Hung-Hsin Lin

Circumferential margin plays an independent impact on the outcome of rectal cancer patients receiving curative total mesorectal excision

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the circumferential resection margin on the outcomes of patients with rectal cancer undergoing total mesorectal excision. METHODS Medical records from July 2004 to June 2008 were prospectively reviewed, and 348 patients who underwent potentially curative surgery for rectal cancer were identified. The influence of the circumferential resection margin on local recurrence, distant metastasis, and 5-year cancer-specific survival was assessed. RESULTS Of 348 patients, 13 (3.7%) had positive circumferential resection margins. During a median follow-up period of 58.0 months, 8 patients (2.3%) had local recurrence and 53 (15.2%) developed distant metastases. Local recurrence rates and distant metastasis rates in patients with positive circumferential resection margins were 15.4% and 61.5%, respectively, significantly higher than in those with negative circumferential resection margins (1.8% and 13.4%, respectively) (P < .001). The 5-year cancer-specific survival rates were 75.8% and 0% for patients with tumors having negative and positive circumferential resection margins, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS A circumferential resection margin of ≤1 mm adversely affects cancer-specific survival, local recurrence, and distant metastasis.

Safety and Efficacy of Adalimumab for Patients With Moderate to Severe Crohn's Disease: The Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (TSIBD) Study

Background/Aims Only moderate to severe Crohns Disease (CD) patients without a satisfactory conventional therapy effect are eligible to get reimbursement from the National Health Insurance of Taiwan for using adalimumab. These are more stringent criteria than in many Western countries and Japan and Korea. We aim to explore the efficacy of using adalimumab in CD patients under such stringent criteria. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in nine medical centers in Taiwan and we collected the results of CD patients receiving adalimumab from Sep 2009 to Mar 2014. The clinical characteristics, response measured by CDAI (Crohns Disease Activity Index), adverse events and survival status were recorded and analyzed. CR-70, CR-100, and CR-150 were defined as attaining a CDAI decrease of 70, 100 or 150 points compared with baseline. Results A total of 103 CD patient records were used in this study. Sixty percent of these patients received combination therapy of adalimumab together with immunomodulators. CR-70 was 68.7%, 74.5% and 88.4% after week 4, 8 and 12 of treatment, respectively. The steroid-free rate, complications and survival were 47.6%, 9.7% and 99% of patients, respectively. In considering the mucosal healing, only 25% patients achieve mucosal healing after treatment for 6 to 12 months. Surgery was still needed in 16.5% of patients. Combination treatment of adalimumab with immunomodulators further decreased the level of CDAI at week 8 when compared with the monotherapy. Conclusions Even under the stringent criteria for using adalimumab, the response rate was comparable to those without stringent criteria.

A comprehensive analysis of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) loss in colorectal cancer

BackgroundAlterations of PTEN, regulator of the PTEN/PI3K-AKT pathway, are common in several types of cancer. This study aimed to do comprehensive analysis of PTEN in colorectal cancer patients.MethodsTotally, 198 colorectal cancer patients who received surgery at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from 2006 to 2008 were enrolled. Mutations, loss of protein expression, promoter hypermethylation, and DNA copy number of PTEN were analyzed by sequencing, immunohistochemistry, methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction PCR, and quantitative (QPCR), respectively, and correlated with clinicopathological features and patients’ outcome.ResultsGenomic mutations, loss of protein expression, promoter hypermethylation, and decreased DNA copy number of PTEN were found in 4 (2.02 %), 68 (34.3 %), 54 (27.3 %), and 36 (18.2 %) tumors, respectively. Of these 68 tumors with loss expression of PTEN, 34 (50 %) tumors had promoter methylation and 18 (26.5 %) had decreased DNA copy number. All four tumors with PTEN mutations demonstrated loss of PTEN expression. In the stage I disease, frequency of loss of PTEN expression was 20 % and significantly increased to 56.9 % in stage IV disease. Either loss expression of PTEN, PTEN hypermethylation or decreased PTEN copy number was not associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) patients’ outcome.ConclusionsPTEN alterations were found in up to one-third of colorectal cancers but did not impact CRC patients’ prognosis.

