Nebojša Ignjatović

ADC is not reliable in determinating subtypes of meningiomas

ObjectiveTo verify the reliability of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements in determining subtypes of meningiomas.Material and methodsThirty patients (20 women and 10 men; average age, 53±15 years) with meningiomas were prospectively studied using DWI with b values of 0 and 1000. ADC values of the neoplastic tissue were obtained as the mean of measurements from three regions of interests within the mass and compared with histologic subtypes using ANOVA test (SPSS16).ResultsThe meningothelial subtype was found in 15 (50%) patients, fibroblastic in 10 (33.33%) patients and cystic in 5 (16.67%) patients. All meningiomas belonged to the WHO Grade 1 — benign meningiomas. There was no significant statistical difference between meningothelial, fibroblastic and cystic meningiomas when considering mean ADC values (0.000411+/−0.000066 mm2/s vs. 0.000750+/−0.001045 mm2/s vs. 0.000688+/−0.000063 mm2/s (p>0.05). Perifocal edema was present only with fibroblastic meningioma with mean ADC 0.000683 mm2/s. The ADC of the cystic component was statistically significantly higher in cystic meningeomas (0.001283 mm2/s) compared with fibroblastic (0.000224 mm2/s) and meningothelial meningiomas (0.000088 mm2/s) (p<0.001). The ADC of meningiomas was higher compared with contralateral healthy brain tissue (0.000642 mm2/s vs. 0.000404 mm2/s; n.s).ConclusionADC measurement do not seem reliable in identifying histological subtypes of Grade I meningiomas.

Perforation of gastric cancer - What should the surgeon do?

Perforation represents a rare and severe complication of gastric cancer (GC) with a large hospital mortality (8-82%). The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical-pathological features in patients with perforated gastric cancer (PGC) and to advise the surgical treatment options. A total of 11 patients with PGC were retrospectively reviewed among 376 consecutive cases of GC operated. The clinical-pathological features including tumor stage, survival, and the type of treatment were observed. The perforation was more frequent in stage III (8 patients) and in stage IV (3 patients), but none of the cases in stage I and II GC were observed. All the patients had serosal invasion and lymph node metastasis. Limited lymphadenectomy (D0, D1) was performed in 5 patients, and extended lymphadenectomy (D2, D3) in 3 patients. Emergency gastrectomy was performed in 8 (72.8%) patients, subtotal gastrectomy in 5 (45.5%), and total gastrectomy in 3 (27.2%) cases. Three (27.2%) patients were treated by simple closure with omental patch. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 46%. The survival rate was higher among the patients who underwent curative resection (75.77±68.88 days) than in those who underwent simple closure with omental patch (18.00±24.43 days). The difference between the treatments in these groups was significant (p < 0.05). PGC required surgical emergency. Curative resection improved long-term survival in the patients with potentially curable gastric malignancy. Unsuccessful outcomes after PGC could be attributed to the poor condition of the patients and the advanced disease stage.Perforation represents a rare and severe complication of gastric cancer (GC) with a large hospital mortality (8-82%). The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical-pathological features in patients with perforated gastric cancer (PGC) and to advise the surgical treatment options. A total of 11 patients with PGC were retrospectively reviewed among 376 consecutive cases of GC operated. The clinical-pathological features including tumor stage, survival, and the type of treatment were observed. The perforation was more frequent in stage III (8 patients) and in stage IV (3 patients), but none of the cases in stage I and II GC were observed. All the patients had serosal invasion and lymph node metastasis. Limited lymphadenectomy (D0, D1) was performed in 5 patients, and extended lymphadenectomy (D2, D3) in 3 patients. Emergency gastrectomy was performed in 8 (72.8%) patients, subtotal gastrectomy in 5 (45.5%), and total gastrectomy in 3 (27.2%) cases. Three (27.2%) patients were treated by simple closure with omental patch. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 46%. The survival rate was higher among the patients who underwent curative resection (75.77±68.88 days) than in those who underwent simple closure with omental patch (18.00±24.43 days). The difference between the treatments in these groups was significant (p < 0.05). PGC required surgical emergency. Curative resection improved long-term survival in the patients with potentially curable gastric malignancy. Unsuccessful outcomes after PGC could be attributed to the poor condition of the patients and the advanced disease stage.

Impact of reconstructive procedures with and without preserving the duodenal passage on body weight in patients after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer

Introduction/Objective The ideal reconstruction procedure after total gastrectomy should replace all lost functions of the stomach. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of preserving the duodenal passage in subsequent improvement of body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI) in patients with gastric cancer after total gastrectomy. Methods A total of 30 patients with gastric cancer were prospectively randomly divided into a group of reconstruction with double-tract (n = 15) and a group of reconstruction with simple Roux-en-Y after total gastrectomy. They were stratified by sex, age, their anthropometric measurements (BW, BMI), primary tumor localization, Laurens classification, TNM stage classification, length of hospital stay, operation duration, postoperative complications, and mortality. Postoperatively, BW and BMI were measured at three, six, and 12 months and compared between the two groups. Results The clinical group of double-tract patients had significantly higher the values of BW in the postoperative period after six (66.6 ± 4.9 vs. 61.7 ± 7.6; p < 0.05 paired Students t-test) and after 12 months (67.0 ± 4.9 vs. 62.3 ± 7.2; p < 0.05 paired Students t-test) compared to the group of Roux-en-Y patients. On the other hand, the clinical group of double-tract patients also had significantly higher the values of BMI in postoperative period after 12 months (23.6 ± 1.1 vs. 22.5 ± 1.6; p < 0.05 paired Students t-test) in relation to the Roux-en-Y group of patients. Conclusion Reconstruction procedure carried out after total gastrectomy which implies preserving the duodenal passage has significant increase of BW and BMI, compared to reconstruction procedure without the preservation of the duodenal passage.