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Biomedical subjects

B Cady

Publications and source records attributed to B Cady.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Technical and biological factors in disease-free survival after hepatic resection for colorectal cancer metastases.

Careful patient selection for hepatic resection of colorectal cancer metastases is essential to improve current poor results. Carcinoembryonic antigen level and number of metastases were significant preoperative prognostic indicators of 5-year disease-free survival in patients selected clinically for hepatic surgery. Surgical margin, weight of hepatic tissue resected, carcinoembryonic antigen level, and flow cytometry were significant postoperative prognostic indicators. Patients with a carcinoembryonic antigen level less than 200 ng/mL, 1-cm surgical margins, and less than 1,000 g of liver tissue removed had a greater than 50% estimated 5-year disease-free survival rate. If the metastases were diploid on flow cytometry, an additional survival advantage may have been gained. Inadequate surgical margins led to high rates of liver-only recurrence. Nonhepatic recurrence was unrelated to surgical margins. Intraoperative liver examination by ultrasound during primary colon cancer resection and adjuvant chemotherapy may offer earlier selection of biologically appropriate patients and improved outcome; both recommendations require clinical trials.

Adult

Recurrence in the breast following conservative surgery and radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer.

This report summarizes the experience of the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy (JCRT) in treating patients with clinical stage I and II breast cancer with conservative surgery and radiation therapy. The study population consisted of 1396 patients treated between 1968 and 1985. All patients underwent a gross excision of the tumor and received breast irradiation (with or without nodal irradiation) including a "boost" to bring the primary tumor site to a total dose of at least 60 Gy. The method of treatment evolved over the study-time period. During the interval from 1968 to 1982, patients typically underwent a limited gross excision of the tumor without regard to the microscopic margins of resection. During the period 1983 to 1985, film-screen mammography, inking of specimen margins, and reexcisions for inevaluable or involved margins were more commonly performed. With a median follow-up of 80 months, the 5-year crude rate of failure in the breast (as the first site of failure) was 8% (106/1396) and the crude rate of regional nodal/distant failure (as the first site of failure) was 16% (228/1396). The time-course of failures in the breast was protracted, occurring at a fairly constant rate over the first 7 years after treatment, but still seen beyond that point. Most recurrences in the breast (75%) developed at or near the original tumor site. The most important risk factor for developing a breast recurrence was the presence of an extensive intraductal component in the tumor. The cosmetic results following treatment were excellent or good in the majority of patients (87%) and were most adversely affected by extensive surgery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Breast Neoplasms

Results of treating ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast with conservative surgery and radiation therapy.

To determine the frequency, pattern, and time course of tumor recurrence in the breast, the outcome of 38 women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) treated with conservative surgery and radiation therapy between 1976 and 1985 was studied. Surgery typically consisted of local excision without evaluation of the microscopic margins of resection. The median radiation dose to the tumor site was 6400 cGy. With a median follow-up time of 81 months, eight patients (21%) have experienced a recurrence in the breast. The time course to recurrence was protracted in some cases, with failures occurring at 17, 27, 43, 63, 71, 83, 92, and 104 months. The 5-year and 8-year actuarial rates of tumor recurrence in the breast were 8% and 27%, respectively. Seven patients had a recurrence at or near the primary tumor site, four with invasive carcinoma, and one had an invasive recurrence at a site elsewhere in the breast. No clinical or pathologic factor was significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrence, but the number of patients in the study population was small. The authors reached the following conclusions for patients with DCIS treated with conservative surgery and radiation therapy without careful mammographic and pathologic evaluation: (1) recurrence in the breast may be seen in at least one fifth of the patients; (2) recurrence typically occurs at or near the primary site; and (3) recurrence can occur long after treatment. Careful mammographic and pathologic assessment may be useful in reducing the local recurrence rate and should be considered essential if patients are considered for conservative surgery and radiation therapy.

Adult

A 5-year study of cryosurgery in the treatment of liver tumors.

