Kent C. Westbrook

Peritioneal carcinomatosis in nongynecologic malignancy. A prospective study of prognostic factors

Regional recurrence of malignant tumors in the peritoneal cavity usually signifies a poor prognosis for the host and often results in gastrointestinal complications requiring surgical intervention. One hundred patients with nongynecological malignancies found with peritoneal carcinomatosis were followed prospectively. The most common primary tumors were colorectal (N = 45) and pancreatic (N = 20) carcinoma. When associated with pancreatic carcinoma, 65% of patients had liver metastases and 60% had ascites. The presence of ascites was associated with poor survival, with no patient surviving past 30 days. Ascites was also a sign of poor prognosis in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Among possible prognostic factors in colorectal carcinoma patients, only disease‐free interval, presence of lung metastases, and ascites showed statistically significant correlations with survival. Peritoneal carcinomatosis in sarcoma (N = 7) and breast cancer (N = 6) patients had median survival of 12 and 7 months, respectively. Surgical intervention for gastrointestinal complications in peritoneal carcinomatosis can provide significant palliation, with a few exceptions such as in patients with pancreatic or gastric carcinoma, ascites, and poor performance status.

Axillary Reverse Mapping (ARM): A New Concept to Identify and Enhance Lymphatic Preservation

BackgroundVariations in arm lymphatic drainage put the arm lymphatics at risk for disruption during axillary lymph node surgery. Mapping the drainage of the arm with blue dye (axillary reverse mapping, ARM) decreases the likelihood of disruption of lymphatics and subsequent lymphedema.MethodsThis institutional review board (IRB)-approved study from May to October 2006 involved patients undergoing SLNB and/or ALND. Technetium sulfur colloid (4 mL) was injected in the subareolar plexus and 2–5 mL of blue dye intradermally was injected in the ipsilateral upper extremity (ARM). Data were collected on variations in lymphatic drainage that impacted SLNB or ALND, successful identification and protection of the arm lymphatics, any crossover between a hot breast node and a blue arm node, and occurrence of lymphedema.ResultsOf the 40 patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer, 18 required an ALND, with a median age of 49.7 years old. Fourteen patients had a SLNB + ALND, and four patients had ALND alone. In 100% of patients, all breast SLNs were hot but not blue, and the false negative rate was 0. In 11 of 18 ALNDs (61%) blue lymphatics or blue nodes were identified in the axilla. In the initial seven cases with positive lymph nodes in the axilla, the blue node draining from the arm was biopsied and all were negative.ConclusionsARM identified significant lymphatic variations draining the upper extremities and facilitated preservation in all but one case. ARM added to present-day ALND and SLNB further defines the axilla and may be useful to prevent lymphedema.

Use of touch preps for diagnosis and evaluation of surgical margins in breast cancer

AbstractBackground: The best cosmetic results with conservative breast surgery are obtained at the time of initial excisional biopsy. The usefulness of the touch prep (TP) technique was evaluated for accuracy in diagnosis as well as in evaluation of margins at the time of original breast biopsy. Methods: Four hundred twenty-eight consecutive patients with breast masses seen from January 1993 to December 1994 were evaluated prospectively using TP. Results: Three hundred forty-five benign and 83 malignant tumors were evaluated. Tumors ranged in size from microscopic to 8 cm. Pathologic diagnosis was correct as compared to permanent section in 99.3%. The three carcinomas missed on TP were focal and in situ. Sensitivity was 96.39%, and specificity was 100%. Positive predictive value was 100%, and negative predictive value was 99.3%. For margin evaluation, the sensitivity and specificity were both estimated to be 100%. Conclusions: TP has the advantage of being a simple, quick (2 to 3 minutes), safe (no loss of diagnostic material), and accurate method for diagnosis and estimation of tumor margins at the time of the original surgery.

