Search Results (14)

This prospective study aimed to (1) compare the diagnostic performance of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT with respect to conventional imaging (computed tomography (CT) and bone scintigraphy (BS)) in the primary staging of high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients and (2) validate PSMA-PET/CT accuracy in pelvic nodal staging in comparison with postoperative histopathology and assess PSMA-PET/CT’s impact on patient management. Sixty castration-sensitive high-risk (ISUP 4–5 and/or PSA > 20 ng/mL and/or cT3) PCa patients eligible for radical prostatectomy were enrolled (median PSA 10.10 [IQR: 6.22–17.95] ng/mL). PSMA-PET/CT, compared with CT, identified nodal (N) and/or distant metastases (M1) in 56.7% (34/60) vs. 13.3% (8/60) (p < 0.001) of patients: N + 45% vs. 13.3% (p < 0.001), M1a 11.7% vs. 1.7% (p = 0.03), M1b 23.3% vs. 1.7% (p < 0.001). Compared with BS, PSMA-PET/CT localized unknown skeletal metastases in 15% (9/60) of cases, with no false negative findings. Overall, PSMA-PET/CT led to a TNM upstaging in 45.0% (27/60) of cases, with no evidence of downstaging, resulting in a change in management in up to 28.8% (17/59) of patients. Compared with histopathology data (n = 32 patients), the per-patient accuracy of PSMA-PET/TC for detecting pelvic nodal metastases was 90.6%. Overall, the above evidence supports the use of PSMA-PET/CT in the diagnostic workup of high-risk prostate cancer staging. Full article

(1) Background: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a hereditary condition characterized by the development of numerous adenomas in the large intestine, often necessitating colectomy due to an elevated risk of colorectal cancer. Despite surgical intervention, adenomas frequently recur, underscoring the importance of ongoing surveillance. This study evaluates the outcomes of a 12-year endoscopic follow-up after colectomy and gastrointestinal reconstruction for FAP. (2) Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 41 FAP patients who underwent at least one postoperative endoscopic examination. Assessments of the pouch or rectum were performed every 12–18 months following ileorectal anastomosis and every 18–24 months after ileal pouch–anal anastomosis. Follow-up biopsies were assessed using the adopted Spigelman classification. (3) Results: Postoperative pathology revealed invasive colorectal cancer in three patients. Abdominoperineal resection was performed in two cases due to secondary invasive carcinoma, and one T1 tumor was radically removed with ESD. One patient underwent radical pouch excision following a nodal pelvic recurrence of rectal cancer. Over a 12-year observation period, the mean Spigelman score increased by 2 points, and the proportion of patients with low-grade polypoid lesions decreased. The quantity or size of polyps increased in 24 patients, decreased in 8 patients, and remained stable in 9 patients. In four patients, granular, laterally spreading tumors were discovered in the rectal stump. (4) Conclusions: Regular endoscopic surveillance in FAP patients facilitates early identification of neoplastic and inflammatory changes. The downstaging potential highlights the effectiveness of early interventions. While the Spigelman classification assessed polyps well, it did not predict cancer occurrence. A notable number of patients had invasive cancer at the time of surgery, underscoring the importance of early surgical qualification, which is particularly crucial for identifying upstaging or secondary cancer. Full article

