Shaun McKenzie

Oncologic outcomes of robotic-assisted total mesorectal excision for the treatment of rectal cancer.

Objective:To evaluate local recurrence and survival after robotic-assisted total mesorectal excision (RTME) for primary rectal cancer. Summary Background Data:RTME is a novel approach for the treatment of rectal cancer and has been shown to be safe and effective. However, the oncologic results of this approach have not been reported in terms of local recurrence and survival rate. Methods:Sixty-four consecutive rectal cancer patients with stage I–III disease treated between November 2004 and June 2008 were analyzed prospectively. Results:All patients underwent RTME: 34 had colorectal anastomosis, 18 underwent coloanal anastomosis, and 12 received abdominoperineal resection. Operative mortality rate was 0%. The median operative time was 270 min and median blood loss was 200 mL. The conversion rate was 9.4%. Anastomotic leakage occurred in 4 of 52 (7.7%) patients with anastomosis. Median number of harvested lymph nodes was 14.5. Median distal margin of tumor was 3.4 cm. The circumferential resection margin was negative in all surgical specimens. No port-site recurrence occurred in any patient. Six patients developed recurrence: 2 combined local and distant, and 4 distal alone (mean follow-up of 20.2 months; range, 1.7–52.5). None of the patients developed isolated local recurrence. The mean time to local recurrence was 23 months. The 3-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 96.2% and 73.7%, respectively. Conclusions:RTME can be carried out safely and effectively in terms of recurrence and survival rates. Further prospective randomized trials are necessary to better define the absolute benefits and limitations of robotic rectal surgery.

Apoptosis evasion: The role of survival pathways in prostate cancer progression and therapeutic resistance

The ability of a tumor cell population to grow exponentially represents an imbalance between cellular proliferation and cellular attrition. There is an overwhelming body of evidence suggesting the ability of tumor cells to avoid programmed cellular attrition, or apoptosis, is a major molecular force driving the progression of human tumors. Apoptotic evasion represents one of the true hallmarks of cancer and appears to be a vital component in the immunogenic, chemotherapeutic, and radiotherapeutic resistance that characterizes the most aggressive of human cancers [Hanahan and Weinberg, 2000 ]. The challenges in the development of effective treatment modalities for advanced prostate cancer represent a classic paradigm of the functional significance of anti‐apoptotic pathways in the development of therapeutic resistance. J. Cell. Biochem.

Longer operative time: deterioration of clinical outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy versus open colectomy.

BACKGROUND: As laparoscopic surgery is applied to colorectal surgery procedures, it becomes imperative to delineate whether there is an operative duration where benefits diminish. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to determine whether benefits of a laparoscopic right colectomy compared with an open right colectomy are diminished by prolonged operative times. DESIGN: We performed a retrospective analysis comparing outcomes of patients undergoing laparoscopic right and open right colectomy for colon cancer with operative duration of less than and greater than 3 hours. SETTINGS: This study was based on data in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. PATIENTS: We queried the database for patients with laparoscopic and open right colectomy with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer between 2005 and 2010. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients were stratified by operative technique and duration. Forward multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed for mortality, cerebrovascular/cardiovascular complications, and infectious complications. Predictors of operative time >3 hours in the laparoscopic cohort were identified by logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 4273 patients, operative duration was >3 hours for 18.4% of patients with a laparoscopic right colectomy and 11.3% with an open right colectomy. There was no benefit of the laparoscopic right colectomy with an operative duration >3 hours over open right colectomy with respect to mortality and cardiopulmonary and cerebrovascular complications. An operative duration >3 hours was an independent risk factor for infectious complications in patients undergoing a laparoscopic right colectomy. LIMITATIONS: This was a retrospective study and not an intention-to-treat analysis. CONCLUSIONS: At an operative duration of ≥3 hours, laparoscopic right colectomy has higher infectious complications than open right colectomy. Reduced mortality and less cardiopulmonary and cerebrovascular complications seen in the laparoscopic cohort with shorter operative duration were lost with an operative duration >3 hours. In patients at risk for prolonged laparoscopic right colectomy, early conversion to an open technique may be warranted.

An interaction of race and ethnicity with socioeconomic status in rectal cancer outcomes.

