Yimei Han

Margin re‐excision and local recurrence in invasive breast cancer: A cost analysis using a decision tree model

SSO‐ASTRO recently published guidelines defining adequate margins in breast conservation therapy (BCT) as no tumor on ink based on studies demonstrating little difference in local recurrence (LR) with wider margins. We hypothesize that not routinely re‐excising close margins results in decreased costs without compromising care.

Reporting of mitotic rate in cutaneous melanoma: A study using the national cancer data base: Mitotic Rate in Cutaneous Melanoma

The seventh edition of the American Joint Commission on Cancer staging manual (AJCC7, published 2009), updated thin cutaneous melanoma staging protocols with the incorporation of mitotic rate (MR). In these patients, higher MR is associated with decreased survival. This study utilizes the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) to evaluate MR reporting since AJCC7.

Letter response: Reporting of mitotic rate in cutaneous melanoma

We appreciate the points raised by Roncati et al in their recent letter to the editor regarding our paper on reporting of mitotic rate in cutaneous melanoma. The primary aim of our paper was to determine whether or not physicians were following the guidelines as set forth in the AJCC 7th edition. We did not analyze or report the biological importance of mitotic rate based on data in the NCDB. As Roncati et al indicate, other patterns of behavior such as radial and vertical growth phase may be of use in understanding the metastatic potential of any given melanoma.

Frequency of unplanned surgical intervention in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer receiving palliative chemotherapy: An analysis of SEER-Medicare.

640 Background: Patients (pts) with synchronous stage IV colorectal cancer commonly begin palliative chemotherapy while the primary tumor remains. Single institution series report low rates of surgical intervention, but this has not been examined nationally. The present study utilizes a large national dataset to examine the natural history of unplanned surgical intervention in stage IV colorectal cancer pts on palliative chemotherapy. Methods: SEER-Medicare was queried for pts with metastatic colorectal cancer (1998-2009) who underwent resection or diversion (ICD9 procedure/CPT). The cohort was separated into 3 groups: elective (surgery on admission without urgent/emergent flag), urgent (surgery not on day of admission but within hospitalization or with urgent flag) and emergent (emergent flag). Pts who underwent any procedure for curative intent (elective colorectal surgery, liver directed therapy or surgery for pulmonary metastases) at any time were excluded. Demographics, tumor grade and comorbidities ...

Incidence and survival of patients with T0N1 breast cancers.

56 Background: As imaging modalities have improved, breast cancers are increasingly detected at earlier stages. Patients rarely present with axillary disease but no mammographically evident breast tumor. Based on analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data, we determined that there has been an increase in incidence of T1aN1 breast cancers. In response, we hypothesize that T0N1 breast cancer incidence has decreased with increased MRI use. Moreover, SEER analysis showed that T1aN1 patients have worse survival than T1bN1 patients. We thus hypothesize that T0N1 patients have worse survival than T1N1 patients. METHODS We identified 36,093 female patients diagnosed with T0-1 N1 invasive breast cancer from the SEER database. We compared patient and tumor characteristics: age, race, histology, hormone receptor status, and diagnosis year group (1990-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2005, 2006-2010) - by TN category (T0N1/T1aN1/T1bN1/T1cN1) using chi-square test and ANOVA. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate disease specific survival (DSS) for each TN category and diagnosis year group separately. Adjusted hazard ratios were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Stage distribution was: T0N1=129, T1aN1=1294, T1bN1=6731, and T1cN1=27942 patients. Median ages were 59.6, 56.3, 59.1, and 58.1, respectively. Time trend analysis of T0N1 cancers showed an increase in incidence from 1990 to 1999 and stability after 2000. Five-year DSS was significantly worse for patients with T0N1 tumors than T1aN1 tumors (84.5% versus 94.1%, HR 0.513, p < 0.0001). T0N1 tumors were more likely to be ER negative than T1b-cN1 tumors (23% versus 16%, p < 0.0001). T0N1 tumors were also more likely to be ER negative than T1aN1 tumors, but did not reach statistical significance (23% vs. 20%, p = 0.09). The proportion of lobular cancers was significantly higher in T0N1 than T1aN1 or T1b-cN1 patients (18% versus 8%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Our analysis suggests that T0N1 tumors may differ biologically from T1N1 tumors. Although the incidence of T0N1 tumors did not decrease, it remained stable after 2000 when the use of MRI for occult breast cancers became widely accepted. Our second hypothesis that survival is worse in patients with T0N1 tumors was confirmed by our analysis.