Lymphadenectomy represents a fundamental step in the staging and treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, the extension of lymphadenectomy in early-stage NSCLC is a debated topic due to its possible complications. The detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) is a strategy that can improve the selection of patients in which a more extended lymphadenectomy is necessary. This pilot study aimed to refine lymph nodal staging in early-stage NSCLC patients who underwent robotic lung resection through the application of innovative intraoperative sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification and the pathological evaluation using one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA). Clinical N0 NSCLC patients planning to undergo robotic lung resection were selected. The day before surgery, all patients underwent radionuclide computed tomography (CT)-guided marking of the primary lung lesion and subsequently Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) to identify tracer migration and, consequently, the area with higher radioactivity. On the day of surgery, the lymph nodal radioactivity was detected intraoperatively using a gamma camera. SLN was defined as the lymph node with the highest numerical value of radioactivity. The OSNA amplification, detecting the mRNA of CK19, was used for the detection of nodal metastases in the lymph nodes, including SLN. From March to July 2021, a total of 8 patients (3 female; 5 male), with a mean age of 66 years (range 48–77), were enrolled in the study. No complications relating to the CT-guided marking or preoperative SPECT were found. An average of 5.3 lymph nodal stations were examined (range 2–8). N2 positivity was found in 3 out of 8 patients (37.5%). Consequently, pathological examination of lymph nodes with OSNA resulted in three upstages from the clinical IB stage to pathological IIIA stage. Moreover, in 1 patient (18%) with nodal upstaging, a positive node was intraoperatively identified as SLN. Comparing this protocol to the usual practice, no difference was found in terms of the operating time, conversion rate, and complication rate. Our preliminary experience suggests that sentinel lymph node detection, in association with the accurate pathological staging of cN0 patients achieved using OSNA, is safe and effective in the identification of metastasis, which is usually undetected by standard diagnostic methods. Full article

Background and Objective: In the therapeutic strategy of rectal cancer, radiotherapy has consolidated its important position and frequent use in current practice due to its indications as neoadjuvant, adjuvant, definitive, or palliative treatment. In recent years, total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) has been established as the preferred regimen compared to concurrent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). In relation to better outcomes, the percentage of patients who achieved pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant treatment is higher in the case of TNT. This study aimed to analyze the response to TNT compared to neoadjuvant CRT regarding pCR rate and the change in staging after surgical intervention. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 323 patients with rectal cancer and finally analyzed the data of 201 patients with neoadjuvant treatment, selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients received CRT neoadjuvant therapy or TNT neoadjuvant therapy with FOLFOX or CAPEOX. Results: Out of 157 patients who underwent TNT treatment, 19.74% had pathological complete response, whereas in the group with CRT (n = 44), those with pCR were 13.64%. After neoadjuvant treatment, the most frequent TNM classifications were ypT2 (40.30%) and ypN0 (79.10%). The statistical analysis of the postoperative disease stage, after neoadjuvant therapy, showed that the most frequent changes were downstaging (71.14%) and complete response (18.41%). Only four patients (1.99%) had an upstaging change. The majority of patients (88.56%) initially presented clinical evidence of nodal involvement whereas only 20.9% of the patients still presented regional disease at the time of surgical intervention. Conclusions: By using TNT, a higher rate of stage reduction is obtained compared to the neoadjuvant CRT treatment. The post-neoadjuvant-treatment imagistic evaluation fails to accurately evaluate the response. A better response to TNT was observed in young patients. Full article

Radioiodine imaging in initial perioperative settings, after the total thyroidectomy, includes pre-treatment and post-treatment radioiodine imaging. While the benefit of post-treatment whole-body imaging (PT-WBI) is well established, the role of diagnostic whole-body imaging (dx WBI), prior to radioiodine (I-131) ablative or therapeutic doses, is controversial. Dx WBI has been abandoned in most nuclear medicine centers long ago. Planar low-dose dxWBI provides the volume of postoperative thyroid remnants, but it cannot detect occult metastatic foci in the neck. The modern integrated multimodality, i.e., SPECT/CT imaging, provides three dimensional images and accurate anatomic/metabolic data. This hybrid technology offers better spatial resolution but not better sensitivity. Dx WBI has low theranostic power because of the radioiodine indifference and low detection sensitivity for small-volume nodal disease in the neck. Since dx WBI cannot clarify the paratracheal cervical uptake, thyroid remnants may be easily misinterpreted as nodal disease, leading to a false N upstaging (from N0 stage to N1 stage) in DTC patients. Post-ablation I-131 imaging has a significant role in the initial staging of radioiodine-avid DTC and in the identification of non-radioiodine avid tumors. Additionally, SPECT/CT in the post-treatment setting provides more accurate initial TNM staging and better risk stratification of DTC patients. Post-treatment I-131 imaging is obligatory and must be performed in all DTC patients who receive radioiodine treatment. Full article