Objective:Because appropriate rectal cancer care and subsequent outcomes can be influenced by several variables, our objective was to investigate how race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) may impact rectal cancer outcomes. Background:The management of rectal cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach utilizing medical and surgical subspecialties. Methods:We performed an investigation of patients with rectal adenocarcinoma from Los Angeles County from 1988 to 2006 using the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program. Clinical and pathologic characteristics were compared among groups and overall survival was stratified by race/ethnicity and SES. Results:Of 9504 patients with rectal cancer, 53% (n = 4999) were white, 10% black, 18% Hispanic, and 14% Asian. Stratified by race/ethnicity, Asians had the best overall survival followed by Hispanics, whites, and blacks (median survival 7.7 vs. 5.7, 5.5, and 3.4 years, respectively; P < 0.001). Stratified by SES group, the highest group had the best overall survival followed by middle and lowest groups (median survival 8.4 vs. 5.1 and 3.8 years, respectively, P < 0.001). Similar results were observed for surgical patients. On multivariate analysis, race/ethnicity, and SES remained independent predictors of overall survival in patients with rectal adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, interaction analysis indicated that the improved survival for select racial/ethnic groups was not dependent on SES classification. Conclusions:Within the diverse Los Angeles County population, both race/ethnicity, and SES result in inequities in rectal cancer outcomes. Although SES may directly impact outcomes via access to care, the reasons for the association between race/ethnicity and outcomes remain uncertain.

Physician leadership: the competencies of change.

he U.S. health-care industry has exploded into 1 of the largest nd fastest growing economies in the world. Currently, it is arger than the Gross National Product of all countries except or the United States, Germany, and Japan. Unfortunately, it is ebatable whether the quality and the delivery of patient care ave kept pace with the economic growth rate of this garganuan entity. As the complexity and the scope of the health-care ndustry have grown, the physician’s role as a leader in the arketplace has been marginalized. Without formal training in eadership skills, many physicians are not equipped to lead in his marketplace. Leadership training in other industries is rounded in the science of behavioral and developmental thery. Currently, an effective leader in the health-care marketlace must possess a working knowledge of this science. Leaders hould cultivate skill sets in finance, self-assessment, behavioral anagement, and personnel analysis, regardless of their clinical eld of expertise. This 2-part series serves to review fundamenal leadership theories and skills (excluding finance) that are ecessary for physicians to lead in the expanding health-care ystem of the future. Theories regarding effective leadership are crucial for undertanding what skills a leader must possess. These theories have volved and are transitioning from theories that emphasize eadership toward strategies that emphasize the necessity of unerstanding and of nurturing workplace culture in which indiiduals can both learn and develop to their fullest potential; this ntity is often termed a “learning culture.” In other words, hen it comes to leadership, facilitation is more effective than harisma; in fact, although the former builds workplace culture, he latter may destroy it. Because a similar evolution has ocurred in education, the educational process is an apropos odel. Current educational strategies emphasize understand-

Maspin modulates prostate cancer cell apoptotic and angiogenic response to hypoxia via targeting AKT.

Hypoxia has been previously linked to the development of both benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. This study investigated the effect of maspin, an extracellular matrix (ECM) tumor suppressor, on the apoptotic response of prostate cancer cells to hypoxia. Gene expression profiling of human benign and malignant prostate epithelial cells after exposure to hypoxia or normoxia revealed dramatic changes in ECM regulators. Maspin was found to be overexpressed in response to hypoxia in prostate cancer cells, but not in benign prostate cells. To dissect the contribution of maspin to tumor cell responses within a hypoxic microenvironment, we used maspin-overexpressing DU-145 human prostate cancer cells. Exposure to hypoxic conditions (1% O2) led to a significant increase in apoptosis in the DU-145 maspin cells, compared to DU-145 neo-transfectants without a significant effect on cell migration. This enhanced sensitivity to hypoxia-induced apoptosis leads to a significant suppression of tumor growth and tumor vascularity in vivo by targeting Akt and focal adhesion kinase activation. Our findings implicate maspin in prostate cancer cell response to hypoxia via recruitment of intracellular signaling partners. This study may have significance in the identification of maspin-driven therapeutic targeting in advanced metastatic prostate cancer.

Adjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage II colon cancer.

It is unclear whether the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage II colon cancer.

