Physician knowledge of the benefits, risks, and contraindications of tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Acute Disease↗
Biomedical subjects
B Silver
Publications and source records attributed to B Silver.
Oral magnesium therapy improves endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease.
BACKGROUND: Magnesium blocks many of the physiological actions of calcium. Nevertheless, the impact of magnesium supplementation on endothelial function and exercise tolerance in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients has not been assessed. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 50 stable CAD patients (41 men and 9 women, mean+/-SD age 67+/-11 years, age range 42 to 82 years) were randomized to receive either magnesium (n=25) (30 mmol/d Magnosolv-Granulat; Asta Medica Company, Inc) or placebo (n=25) for 6 months. Before and after 6 months, endothelium-dependent brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and endothelium-independent NTG-mediated vasodilation were assessed with high-resolution (10-MHz) ultrasound. Exercise stress testing was performed with use of the Bruce protocol. Intracellular magnesium concentrations ([Mg(2+)](i)) were assessed from sublingual cells through x-ray dispersion (EXA) (normal mean+/-SD values 37. 9+/-4.0 mEq/L). The magnesium therapy significantly increased postintervention ([Mg(2+)](i) versus placebo (36.2+/-5.0 versus 32.7+/-2.7 mEq/L, P<0.02). There was a significant correlation in the total population between baseline [Mg(2+)](i) and baseline FMD (r=0. 48, P<0.01). The magnesium intervention resulted in a significant improvement in postintervention FMD (15.5+/-12.0%, P=0.02 compared with baseline), which was not evident with placebo (4.4+/-2.5%, P=0.78 compared with baseline). There was better exercise tolerance (9.3+/-2.0 versus 7.3+/-3.1 minutes, P=0.05) and less ischemic ST-segment changes (4 versus 10 patients, P=0.05) in the magnesium versus placebo groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Oral magnesium therapy in CAD patients is associated with significant improvement in brachial artery endothelial function and exercise tolerance, suggesting a potential mechanism by which magnesium could beneficially alter outcomes in CAD patients.
Administration, Oral↗
The relationship between lymphatic vessell invasion, tumor size, and pathologic nodal status: can we predict who can avoid a third field in the absence of axillary dissection?
PURPOSE: Tangential (2-field) radiation therapy to the breast and lower axilla is typically used in our institution for treating patients with early-stage breast cancer who have 0-3 positive axillary nodes, as determined by axillary dissection, whereas a third supraclavicular/axillary field is added for patients with 4 or more positive nodes. However, dissection may result in complications and added expense. We, therefore, assessed whether clinical or pathologic factors of the primary tumor could reliably predict, in the absence of an axillary dissection, which patients with clinically negative axillary nodes have such limited pathologic nodal involvement that they might be effectively treated with only tangential fields. This would eliminate both the complications of axillary dissection and the added complexity and potential morbidity of a supraclavicular/axillary field. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In this study, 722 women with clinical Stage I or II unilateral invasive breast cancer of infiltrating ductal histology, with clinically negative axillary nodes, at least 6 lymph nodes recovered on axillary dissection, and central pathology review were treated with breast-conserving therapy from 1968 to 1987. Pathologic nodal status was assessed in relation to clinical T stage, the presence of lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI), age, histologic grade, and the location of the primary tumor. RESULTS: LVI, T stage, and tumor location were each significantly correlated with nodal status on univariate analysis. Ninety-seven percent of LVI-negative patients had 0-3 positive axillary nodes compared to 87% of LVI-positive patients. There was no association between T stage and extent of axillary involvement within LVI-negative and LVI-positive subgroups. In a logistic regression model, only LVI remained a significant predictor of having 4 or more positive nodes, although tumor size was of borderline significance. The odds ratio for LVI (positive vs. negative) as a predictor of having 4 or more positive nodes was 3.9 (95% CI, 2.0-7.6). CONCLUSION: For patients with clinical T1-2, N0, infiltrating ductal carcinomas, the presence of LVI is predictive of having 4 or more positive axillary nodes. Only 3% of patients with clinical T1-2, N0, LVI-negative breast cancers had 4 or more positive nodes on axillary dissection. Such patients may be reasonable candidates for treatment with tangential radiation fields in the absence of axillary dissection.
Analysis of Variance↗
Is radiation alone adequate treatment to the axilla for patients with limited axillary surgery? Implications for treatment after a positive sentinel node biopsy.