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most diagnosed gynecologic malignancy, and its incidence and mortality are increasing. The prognosis is highly dependent on the disease spread. Surgical staging includes retroperitoneal evaluation to detect potential lymph node metastases. In recent years, systematic lymphadenectomy has been replaced by sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy and ultrastaging, allowing for the detection of macrometastases, micrometastases, and isolated tumor cells (ITCs). Micrometastases and ITCs have been grouped as low-volume metastases (LVM). The reported prevalence of LVM in studies enrolling more than one thousand patients with apparent early-stage EC ranges from 1.9% to 10.2%. Different rates of LVM are observed when patients are stratified according to disease characteristics and their risk of recurrence. Patients with EC at low risk for recurrence have low rates of LVM, while intermediate- and high-risk patients have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with nodal metastases, including LVM. Macro- and micrometastases increase the risk of recurrence and cause upstaging, while the clinical significance of ITCs is still uncertain. A recent meta-analysis found that patients with LVM have a higher relative risk of recurrence [1.34 (95% CI: 1.07–1.67)], regardless of adjuvant treatment. In a retrospective study on patients with low-risk EC and no adjuvant treatment, those with ITCs had worse recurrence-free survival compared to node-negative patients (85.1%; CI 95% 73.8–98.2 versus 90.2%; CI 95% 84.9–95.8). However, a difference was no longer observed after the exclusion of cases with lymphovascular space invasion. There is no consensus on adjuvant treatment in ITC patients at otherwise low risk, and their recurrence rate is low. Multi-institutional, prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the clinical significance of ITCs in low-risk patients. Further stratification of patients, considering histopathological and molecular features of the disease, may clarify the role of LVM and especially ITCs in specific contexts. Full article

The detection of lymph node metastases is a major challenge in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC and OPSCC). ⁶⁸Ga-NOTA-AE105 is a novel positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand with high affinity to urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), a receptor expressed on the surfaces of tumor cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of uPAR-PET/CT (computerized tomography) in detecting regional metastatic disease in patients with OSCC and OPSCC compared to the current imaging work-up. In this phase II trial, patients with OSCC and OPSCC referred for surgical treatment were prospectively enrolled. Before surgery, ⁶⁸Ga-NOTA-AE105 uPAR-PET/CT was conducted, and SUVmax values were obtained from the primary tumor and the suspected lymph nodes. Histology results from lymph nodes were used as the standard of truth of metastatic disease. The diagnostic values of ⁶⁸Ga-uPAR-PET/CT were compared to conventional routine preoperative imaging results (CT and/or MRI). The uPAR expression in resected primary tumors and metastases was determined by immunohistochemistry and quantified digitally (H-score). A total of 61 patients underwent uPAR-PET/CT. Of the 25 patients with histologically verified lymph node metastases, uPAR-PET/CT correctly identified regional metastatic disease in 14 patients, with a median lymph node metastasis size of 14 mm (range 3–27 mm). A significant correlation was found between SUVmax and the product of the H-score and tumor depth (r = 0.67; p = 0.003). The sensitivity and specificity of uPAR-PET/CT in detecting regional metastatic disease were 56% and 100%, respectively. When added to CT/MRI, uPAR-PET was able to upstage 2/11 (18%) of patients with occult metastases and increase the sensitivity to 64%. The sensitivity and specificity of ⁶⁸Ga-NOTA-AE105 uPAR-PET/CT were equivalent to those of CT/MRI. The significant correlation between SUVmax and uPAR expression verified the target specificity of ⁶⁸Ga-NOTA-AE105. Despite the target specificity, the sensitivity of imaging is too low for nodal staging and it cannot replace neck dissection. Full article

Prompt diagnosis and surgical management of melanoma strongly impact prognosis. Considering the limited resources, emergency closures, and staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, our institution implemented a dedicated care pathway to prioritize cancer surgeries. We aim to assess whether this strategy was effective at preventing surgical wait time delays and upstaging of melanoma. We retrospectively collected data of patients aged ≥18 years with biopsy-proven primary melanoma who underwent wide local excision (WLE) ± sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) between 1 March 2018–29 February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 1 March 2020–22 March 2022 (pandemic). Patients with distant metastasis, recurrence, in situ disease, and unknown primary were excluded. Wait time from consult to surgery, tumour (T) and nodal (N) stage, and overall stage were collected. Results: We included 419 patients [pre-pandemic (n = 204) and pandemic (n = 215)]. Median wait time (days) [interquartile range] to surgery was 36 [22–48] pre-pandemic and 35 [24–49] during the pandemic (p = 0.888). There were no differences found in T stage (p = 0.060), N stage (p = 0.214), or overall melanoma stage (p = 0.192). We highlight the importance of streamlining melanoma surgery during a pandemic. As the need arises to meet surgical backlogs including benign surgery, dedicated cancer surgery should maintain a priority to not negatively affect cancer outcomes. Full article

