination of PD-L1 expression and NLR may be a promising prognostic indicator, and may also be a good marker for tumor recurrence, especially in the patients with wild-type EGFR.
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Background: Perineural invasion (PNI) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) are associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer, but their clinical significance is still controversial for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) who had received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and surgical resection. The aim of this study was to confirm the correlation between PNI and/or LVI and clinical prognosis and to further confirm whether PNI and/or LVI can be used as potential prognostic indicators of adjuvant chemotherapy after nCRT and surgery in LARC. Methods: From February 2002 to December 2012, a total of 181 patients with LARC who had received nCRT and surgical resection were retrospectively reviewed. ⋯ In a subgroup analysis, PNI-positive, rather than LVI-positive, may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: For patients with LARC undergoing nCRT and surgery, PNI-positive and/or LVI positive were associated with poorer DFS and OS. And PNI-positive, rather than LVI-positive, may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.
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Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) remains controversial in the treatment of the oesophagus or gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ) carcinomas. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of Neoadjuvant CRT plus surgery comparing with neoadjuvant CT plus surgery or surgery alone. Feasible studies were searched from electronic databases. ⋯ Conclusion: Patients with oesophagus or GOJ carcinomas can obtain a survival advantage from neoadjuvant CRT. The addition of radiation was efficacy and safe in range. However, these results need further high-quality prospective RCTs confirmation.