PURPOSE: To estimate the possible efficacy of axillary radiation therapy (AXRT) following a positive sentinel node biopsy (SNB), we evaluated the risk of regional nodal failure (RNF) for patients with clinical Stage I or II, clinically node-negative invasive breast cancer treated with either no dissection or a limited dissection (LD) defined as removal of 5 nodes or less followed by AXRT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1978 to 1987, 292 patients underwent AXRT in the absence of axillary dissection; 126 underwent AXRT following LD. The median dose to the axilla was 46 Gy. The median dose to the supraclavicular fossa was 45 Gy. Among patients found to have positive nodes on LD, adjuvant chemotherapy and tamoxifen were administered to 81% and 7% of subjects, respectively. All patients had potential 8-year follow-up. RESULTS: Six of the 418 patients (1. 4%) developed RNF as a first site of failure within 8 years. Among these 6 patients (1.4%) with RNF as the first site of failure, 4 had simultaneous distant and regional recurrences; and 2 had isolated axillary failures. Three of the 292 patients (1%) with no axillary dissection, none of 84 patients with pathologically negative nodes and 3 of 42 patients (7%) with pathologically involved nodes had RNF as a first site of failure. Radiation pneumonitis developed in 5 patients (1.2%), brachial plexopathy in 5 (1.2%) and arm edema in 4 (1.2%). In all cases, radiation pneumonitis and brachial plexopathy were transient. CONCLUSION: These results imply that AXRT may be an effective and safe alternative to completion dissection for treatment of the axilla following a positive SNB. Further studies comparing these two options in specific patient subgroups are needed.
Aged↗
The relation between the presence and extent of lobular carcinoma in situ and the risk of local recurrence for patients with infiltrating carcinoma of the breast treated with conservative surgery and radiation therapy.
BACKGROUND: When found in an otherwise benign biopsy, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) has been associated with an increased risk of development of a subsequent invasive breast carcinoma. However, the association between LCIS and the risk of subsequent local recurrence in patients with infiltrating carcinoma treated with conservative surgery and radiation therapy has received relatively little attention. METHODS: Between 1968 and 1986, 1625 patients with clinical Stage I-II invasive breast carcinoma were treated at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy at Harvard Medical School with breast-conserving surgery (CS) and radiation therapy (RT) to a total dose to the primary site of > or =60 grays. Analysis was limited to 1181 patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, infiltrating lobular carcinoma, or infiltrating carcinoma with mixed ductal and lobular features who, on review of their histologic slides, had sufficient normal tissue adjacent to the tumor to evaluate for the presence of LCIS and also had a minimum potential follow-up time of 8 years. The median follow-up time was 161 months. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-seven patients (12%) had LCIS either within the tumor or in the macroscopically normal adjacent tissue. The 8-year crude risk of recurrence was not significantly increased for patients with LCIS associated with invasive ductal, invasive lobular, or mixed ductal and lobular carcinoma. Among the 119 patients with associated LCIS adjacent to the tumor, the 8-year rate of local recurrence was 13%, compared with 12% for the 1062 patients without associated LCIS. For the 70 patients with moderate or marked LCIS adjacent to the tumor, the 8-year rate of local recurrence was 13%. The extent of LCIS did not affect the risk of recurrence. The risks of contralateral disease and of distant failure were similarly not affected by the presence or extent of LCIS. CONCLUSIONS: Breast-conserving therapy involving limited surgery and radiation therapy is an appropriate method of treating patients with invasive breast carcinoma with or without associated LCIS. Neither the presence nor the extent of LCIS should influence management decisions regarding patients with invasive breast carcinoma. [See editorial counterpoint and reply to counterpoint on pages 978-81 and 982-3, this issue.]
Breast Neoplasms↗
The significance of extracapsular extension of axillary lymph node metastases in early-stage breast cancer.
PURPOSE: To investigate if extracapsular extension (ECE) of axillary lymph node metastases predicts for a decreased rate of disease-free survival or an increased rate of regional recurrence of breast carcinoma. METHODS: The study population consisted of 368 patients with T1 or T2 breast cancer and pathologically-positive lymph nodes treated with breast-conserving therapy between 1968 and 1986. The median number of sampled lymph nodes was 10. Median follow-up time for the surviving patients was 139 months (range 70-244). Twenty percent of the patients were treated with supraclavicular RT, and 64% received both axillary and supraclavicular RT, with a median dose to the nodes of 45 Gy. The following factors were evaluated: presence of ECE, number of sampled lymph nodes (LN), number of involved LN, size of primary tumor, histologic grade of tumor, presence of lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI), presence of an extensive intraductal component (EIC), radiation dose, use of adjuvant chemotherapy, and age of patient. Recurrences were reported as the 5-year crude sites of first failure, and were divided into breast recurrences (LR), regional nodal failure (RNF, defined as isolated axillary, supraclavicular, or internal mammary recurrence), and distant metastases (DM). RESULTS: One hundred twenty-two patients (33%) had ECE and 246 patients did not. The median number of LN with ECE was 1 (range 1-10) and 20% of patients had ECE in > or =4 LN. Patients with ECE tended to be older (median age 51 vs. 47, p = 0.01), and had a higher number of involved LN (median 3 vs. 2, p = 0.005) than patients without ECE. Forty-three percent of patients with ECE had > or =4 involved LN compared to 15% of patients without ECE (p<0.0001). Models of ECE and the above factors revealed no significant correlation between ECE and either disease-free or overall survival. There was no statistically significant increase in local, regional nodal, or distant failures in patients with ECE as compared to patients without ECE. CONCLUSION: In this population of patients with nodal involvement, the presence of ECE correlates with the number of involved LN but does not appear to add predictive power to models of local, regional, or distant recurrence when the number of positive LN is included.
Axilla↗
The influence of infiltrating lobular carcinoma on the outcome of patients treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy.