Background. Since no robust data are available on the real rate of unforeseen N1-N2 disease (uN) and the relative predictive factors in clinical-N0 NSCLC with peripheral tumours > 3 cm, the usefulness of performing a (mini)invasive mediastinal staging in this setting is debated. Herein, we investigated these issues in a nationwide database. Methods. From 01/2014 to 06/2020, 15,784 thoracoscopic major lung resections were prospectively recorded in the “Italian VATS-Group” database. Among them, 1982 clinical-N0 peripheral solid-type NSCLC > 3 cm were identified, and information was retrospectively reviewed. A mean comparison of more than two groups was made by ANOVA (Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons), while associations between the categorical variables were estimated with a Chi-square test. The multivariate logistic regression model and Kaplan–Meyer method were used to identify the independent predictors of nodal upstaging and survival results, respectively. Results. At pathological staging, 229 patients had N1-involvement (11.6%), and 169 had uN2 disease (8.5%). Independent predictors of uN1 were SUVmax (OR: 1.98; CI 95: 1.44–2.73, p = 0.0001) and tumour-size (OR: 1.52; CI: 1.11–2.10, p = 0.01), while independent predictors of uN2 were age (OR: 0.98; CI 95: 0.96–0.99, p = 0.039), histology (OR: 0.48; CI 95: 0.30–0.78, p = 0.003), SUVmax (OR: 2.07; CI 95: 1.15–3.72, p = 0.015), and the number of resected lymph nodes (OR: 1.03; CI 95: 1.01–1.05, p = 0.002). Conclusions. The unforeseen N1-N2 disease in cN0/NSCLCs > 3 cm undergoing VATS resection is observable in between 12 and 8% of all cases. We have identified predictors that could guide physicians in selecting the best candidate for (mini)invasive mediastinal staging. Full article

Objectives: The most notable changes in the eighth edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging System include incorporating the depth of invasion (DOI) into T staging and extranodal extension (ENE) into N staging. In this study, we retrospectively assessed the prognostic and clinical implications of the eighth TNM staging system. Materials and Methods: Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) who were treated surgically between 2010 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Tumors were first staged according to the seventh edition and restaged using the eighth edition. The prognostic value of the resultant upstaging was evaluated. Results: Integrating the DOI into the T classification resulted in the upstaging of 65 patients, whereas incorporating ENE into the N staging resulted in the upstaging of 18 patients (p < 0.001). Upstaging due to DOI integration had no significant effect on OS or DSS (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the importance of incorporating ENE into nodal staging and considering adjuvant therapy when ENE is present. Full article

Background: While the thoracotomy approach was considered the gold standard until two decades ago, robotic surgery has increasingly strengthened its role in lung cancer treatment, improving patients’ peri-operative outcomes. In this study, we report our experience in robotic lobectomy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, with particular attention to oncological outcomes and nodal upstaging rate. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent lobectomy and radical lymphadenectomy at our Institute between 2016 and 2020. We selected 299 patients who met the inclusion criteria of the study. We analyzed the demographic features of the groups as well as their nodal upstaging rate after pathological examination. Then, we analyzed disease-free and overall survival of the entire enrolled patient population and we compared the same oncological outcomes in the upstaging and the non-upstaging group. Results: A total of 299 patients who underwent robotic lobectomy were enrolled. After surgery, 55 patients reported nodal hilar or mediastinal upstaging. The 3-year overall survival of the entire population was 82.8%. The upstaging group and the non-upstaging group were homogeneous for age, gender, smoking habits, clinical stage, tumor site, tumor histology. The non-upstaging group had better OS (p = 0.004) and DFS (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Our results show that robotic surgery is a safe and feasible approach for the treatment of early-stage NSCLC, especially for its accuracy in mediastinal lymphadenectomy. The oncological outcomes were encouraging and consistent with previous findings. Full article