Oncologic Safety of Nipple Skin-Sparing or Total Skin-Sparing Mastectomies With Immediate Reconstruction

BACKGROUND Success with skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) has led to the reconsideration of the necessity to remove the skin overlying the nipple-areola complex. The aim of our study was to compare complications and local recurrence in patients undergoing SSM and total skin-sparing mastectomy (TSSM) with immediate reconstruction. METHODS This IRB-approved retrospective study involved patients who underwent mastectomy with reconstruction (1998 to 2010). Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, type of surgery, cosmesis, postoperative complications, and recurrence were analyzed. RESULTS The 293 patients in our study group had a total of 508 procedures: 281 TSSMs and 227 SSMs, distributed among 215 patients with bilateral procedures and 78 with unilateral operations. Mean age was 51.2 ± 10.9 years for TSSM and 53.1 ± 11.5 years for SSM. The average tumor size was 1.9 ± 1.6 cm for TSSM versus 2.1 ± 1.7 cm for the SSM group. The overall complication rate (TSSM 7.1% [20 of 281] and SSM 6.2% [14 of 227], p = 0.67) and local-regional recurrence rate (TSSM 6% [7 of 152] and SSM 5.0% [7 of 141], p = 0.89) were comparable. The TSSM rating was significantly higher (score 9.2 ± 1.1) than the SSM group (score 8.3 ± 1.9, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION TSSM appears to be oncologically safe with superior cosmesis, affords one-step immediate reconstruction, and can be offered to patients with stages I and II breast cancer and those who have been down-staged with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Intraoperative touch preparation for sentinel lymph node biopsy: A 4-year experience

BackgroundThe optimal technique for intraoperative pathologic examination of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) is still controversial. Recent small series report sensitivity between 60% and 100% for various techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate our long-term experience with touch preparation cytology (TPC) and frozen section (FS) in the intraoperative examination of SLNs for breast cancer.MethodsA total of 247 patients with operable breast cancer underwent an SLN biopsy for staging of the axilla. The SLN was identified by99mTc-labeled sulfur colloid unfiltered dye, blue dye, or both and dissected, and then intraoperative TPC or FS and permanent section, or both, were performed.ResultsA total of 479 SLNs were submitted for TPC and permanent hematoxylin and eosin. A total of 68 SLNs were positive by hematoxylin and eosin; 65 SLNs were positive by TPC, with a false-negative rate of 5.8%. The sensitivity for TPC was 94.2%, with a false-positive rate of 0.2%. A total of 165 SLNs were submitted for FS, with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 98.6%. The false-positive rate was 1.4%, with a false-negative rate of 15.8%.ConclusionsIn a large series, TPC is as accurate as FS but is simpler and faster in the detection of intraoperative metastasis in SLNs for breast cancer.

Central venous catheter placement in patients with disorders of hemostasis

BACKGROUND Patients requiring central venous access frequently have disorders of hemostasis. The aim of this study was to identify factors predictive of bleeding complications after central venous catheterization in this group of patients. METHODS A retrospective analysis of all central venous catheters placed over a 2-year period (1997 to 1999) at our institution were performed. The age, sex, clinical diagnosis, most recent platelet count, prothrombin international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), catheter type, the number of passes to complete the procedure, and bleeding complications were retrieved from the medical records. RESULTS In a 2-year period, 2,010 central venous catheters were placed in 1,825 patients. Three hundred and thirty placements were in patients with disorders of hemostasis. In 88 of the 330 patients, the underlying coagulopathy was not corrected before catheter placement. In these patients, there were 3 bleeding complications requiring placement of a purse string suture at the catheter entry site. In the remaining 242 patients, there was 1 bleeding complication. Of the variables analyzed, only a low platelet count (<50 x 10(9)/L) was significantly associated with bleeding complications. CONCLUSION Central venous access procedures can be safely performed in patients with underlying disorders of hemostasis. Even patients with low platelet counts have infrequent (3 of 88) bleeding complications, and these problems are easily managed.

