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The aim of this study was to determine the prognosis of pN3 stage gastric cancer patients after they have undergone curative resection, and we also wanted to identify the prognostic factors according to the clinico-pathologic features.
Between January 2000 and December 2004, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the patients with histologically confirmed pN3 stage gastric cancer. They underwent both gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy with a curative aim. We categorized the pN3 stage patients into 2 groups; one with pN3 only (pN3M0) and the other with pN3 combined with M1 stage (pN3M1) that included peritoneal seeding, hepatic metastasis or para-aortic LN metastasis.
Out of 467 patients with stage IV gastric adenocarcinoma who received surgery, 260 patients underwent curative resection and they were pathologically staged as N3. Among these 260 patients, 78 patients were classified as the pN3/M1 stage. For all the patients, the median follow-up period was 19 months (range: 1~108 months) and the median overall survival time was 16.2 months (95% CI, 14.1~18.3%). The 5-year survival rate of the pN3/M0 group was significantly higher than that of the pN3/M1 group (12.6% vs. 2.6%, respectively, p<0.0001). The identified predictor for a worse prognosis was an advanced T4 stage (HR: 3.38, 95% CI, 1.4~8.3, p=0.008) for the pN3 patients.
The survival for the pN3 gastric cancer patients after curative gastrectomy was significantly longer in the pN3/M0 group as compared to that of the pN3/M1 group. An advanced T stage was a predictor for a poor prognosis for the pN3 patients. Therefore, diverse treatment strategies for these heterogeneous pN3 gastric cancer patients are needed for improving their survival.
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) and possible prognostic factors.
This study included 31 patients with histologically proven LMS at Samsung Medical Center and Ajou University Hospital between 1994 and 2007. The medical records and available histological slides were reviewed retrospectively.
The median age was 46 years (range, 32~63). The most common symptom was vaginal bleeding (11 patients, 35.5%). There were 23 patients with stage I, one patient with stage III, seven patients with stage IV disease. The median follow up time was 29 months (range, 1~94). The most common recurrence site was lung (5 case), followed by pelvis and upper abdomen (2 case). Nine patients died of disease with a 5-year overall survival rate of 63%. Early tumor stage and mitotic count were the prognostic factor in univariate analysis (p<0.0001 and p=0.0031, respectively), but early tumor stage only was associated with prognosis in multivariate analysis (p=0.010 vs p=0.143). Adjuvant treatment for early stage disease did not decrease the recurrence rate (p=0.1075), but high mitotic count (15>10HPF) had a trend for disease recurrence in early stage LMS (p=0.0859).
Mitotic count less than 15/HPF in early stage may be related with longer progression-free interval, but we could not reach the conclusion that adjuvant therapy in early stage LMS be effective.
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Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is known to be elevated in nearly all solid malignancies. The prognostic role of CEA in gastric cancers however, is still controversial. We evaluated preoperative serum CEA levels and CEA expression from the resected tumor tissues to determine whether they have prognostic significance in gastric cancer patients.
Medical records of 810 patients who underwent surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma from June, 1998 to February, 2002 in Kyungpook National University Hospital were reviewed. Serum CEA level was evaluated by radioimmunoassay preoperatively, and the cut-off level for positivity was 7.0 ng/ml. Labeled streptavidin-biotin peroxidase method was used to determine CEA expression from the gastric cancer tissues.
Serum and tissue CEA were positive in 9.3% and 91.1% of the patients, respectively. They had no correlation with each other. The positivity rate of serum CEA had positive correlation with invasion depth (p<0.001), lymph node metastasis (p<0.001), distant metastasis (p=0.006), and final stage (p<0.001). Well differentiated tumors showed higher serum CEA positivity (p=0.002). Patients with positive serum CEA had higher recurrence rate (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed significantly lower survival rate in patients with preoperative CEA levels over 7 ng/ml than those with lower levels (48.0% vs. 80.7%; p<0.001). The positivity rates of tissue CEA were higher in advanced cancers (p=0.033) and in more advanced stages (p=0.029). Tissue CEA positivity showed no correlation with recurrence or survival.
Preoperative serum CEA level had correlation with disease progression and survival in gastric cancer patients, and proved to be an independent prognostic factor. Tissue CEA expression in gastric cancers had no prognostic information.