Expression of ABCG2 associated with tumor response in metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving first-line FOLFOX therapy – preliminary evidence

Purpose We retrospectively analyzed ABCG2 expression levels in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) to investigate the interaction between ABCG2 expression and the tumor response to oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil (FOLFOX). Methods Forty-three patients with CRC with liver metastasis who received first-line FOLFOX treatment at our institution between 2008 and 2010 were enrolled. ABCG2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Tumor response was determined using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria. Results At least 50% tumor shrinkage was observed in 16/43 patients (37.2%), including a complete response in 1 patient. According to the intensity of ABCG2 expression and the percentage of tumor cells expressing ABCG2, 21 tumors displayed high ABCG2 expression. Among these tumors, only 2 (9.5%) exhibited partial responses to FOLFOX; conversely, 63.6% of tumors with low ABCG2 expression (14/22) responded to FOLFOX. Primary and corresponding metastatic samples were available for 15 patients, and 13 of the metastatic tumors had higher ABCG2 expression than the corresponding primary tumors, but only 1 of these tumors responded to FOLFOX (7.7%). Conclusions ABCG2 expression is associated with the tumor response to FOLFOX in patients with metastatic CRC. ABCG2 may be a selective marker for the efficacy of FOLFOX in treating CRC.

Molecular and Clinicopathological Differences by Age at the Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer

We compared the clinicopathological and molecular profiles between different age groups of sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (age <50, 56–60, 60–70, 70–80, and >80); 1475 CRC patients were enrolled after excluding 30 individuals with Lynch syndrome. The mutation spectra for APC, TP53, KRAS, PIK3CA, FBXW7, BRAF, NRAS, HRAS, TGFbR, Akt1, and PTEN were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by MassArray and microsatellite (MSI-high) analysis by performing genotyping. Male patients (74.1%) were significantly predominant to females (25.9%) in the older age group (70–80, >80). There was an insignificantly linear trend between TNM staging and age-onset of CRC diagnosis. Patients aged < 50 had 58.7% diseases in the advanced stages (Stage III: 36.5% and IV: 22.2% respectively), while this decreased to 40.2% (Stage III: 26.2% and IV; 14.0% respectively) in patients >80. The distributions of mutation frequency were similar in majority of the genes studied among different age groups. Additionally, patients aged <50 had significantly higher frequency of MSI-high, PTEN, and HRAS mutations than those of other groups. Age-onset at diagnosis significantly affected overall survival (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.35–1.58), but not cancer-specific survival (HR = 1.08; 95% CI: 0.99–1.18) in multivariate analysis. In conclusion, molecular and clinicopathological differences were not as significant among different age groups of CRC patients as previously suspected.

Collision tumor of low-grade B-cell lymphoma and adenocarcinoma with tuberculosis in the colon: a case report and literature review

This report presents a case of collision tumors of low-grade B-cell lymphoma and adenocarcinoma in the sigmoid colon of an 81-year-old man. All surgically resected regional mesenteric lymph nodes were found to be occupied by low-grade B-cell lymphoma, and one lymph node showed the presence of adenocarcinoma. Low-grade B-cell lymphoma was also observed in the resected spleen. Moreover, concurrent tuberculosis infection in the resected colon was proven by the presence of positive results obtained with polymerase chain reaction analysis of the mycobacterial DNA. Systemic chemotherapy was administered for advanced colon cancer with lung metastasis, and anti-tuberculosis treatment was also prescribed. The occurrence of synchronous lymphoma and adenocarcinoma of the colorectal region is rare. Furthermore, collisions of these different entities are also extremely unusual. The accurate clinical determination of the dominant tumor and a timely follow-up are required for the proper treatment of these cases.