Postoperative necrotizing fasciitis of the abdominal wall

Abstract Postoperative necrotizing fasciitis of the abdominal wall is usually caused by peritonitis in patients who have undergone multiple procedures for complications of emergency laparotomy. Better patient survival may be achieved by the following method: thorough peritoneal exploration to drain abscesses, excision of necrotic fascia, temporary Marlex placement, and delayed closure of the wound with skin flaps.

Effect of glutamine on methotrexate efficacy and toxicity.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of oral glutamine (GLN) on the efficacy and toxicity of methotrexate (MTX). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA The use of high-dose chemotherapy regimens is limited by the severity of their toxicities. Oral GLN has been shown to decrease the gut toxicity seen with MTX treatment while enhancing its tumoricidal effect. METHODS AND RESULTS Studies were done in laboratory rats and in breast cancer outpatients. Fischer 344 rats were randomized to 48 hours of prefeeding with GLN (1 g/kg/day) or an isonitrogenous amount of glycine. Rats were killed 24 hours after receiving a 20-mg/kg intraperitoneal dose of MTX. In the GLN group, there was a threefold increase in total MTX in the tumor as compared with the control group, and this increase was in both the diglutamated and pentaglutamated MTX. Inversely, there was a significant decrease in the total polyglutamated MTX in the gut in the GLN group. Given the results of this preclinical study, the authors performed a phase I trial. Nine patients diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer received GLN (0.5 g/kg/day) during MTX neoadjuvant therapy, escalating from doses of 40 mg/m2 to 100 mg/m2 weekly for 3 weeks, followed by a doxorubicin-based regimen. No toxicity of oral GLN was detected. No patient showed any sign of chemotherapy-related toxicity. One patient had a grade I mucositis. Except for one, all patients responded to the chemotherapy regimen. Median survival was 35 months. CONCLUSIONS These studies suggest that GLN supplementation is safe in its administration to the tumor-bearing host receiving MTX. By preferentially increasing tumor retention of MTX over that of normal host tissue, GLN may serve to increase the therapeutic window of this chemotherapeutic age.

Posterior surgical approaches to the rectum.

This report summarizes experience with 19 posterior approaches to the rectum including nine trans-sacral (Kraske) and ten transsphineteric (Mason) procedures. This study included 12 men and 7 women, ranging in age from 18 to 89 years. Surgical indications included villous tumors in nine patients, various benign problems in four patients, primary carcinomas in three patients, and recurrent cancer in three patients. Eight complications developed in the 19 patients including: four fecal flstulae, two wound dehiscences, one rectal stricture, and one sacrococcygeal hernia. Spontaneous closure of the fecal fistulae occurred in two patients, and two patients required proximal colostomies. Fecal continence was achieved in 18 of the 19 patients. No patient died as a complication of the procedure. No recurrent tumors have developed. The conclusion is that a posterior approach to the rectum is a safe and effective procedure for various benign and for selected malignant conditions. It is particularly suitable for villous tumors that are too high for transanal resection and too low for transabdominal resection. It is an effective procedure for small, exophytic, mobile carcinomas of the lower 10 cm of the rectum in selected patients.

Role of breast magnetic resonance imaging in determining breast as a source of unknown metastatic lymphadenopathy

BACKGROUND Occult primary breast cancer (OPBC) represents less than 1% of breast cancer. In only a third of cases, mammography identifies a primary tumor. We hypothesized that rotating delivery of excitation off-resonance breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would identify or exclude the breast as a primary site in patients with OPBC. METHODS In a retrospective review, 10 patients were identified with OPBC in which MRI was performed. Malignant appearing lesions were correlated with histopathologic findings at biopsy or surgery. RESULTS MRI identified the primary site in 8 of 10 cases as breast (80%), and excluded it in 2 cases. The extent of disease and location was accurately predicted when compared with histopathologic specimen. CONCLUSIONS As we continue to focus on a cure of early breast cancer, it is imperative that diagnostic images become more sensitive and specific. MRI accurately predicted OPBC in this subset of patients.