High-Performance Teams for Current and Future Physician Leaders: An Introduction

The scope of patient management increasingly crosses the defined lines of multiple medical specialties and services to meet patient needs. Concurrently, many hospitals and health-care systems have adapted new multidisciplinary team structures that provide patient-centric care as opposed to the more traditional discipline-centered delivery of care. As health care continues to evolve, the use of teams becomes even more critical in allowing interdependence between multiple disciplines to provide excellent care delivery and ongoing patient management. The use of teams permeates the health-care industry (and has done so for many years), but confusion about the structure, role, and use of teams contributes to limited effectiveness. The health-care industrys underuse of the fundamentals of corporate teamwork has, in part, created ineffective team leadership at the physician level. As the first in a series of documents on teamwork, this article is intended to introduce the reader to the rudiments of team theory and to present an introduction to a model of teamwork. The role of current and future physician leaders in ensuring team effectiveness is emphasized in this discussion. By educating health-care professionals on the foundations of high-performance teamwork, we hope to accomplish two main goals. The first goal is to help create a common and systematic taxonomy that physician leaders and institutional management can agree on and refer to concerning the development of high-performance health-care teams. The second goal is to stimulate the development of future physician leaders who use proven teamwork principles as a powerful modality to achieve efficient and optimal patient care. Most importantly, we wish to emphasize that health care, both philosophically and practically, is delivered best through high-performance teams. For such teams to perform properly, the organizational environment must support the team concept tangibly. In concert, we believe the best manner in which to cultivate knowledge and performance of the health-care organizational mission and goals is by using such teams.

Morbid obesity and diverticulitis: Results from the ACS Nsqip dataset

BACKGROUND We examined the relationship between morbid obesity, clinical presentation, and perioperative outcomes in patients offered surgery for diverticulitis. STUDY DESIGN We queried the ACS NSQIP dataset from 2005 to 2010 for patients undergoing surgery for nonhemorrhaging diverticulitis. Univariate comparisons were made between normal weight (NL) and morbidly obese (MO) patients in terms of demographics, clinical presentation, and perioperative and postoperative outcomes variables using chi-square or rank tests. Multivariable regression was used to adjust for age in assessing the impact of MO on the likelihood of emergent surgery (ES), ostomy creation, open surgery, and undergoing procedures without an anastomosis. RESULTS We identified 10,952 patients undergoing surgery for diverticulitis; morbidly obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 40 kg/m(2), n = 592, 5.7%), normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 25 kg/m(2), n = 2,530, 24.2%). Morbidly obese patients were younger than NL patients by an average of 9.4 years (p < 0.001). Morbidly obese patients underwent ES more frequently than NL patients (19.3% vs 15.4%; p = 0.025). Multivariable regression identified morbid obesity as an independent risk factor for ES (odds ratio [OR] 1.75, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.24, p < 0.001), ostomy creation (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.08, p < 0.001), undergoing procedures without an anastomosis (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.42 to 2.24, p < 0.001), and open surgery (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.72 to 2.53, p < 0.001). Morbidly obese patients undergoing ES had more preoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome/sepsis/septic shock than NL patients (72.8% vs 57.7%, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS Morbidly obese patients undergoing surgery for diverticulitis are nearly 10 years younger than NL patients and are more likely to require ES, ostomy creation, open surgery, and to undergo procedures without an anastomosis. Morbidly obese patients undergoing ES also have more preoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome/sepsis/septic shock.

Morbid obesity and diverticulitis: Results from the ACS NSQIP dataset

RESULTS The overall margin-positive resection rate was 5.2%. Patients with margins positive for cancer were more likely to be older, male, and African American; not have private insurance; and have their cancer diagnosed later in the study period. Associated tumor-related factors include rectal location, higher American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, signet/mucinous histology, and poor/undifferentiated grade. Among hospitals that were significantly low outliers, 47%were comprehensive community hospitals, and 43.9% were academic/research hospitals; of those that were significantly high outliers, 52.3%were comprehensive community hospitals, and 17.8%were academic/research hospitals. High-volume centers made up 80% of significantly low outlier hospitals and 17% of significantly high outlier hospitals. The rates of chemotherapy and radiation were similar, but low outlier hospitals gavemore neoadjuvant radiation (26.3% vs 17%).