Management of ulcerative colitis in Taiwan: consensus guideline of the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic mucosal inflammation of the colon, and the prevalence and incidence of UC have been steadily increasing in Taiwan. A steering committee was established by the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease to formulate statements on the diagnosis and management of UC taking into account currently available evidence and the expert opinion of the committee. Accurate diagnosis of UC requires thorough clinical, endoscopic, and histological assessment and careful exclusion of differential diagnoses, particularly infectious colitis. The goals of UC therapy are to induce and maintain remission, reduce the risk of complications, and improve quality of life. As outlined in the recommended treatment algorithm, choice of treatment is dictated by severity, extent, and course of disease. Patients should be evaluated for hepatitis B virus and tuberculosis infection prior to immunosuppressive treatment, especially with steroids and biologic agents, and should be regularly monitored for reactivation of latent infection. These consensus statements are also based on current local evidence with consideration of factors, and could be serve as concise and practical guidelines for supporting clinicians in the management of UC in Taiwan.

Management of Crohn's disease in Taiwan: consensus guideline of the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Crohns disease (CD) is a chronic relapsing and remitting inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. CD is rare in Taiwan and other Asian countries, but its prevalence and incidence have been steadily increasing. A steering committee was established by the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease to formulate statements on the diagnosis and management of CD taking into account currently available evidence and the expert opinion of the committee. Thorough clinical, endoscopic, and histological assessments are required for accurate diagnosis of CD. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are complementary to endoscopic evaluation for disease staging and detecting complications. The goals of CD management are to induce and maintain remission, reduce the risk of complications, and improve quality of life. Corticosteroids are the mainstay for inducing re-mission. Immunomodulating and biologic therapies should be used to maintain remission. Patients should be evaluated for hepatitis B virus and tuberculosis infection prior to treatment and receive regular surveillance for cancer. These consensus statements are based on current local evidence with consideration of factors, and could be serve as concise and practical guidelines for supporting clinicians in the management of patients with CD in Taiwan.

Elderly Adults with Late‐Onset Ulcerative Colitis Tend to Have Atypical, Milder Initial Clinical Presentations but Higher Surgical Rates and Mortality: A Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study

To the Editor: There is considerable controversy over the clinical presentation and prognosis of ulcerative colitis (UC) in elderly adults. An earlier study found a prevalence of left colitis over extensive forms, whereas the latest studies show that proctitis and left-sided UC are more common in elderly adults. Some studies suggest that there is no association between mortality and age, whereas others have found greater risk of death in elderly adults. Moreover, most of these studies are from Western countries. Because the aging population and the incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease have recently begun to increase rapidly in Taiwan, this multicenter study was conducted to examine the clinical features and outcomes of UC in older adults in Taiwan.

78 Incidence and Phenotype of Inflammatory Bowel Disease From 13 Countries in Asia-Pacific: Results From the Asia-Pacific Crohn's and Colitis Epidemiologic Study 2011-2013

Incidence and Phenotype of Inflammatory Bowel Disease From 13 Countries in Asia-Pacific: Results From the Asia-Pacific Crohns and Colitis Epidemiologic Study 2011-2013 Siew C. Ng, Gilaad Kaplan, Rupa Banerjee, Shu-Chen Wei, Whitney Tang, Zhirong Zeng, Min-hu Chen, Hong Yang, H. Janaka de Silva, Madunil A Niriella, David E. Ong, KhoonLin Ling, Ida Hilmi, Pises Pisespongsa, Satimai Aniwan, Julajak Limsrivilai, Murdani Abdullah, Vui Heng Chong, Qian Cao, Yinglei Miao, Arlinking K. Ong-Go, Sally Bell, Olga Niewiadomski, Michael A. Kamm, Ka Kei Ng, Hon Ho Yu, Yu-Fang Wang, Qin Ouyang, Khean Lee Goh, Hung-Hsin Lin, Wei-Chen Lin, Kaichun Wu, Marcellus Simadibrata, Francis K. Chan, Joseph Sung