This report summarizes our 5-year experience with cryosurgery for in situ ablation of liver tumors. The liver was exposed with laparotomy, and the tumors were subjected to two freeze-thaw cycles using liquid nitrogen delivered by insulated probes; cryoablation was monitored with intraoperative ultrasonography. Tumor markers and computed tomography evaluated tumor response during long-term follow-up. From 1985 to 1990, 32 patients (19 men and 13 women) were entered into this study. The histologic characteristics of the tumors were as follows: colorectal, 24 patients; hepatoma, three patients; neuroendocrine, two patients; and others, three patients. After a follow-up period of 5 to 60 months (median follow-up, 24 months), nine patients (28%) remained disease free, 11 patients (34%) were alive with disease, and 12 patients (38%) died. The patterns of failure included liver and extrahepatic disease in 54% of cases, liver disease only in 32% of cases, and extrahepatic disease only in 14% of cases. In patients with "liver only" failure, recurrence at the treatment site occurred in three patients (9%). This study establishes the long-term effectiveness of cryosurgery in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver tumors.

Adult

The role of surgical resection of liver metastases in colorectal carcinoma.

While hepatic resection of colorectal carcinoma, metastatic to the liver, is a suitable and effective treatment, it nevertheless remains applicable only to a highly selective group of patients. Even within this highly selective group of patients only a minority will survive 5 years disease-free indicating the increased sophistication needed to understand the biological factors that control outcome. It is clear that the good results come from biological suitability and not temporal acceleration of the detection process. Appropriate patients after careful selection and sophisticated diagnostic studies should be subjected to exploration and attempted hepatic resection. A preliminary prognostic scoring system has been presented to illustrate the usefulness of this approach.

Aftercare

Conservative surgery and radiotherapy for early breast cancer.

In 1984, as part of a prior American Cancer Society National Conference on Breast Cancer, the authors reported on the status of conservative surgery (CS) and radiotherapy (RT) as primary local treatment for women with early stage breast cancer. Since that time, additional data have become available regarding the use of this approach and its comparability to mastectomy. In general, these data support the use of CS and RT and, as a result, this approach is now more widely employed in the United States and abroad than it was in 1984. The current focus of inquiry has shifted from whether or not CS and RT is an acceptable option for patients with early stage breast cancer to the following questions. For which patients are CS and RT suitable? What are the best techniques of surgery and RT? Are there any patients who can be treated safely with CS without RT? How should RT and systemic therapy be integrated when both are to be used? In this report, recent results on the use of CS and RT from both retrospective and prospective trials are summarized, and these current areas of inquiry are addressed.

Breast Neoplasms

Surgical therapy for recurrent liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

Forty percent of patients whose disease recurs after hepatic resection for liver metastases from colorectal cancer initially will have liver-only metastases. We have retrospectively reviewed our experience with repeated surgical treatment for liver-only recurrence after previous hepatic resection for colorectal metastases. Repeated hepatic procedures were performed with no mortality in 10 patients. Intraoperative ultrasound allowed identification of three unsuspected metastases and determination of unresectability of two metastases during 11 procedures. Three patients were free of disease at 31, 41, and 48 months from the first hepatic procedure and at 15, 31, and 43 months from the second procedure. Five patients have remained free of hepatic disease. Patients whose initial metastases were less than 6 cm in diameter and had single liver recurrences after hepatic resection appeared to be the best candidates for further surgical therapy. These data and a review of the literature suggest that surgical treatment of recurrent liver metastases from colorectal cancer can be performed safely, and it is associated with long-term disease-free survival in up to 38% of highly selected patients.

Aged

Early breast cancer: predictors of breast recurrence for patients treated with conservative surgery and radiation therapy.