Nodal upstaging of lung adenocarcinoma occurs when unexpected pathological lymph node metastasis is found after surgical intervention, and may be associated with a worse prognosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the predictive factors of nodal upstaging in cT1a-bN0M0 primary lung adenocarcinoma. We retrospectively reviewed a prospective database (January 2011 to May 2017) at National Taiwan University Hospital and identified patients with cT1a-bN0M0 (solid part tumor diameter ≤ 2 cm) lung adenocarcinoma who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. Logistic regression models and survival analysis were used to examine and compare the predictive factors of nodal upstaging. A total of 352 patients were included. Among them, 28 (7.8%) patients had nodal upstaging. Abnormal preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, solid part tumor diameter ≥ 1.3 cm, and consolidation–tumor (C/T) ratio ≥ 0.50 on chest computed tomography (CT) were significant predictive factors associated with nodal upstaging, and patients with nodal upstaging tended to have worse survival. Standard lobectomy is recommended for patients with these predictive factors. If neither of the predictive factors are positive, a less invasive procedure may be a reasonable alternative. Further studies are needed to verify these data. Full article

We evaluated the prognostic impact of vascular invasion (VI) compared with nodal (N) stage and developed a new staging system including VI in colon cancer. Patients who underwent curative resection with stage II-III colon cancer were assigned to VI and non-VI groups; the latter was subclassified as N0, N1, and N2; a new TNVM staging was devised by adding the V-stage. Among the 2243 study participants, the VI group independently showed worse oncological outcomes than the N1 group (disease-free survival (DFS), hazard-ratio (HR) 1.704, 1.267–2.291; overall survival (OS), HR 2.301, 1.582–3.348). The 5-year DFS in the VI group was 63.4% [N1b (74.6%), p = 0.003; N2a (69.7%), p = 0.126; and N2b (56.8%), p = 0.276], and the 5-year OS was 76.6% [N1b (84.9%), p = 0.004; N2a (83.0%), p = 0.047; and N2b (76.1%), p = 0.906]. Thus, we considered VI as N2a in TNVM staging; 78 patients (3.5%) underwent upstaging. The 5-year OS rates of stage IIB and IIC increased from 88.6% and 65.9% in TNM staging to 90.5% and 85.7% in TNVM staging, respectively. In stage II–III colon cancer, VI had a similar prognostic impact as the N2 stage without VI. The incorporation of the V-stage into the conventional TNM staging facilitates better prediction of prognosis. Full article

Introduction: The value of PET-CT in radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with regard to determination of target volumes is established. It is less clear whether its use can improve clinical outcomes of irradiated NSCLC patients compared to conventional staging. The outcome of NSCLC patients included in a previously published prospective study of the value of PET-CT in curative radiotherapy candidates was assessed. Material and methods: Patients were treated according to the PET-CT findings. The survival data were compared between 67 patients treated curatively and 22 patients with palliative treatment given after upstaging based on the PET-CT findings. Survival of curatively treated stage III patients was compared with a previously published outcome of 173 stage III patients treated in the same institution with the same radiation schedule but without PET-CT. Results: The 3-year overall survival was 42% and 0% (median: 21 months and 7 months), for curatively and palliatively managed patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). However, the median overall survival of 17 months for 50 stage III patients was the same as that in a previously published series of stage III patients treated with the same radiation schedule but without PET-CT. Three-year overall survival rates were 33% for the PET-CT group and 19% for historical group, p = 0.1. Twenty-one local recurrences and 21 distant metastases were reported. Three of 50 patients (6%) treated without elective nodal irradiation developed isolated nodal failure (without local recurrence). Conclusions: The high early mortality rate in the patients excluded from curative radiotherapy after PET-CT suggests the potential value of PET-CT for improving the radiotherapy outcome. However, this benefit seems to be limited in stage III patients. Full article