Cancer

In the current study, rapid immunohistochemistry enhanced the intraoperative diagnosis of sentinel lymph node metastases in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma. It may also improve the diagnosis of micrometastases.

The authors report a large single institution experience with breast-conserving therapy and report that ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence rate after breast conservation appears to be declining, especially among patients younger than age 50 years. The results reflect changes in surgical approaches, pathologic evaluations, and increasing use of systemic therapy.

Patients with carcinoma of the urinary bladder had statistically higher plasma levels of angiogenin compared with a healthy control group. Patients who had bladder carcinoma with higher plasma levels of angiogenin had shorter recurrence-free survival and higher risk of recurrence compared with patients who had lower plasma levels of angiogenin.

The current results indicated that it is safe to offer carefully selected elderly patients an orthotopic urinary diversion. Chronological age, per se, was not a contraindication for radical cystectomy in the setting of invasive bladder carcinoma.

The authors of the current study hypothesized that CpG methylation of the TβRII promoter at the Sp1 binding site −140 mediates loss of TβRII expression in prostate cancer compared to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The authors found lower TβRII mRNA and protein expression in prostate cancer compared to BPH and higher CpG promoter methylation using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction and bisulfite sequencing.

Over a 30-year period, 697 patients underwent nephrectomy for pT3 or pT4 renal cell carcinoma at a single institution. Incorporating perinephric fat invasion, direct ipsilateral adrenal invasion, and tumor thrombus level, the authors' proposed reclassification improved prognostic accuracy.

In the Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance/Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion Triage Study (ALTS) population, socioeconomic status and race were not associated with risk of infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) once age, sexual variables, study center, and smoking were taken into account. However, among HPV-infected women, lower education levels were associated with increased risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia Grade 3 and carcinoma (≥ CIN3), and black and white/Hispanic race/ethnicity were associated with decreased risk for ≥ CIN3.

Paranasal sinus carcinoma is a rare disease, mostly requiring surgery and radiotherapy (RT). A major adverse effect is RT-induced ocular toxicity. Intensity-modulated RT, a new RT technique, was able to spare the optic structures and lower the ocular toxicity without compromising local control.

The current report presented the findings of 17 patients with cancer with skeletal metastasis and 1 patient with osteopenia, who received treatment with bisphosphonates. The patients developed osteonecrosis involving the mandible and maxilla. All patients with cancer had received chemotherapy while receiving bisphosphonates. The authors discussed diagnosis, patient management, and the pathologic mechanisms involved in the formation of this new oral complication of cancer therapy.

The results of this metaanalysis revealed a significant lack of valid data with which to determine the prognostic relevance of immunohistochemical matrix metalloproteinase expression and lymph node status in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. To rectify this lack of data, the first step will require standardization of immunohistochemical staining procedures and evaluation protocols. The authors indicated that such standardization will be a prerequisite to achieving comparable results for further evaluation.

Differentiation therapy with the histone deacetylase inhibitors valproic acid and all-trans retinoic acid induced hematologic improvement, according to World Health Organization criteria, in 30% of older, poor-risk patients with acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome.

Among women with acute leukemia (AL) who required cytotoxic treatment during pregnancy, chemotherapy treatment with fetal surveillance and monitoring for adequate growth during the second and third trimesters did not always require termination, and remission of AL and delivery of a normal infant were likely.

Antitumor activity has been hypothesized for bisphonates in multiple meloma. The current study demonstrated that zoledronic acid interfered with myeloma bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) by reducing proliferation, increasing apoptosis, and modifying the pattern of expression of adhesion molecules, especially those involved in plasma cell binding (CD106, CD54, and CD49d). These effects on BMSCs might explain the antitumor activity of zoledronic acid.

Eight-year overall and event-free survival rates of all of 180 patients with intracranial germinoma were 91% and 89%, respectively. Spinal irradiation did not contribute to favorable event-free survival in these patients.

Central neurocytomas (CNs) are well differentiated benign tumors of neuronal or neuroglial origin. They first were recognized as a new entity with a typical immunohistochemical profile and ultrastructural features of neuronal differentiation but currently are believed to originate from precursor cells of the subependymal plate of the lateral ventricles, an embryonal matrix cell layer that maintains a limited proliferative potential to differentiate in either neuronal and glial cells. Therefore, CNs are not considered to be neuronal tumors but rather neuroectodermal tumors with predominant neuronal differentiation. In the current study, the authors retrospectively reported on a series of 14 CN patients treated at the study institution with special emphasis on the biologic behavior of the tumors and the incidence of disease recurrence during long-term follow-up and found a surprisingly high recurrence rate.

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy achieved a higher response rate, but did not prolong disease progression-free or overall survival.. More active regimens for the salvage treatment of ependymal tumors have yet to be found.

In contrast to chondrosarcomas of the pelvic girdle, and despite their central location, chondrosarcomas of the scapula were associated with a relatively favorable long-term prognosis in patients who underwent limb-sparing surgical resection.

The authors undertook a molecular and cytogenetic study of the 9p21 locus in a series of 22 pre-Gleevec era, cryopreserved, high-risk gastrointestinal stromal tumors that had been characterized previously. The investigation revealed cumulative alterations in the 9p21 locus in 54% of tumors in the series, represented mainly by the loss of tumor suppressor gene expression. The p16^INK4a deletion, which always was coupled with p14^ARF gene loss, seemed to be the most common 9p21 inactivation mechanism.

Basosquamous carcinoma was treated successfully with Mohs micrographic surgery in 178 patients. The 5-year disease recurrence rate was 4.1% in 98 patients.

A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, clinical trial of shark cartilage did not suggest any benefit to patients with metastatic cancer.

A retrospective analysis on 125 children with localized rhabdomyosarcoma who experienced a recurrence showed that groups of patients with a different prognosis can be identified. Favorable histology subtype and tumor site, local recurrence, and recurrence off therapy identified patients who had a second chance of cure. Patients with no or only one risk factor and those with a nonalveolar histology benefited more from salvage therapy if they had not received radiotherapy for their initial treatment.

Among low-income, uninsured men with prostate cancer, being in a marital relationship was associated with significantly better health-related quality of life. Partnered patients had better mental health, less urinary bother, lower symptom distress, and higher spirituality compared with single men.

Cytokines were administered for 1.5–5 months with clinical success and without significant toxicity. The data in the current study suggested a potential role for immunomodulation in patients with leukemia with refractory invasive fungal infections.

In this case–control study, the authors found that risk factors for infection caused by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospitalized patients with cancer included a history of P. aeruginosa infection during the prior year, a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and carbapenems used as first-line empiric therapy. Broad-spectrum antibiotics need to be used judiciously in febrile neutropenic patients with cancer who require hospitalization.