The identification of factors associated with breast recurrence following conservative surgery (CS) and radiation therapy (RT) is of potential use in refining patient selection criteria and treatment technique. In an attempt to define such factors we examined the relationship between various clinical, pathologic and treatment characteristics and the likelihood of breast recurrence in 783 patients with clinical stage I or II breast cancer treated between July 1968 and December 1982. Treatment consisted of complete gross excision of the primary tumor and RT to a total dose of at least 60 Gy to the primary site. During this period, pre-treatment mammograms and detailed histologic assessment of the margins of resection were not routinely performed. Median follow-up for surviving patients was 80 months. Thirteen patients (1.6%) were lost to follow-up. Ninety-one patients (12%) have developed a breast recurrence, corresponding to 5- and 10-year actuarial rates of 10 and 18%, respectively. The major feature associated with breast recurrence was the presence of an "extensive intraductal component" (EIC+). An EIC+ tumor was seen in 28% of evaluable cases with infiltrating ductal carcinoma and accounted for 60% of breast recurrences. Forty-three of 166 patients (26%) with EIC+ tumors developed a breast recurrence compared with 29 of 418 patients (7%) without an EIC (EIC-) (p = 0.0001). The 5-year actuarial rates of breast relapse were 24 and 6%, respectively (p = 0.0001). Very young age (defined as 34 years of age or younger) was also a significant factor associated with the risk of breast recurrence. Very young patients comprised 8% of the patient population and accounted for 16% of breast recurrences. Fifteen of 61 very young patients (25%) developed a breast recurrence compared with 76 of 722 older patients (11%) (p = 0.001). The corresponding 5-year actuarial rates of breast recurrence were 21 and 9% (p = 0.005). None of the other clinical or pathological factors examined by univariate analysis were significantly correlated with recurrence in the breast. A multivariate model of site of first failure (polychotomous logistic regression) also showed that EIC+ tumors and very young age were the main factors associated with a high relative risk of breast recurrence. We conclude that EIC+ tumors and very young age are associated with a high risk of breast recurrence for patients treated with limited excision prior to RT.

Actuarial Analysis

Techniques of lumpectomy and axillary dissection.

Preservation of the breast with a good or excellent cosmetic appearance is achievable in most patients. Careful attention to the details of surgical technique allows these procedures to be carried out easily and comfortably for the patient and the surgeon alike.

Anesthesia

Selection of breast-preservation therapy for primary invasive breast carcinoma.

Breast-preservation treatment for primary breast cancer should not be used for all women. Women frequently excluded from consideration for such treatment or who choose not to have it may be elderly and not concerned about cosmetic appearance or live at a distance so that 6 weeks of daily trips to radiotherapy would be inconvenient or even impossible. Also, if radiotherapeutic expertise or facilities are not available, a breast-preservation program is difficult. In Massachusetts, a full course of just over 6000 cGy (4500 cGy to the whole breast and a 1600-cGy local boost) costs roughly $6000. Thus, breast preservation is more expensive than mastectomy even with reconstruction, as patients still frequently require a hospital admission with general anesthesia for an axillary dissection. Although insurance policies cover such expenses, patients who do not have insurance or have inadequate coverage may find the extra expense of the breast-preservation technique burdensome or impossible. Women with a small breast and a proportionately large cancer may have an unsatisfactory cosmetic outcome after appropriate lumpectomy. The cosmetic result in such patients frequently cannot be predicted beforehand; this fact adds emphasis to the need for a two-step process of lumpectomy and then re-evaluation of the cosmetic outcome as well as pathologic features for decisions regarding breast preservation. Finally, women may have strikingly different attitudes toward breast preservation than expected by the surgeon. For some women, the urge to preserve the breast is so strong that they will accept virtually any risk to achieve this option, whereas for other women, the constant anxiety about a recurrence or undergoing radiation therapy is traumatic enough that they readily accept mastectomy. In our referral surgical oncology practice, roughly 60% of patients are currently treated with breast-preservation techniques; the remainder undergo mastectomy, with immediate reconstruction in approximately three fourths of the cases. The proportion of patients who elect to have breast preservation depends greatly on local medical customs and attitudes; the radiotherapeutic skills available; women's attitudes, which frequently are dependent on the local press and publicity; and the surgeon's interest and enthusiasm for such a program. There is no appropriate proportion of patients who should be treated by breast-preservation techniques, but clearly, the proportion of patients so treated increases with experience, acceptability, publicity, and availability. Thus, the selection of breast-preserving therapy for individual patients is a result of an extraordinary array of factors that need to be considered in each patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Breast

Clinical problems in follow-up of patients after conservative surgery and radiotherapy.