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Primary adenoid cystic carcinoma in the lung is very rare, so its clinicopathologic characteristics have usually been extrapolated from the salivary disease. However, the clinical courses of pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinomas may be different from those of salivary disease, and individual differences may also exist. I report here on a case of a patient who was initially diagnosed as pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinoma with liver metastases and the tumor showed extreme radiosensitivity, but it also underwent an aggressive clinical course. Adenoid cystic carcinoma is usually known to be a slowly growing tumor, but it may rapidly disseminate, like in this patient. Therefore, the factors predicting aggressive behavior should be determined and the treatment might be individualized according to the primary sites and on the patient's basis.
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Advanced gastric cancer patients have a poorer prognosis as compared to the patients with early gastric cancer. This study was conducted to define the prognostic factors for advanced gastric cancer.
606 patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent curative gastric resection at our hospital were retrospectively examined. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 was comprised of patients with a survival time <5 years, and group 2 patients had a survival time ≥5 years. We compared clinicopathological characteristics of the two groups by performing univariate and multivariate analysis. We also investigated the prognostic factors according to the stage.
On univariate analysis, 7 factors (age, tumor size, Borrmann type, resection type, distal resection margin, depth of invasion and lymph node status) were found to be different, and multivariate analysis revealed that patient age, depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis were the only significantly differences between the two groups. On the other hand, age and the Borrmann type for stage I b patients, age and the number of retrieved lymph nodes for stage II patients, tumor size for stage III patients, and the type of resection for stage IV patients were found to be the independent prognostic factors.
The age of patients had prognostic value in the early stages of advanced gastric cancers such as stage I b or II. The number greater than 20 retrieved lymph nodes affected the survival, particularly for the patients with stage II disease, and the tumor size was a significant prognostic factor for patients with stage III disease. Therefore, physicians are advised to pay special attention to lymph node dissection for those patients with stage II or III disease.
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We investigated the effects of radical cystectomy and the prognostic factors that affect the survival of bladder cancer patients.
From 1979 to 2002, 59 patients with long-term follow up results of at least 2 years were enrolled in this study. Indications for surgery included muscle invasive bladder cancer and high-risk superficial bladder cancer. The cancer specific and recurrence free survival rates with respect to the possible prognostic factors were determined using Kaplan-Meier statistics.
The mean patient age was 62.8 years (M: 48, F: 11), and the estimated 5- and 10-year survival rates were 62% and 39.4%, respectively. The median time to local or systemic recurrence was 16 months (range: 5~100), and the average survival durations after local and systemic recurrence were 14.4 months and 12.7 months, respectively. Pathologic stage, tumor grade, mean nuclear area, sex and lymphatic invasion were significant factors by univariate analysis (p<0.05). The disease related survival rate in patients having progression from an initial superficial tumor was lower than for those patients who displayed muscle invasive disease at the initial treatment. Multivariate analysis identified pathologic stage and lymphatic invasion as independent prognostic factors.
Radical cystectomy for organ-confined cancer showed favorable 5- and 10-year survival rates. The survival rate for patients with progression from an initial superficial tumor was worse than for those patients with invasive tumor at the initial presentation. The most significant independent prognostic factors were the pathologic stage and the presence of lymphatic invasion, which were highly correlated with all the investigated disease endpoints.
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To evaluate the relationship between treatment failure and COX-2 expression in nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The subjects of this study were 22 nasopharyngeal cancer patients. The patients were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy, or with radiotherapy alone. The formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of 11 patients who developed a locoregional recurrence (n=7) or distant metastasis (n=4) were compared with those of 11 disease free patients. Prognostic factors, including histological type, stage, radiation dose and chemotherapy, were well balanced between the two groups. The COX-2 expression was determined immunohistochemically.
COX-2 expression was stronger in the patients with a locoregional recurrence or distant metastasis than in those free of disease. The COX-2 distribution scores of the control group were as follows: 0 in 7, 1 in 2 and 2 in 2 patients. In the recurrence group, the scores were as follows; 0 in 3, 1 in 1, 2 in 2 and 3 in 5 patients. COX-2 expression was shown to have a statistically significant influence on the treatment failure by the Mann-Whitney U test (p=0.024) and Mantel-Haenszel Chi-Square test (p=0.018). It also significantly influenced the treatment failure when an analysis was performed within patients with a undifferentiated histology (p=0.039 by the Mann-Whitney U test, p=0.037 by the Mantel-Haenszel Chi-Square test).
COX-2 expression is believed to be one of the important factors associated with a locoregional recurrence or distant metastasis.
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