Patients treated with conservative surgery and radiotherapy for early-stage breast carcinoma are at risk of developing an ipsilateral breast recurrence for a long period. Fortunately, few such patients present with an inoperable recurrence or simultaneous distant metastases. Salvage rates are high and may be improved by early detection. Although usually unambiguous, physical examination of the treated breast may reveal changes attributable to surgery and radiotherapy that can mimic a recurrent cancer. There also is substantial overlap in radiologic appearance between benign and malignant lesions. It may be necessary to perform a biopsy when there is a question of recurrence. Careful life-long follow-up of patients thus is a critical part of their care.

Breast Neoplasms

Risk factor analysis in differentiated thyroid cancer.

Six hundred patients with primary differentiated thyroid carcinoma had follow-up studies for a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 45 years. Recurrence rate and death rate were significantly different in defined high-risk and low-risk groups of patients. These basic risk groups were defined by age and sex alone; low risk consisted of men 40 years of age and younger and women 50 years of age and younger whereas the high-risk group were older patients. Recurrence and death rates in patients at high risk were 33% and 27% while respective figures for patients at low risk were 11% and 4%. In more recent years these results have shown significant improvement. Basic risk group definition outweighed the effect of pathologic type, local disease extension, type of treatment, and site of recurrence or metastasis. For instance, radioactive iodine cured 70% of patients at low risk with metastatic disease but only 10% of patients at high risk. Less aggressive biologic behavior of thyroid cancer before the age of menopause implies that an estrogen-rich milieu may alter the effects of initiating and promoting factors in carcinogenesis. It also suggests that therapeutic trials of estrogen be undertaken in progressive metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer.

Adenocarcinoma

Elective hepatic resection.

Significant salvage of patients with a wide variety of cysts and benign tumors of the liver and of some patients with biliary strictures can be achieved by hepatic resection in carefully selected clinical situations with a low operative mortality rate and an acceptable postoperative complication rate. Still to be determined is the role of hepatic resection in metastatic carcinoma and sarcoma of the liver, where survival is modest but measurable, but important palliation can be achieved. Hepatomas should be resected when possible, but hepatic resection for aid in resection of bile duct carcinoma has proved generally unrewarding.

Adenoma, Bile Duct

Adrenalectomy-oophorectomy and combined chemotherapy for carcinoma of the breast with metastases.

Thirty-one patients with carcinoma of the breast with metastases were treated by adrenalectomy-oophorectomy and randomized either for combined chemotherapy, vincristine, fluorouracil, methotrexate and thiotepa, beginning within one week after operation and continuing for three months or no chemotherapy. Statistical analyses were Gehan's modification of the Wilcoxon test for censored data, chi-square tests and life table analysis. Pretreatment characteristics--menopausal status, age, disease-free interval, prior hormone treatment and sites of metastases--of both groups were similar. Objective response occurred in 73 per cent of 11 patients in the treatment. A group compared with 47 per cent of 15 patients in the treatment B group, p greater than 0.50. Median duration to relapse in responders was 16 months in the treatment A group and 15 months in the treatment B group, p greater than 0.50. Median survival was 19 months in the treatment A group and 20 months in the treatment B group, p greater than 0.50. Results were not significant, and inclusion of five patients with less than three months of treatment, did not alter the results. Hence, the group receiving early symptomatic treatment did not show an improved response rate, improved duration of remission or enhanced survival time from ablative treatment.

Adenocarcinoma