BACKGROUND: The role of conservative surgery and radiation therapy (CS and RT) in the treatment of patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma is well established. However, the efficacy of CS and RT for patients with infiltrating lobular carcinoma is less well documented. The goal of this study was to examine treatment outcome after CS and RT for patients with infiltrating lobular carcinoma and to compare the results to those of patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma and patients with mixed ductal-lobular histology. METHODS: Between 1970 and 1986, 1624 patients with Stage I or II invasive breast cancer were treated with CS and RT consisting of a complete gross excision of the tumor and > or = 6000 cGy to the primary site. Slides were available for review for 1337 of these patients (82%). Of these, 93 had infiltrating lobular carcinoma, 1089 had infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and 59 had tumors with mixed ductal and lobular features; these patients constitute the study population. The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 133 months. A comprehensive list of clinical and pathologic features was evaluated for all patients. Additional histologic features assessed for patients with infiltrating lobular carcinoma included histologic subtype, multifocal invasion, stromal desmoplasia, and the presence of signet ring cells. RESULTS: Five and 10-year crude results by site of first failure were similar for patients with infiltrating lobular, infiltrating ductal, and mixed histology. In particular, the 10-year crude local recurrence rates were 15%, 13%, and 13% for patients with infiltrating lobular, infiltrating ductal, and mixed histology, respectively. Ten-year distant/regional recurrence rates were 22%, 23%, and 20% for the three groups, respectively. In addition, the 10-year crude contralateral breast cancer rates were 4%, 13% and 6% for patients with infiltrating lobular, infiltrating ductal and mixed histology, respectively. In a multiple regression analysis which included established prognostic factors, histologic type was not significantly associated with either survival or time to recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with infiltrating lobular carcinoma have a similar outcome following CS and RT to patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma and to patients with tumors that have mixed ductal and lobular features. We conclude that the presence of infiltrating lobular histology should not influence decisions regarding local therapy in patients with Stage I and II breast cancer.
Aged↗
Investigating the clinical utility of the percent of positive prostate biopsies in predicting PSA outcome following local therapy for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.
The clinical utility of the percent of positive prostate biopsies in predicting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) outcome following radical prostatectomy (RP), or external beam radiation therapy (RT), for men with PSA detected, or clinically palpable prostate cancer was investigated. After accounting for the established prognostic significance of the PSA level, biopsy Gleason score and the clinical T-stage, the percent of positive prostate biopsies added clinically significant information regarding time to PSA failure following RP. These findings were validated in the intermediate risk patients using an independent surgical and radiation data set. Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2000) 3, 259-264
Journal Article↗
Diffusion- and perfusion-weighted MRI patterns in borderzone infarcts.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The pathophysiology of borderzone infarcts is not well understood. We investigated whether combined diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) could identify pathophysiologically meaningful categories of borderzone infarcts. METHODS: Seventeen patients with borderzone infarcts were identified from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Stroke Database. All patients had DWI and PWI, the majority of them within the first 24 hours of symptom onset. RESULTS: Three patterns of perfusion abnormalities were associated with the diffusion lesions: 1, normal perfusion (5 patients); 2, localized perfusion deficits matching the area of restricted diffusion (5 patients); and 3, extensive perfusion deficits involving 1 or more vascular territories (7 patients). All but 1 patient with pattern 1 had transient peri-infarct hypotension as the presumed stroke mechanism. Two patients with pattern 2 had cardiac or aortic embolic sources; none had large-artery disease or arterial hypotension. Reperfusion was detected in all patients with this pattern who submitted to a follow-up study. All patients with pattern 3 had severe stenosis or occlusion of a large artery: the internal carotid, anterior cerebral, or middle cerebral. CONCLUSIONS: We postulate that the perfusion abnormality varies according to the mechanism of the borderzone infarction. Transient perfusion deficits occurring with hypotension in the absence of significant large-artery disease may not be revealed by PWI. Embolism may cause some cases of small borderzone perfusion deficits. Critical large-artery disease may cause large territorial perfusion deficits and predispose to borderzone infarction.
Aged↗
Outcome at 8 years after breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy for invasive breast cancer: influence of margin status and systemic therapy on local recurrence.
PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between pathologic margin status and outcome at 8 years after breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population comprised 533 patients with International Union Against Cancer/American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical stage I or II breast cancer who had assessable margins, who received at least 60 Gy to the primary tumor bed, and who had more than 8 years of potential follow-up. Each margin was scored (according to the presence of invasive or in situ disease that touched the inked surgical margin) as one of the following: negative, close, focally positive, or extensively positive. Outcome at 8 years was calculated using crude rates of first site of failure. A polychotomous logistic regression analysis was performed. Median follow-up time was 127 months. RESULTS: At 8 years, patients with close margins and those with negative margins both had a rate of local recurrence (LR) of 7%. Patients with extensively positive margins had an LR rate of 27%, whereas patients with focally positive margins had an intermediate rate of LR of 14%. In the polychotomous logistic regression model, margin status and the use of systemic therapy were the only two variables that had significant effects on the risk ratio of LR to remaining alive and free of disease. Among the 45 patients with focally positive margins who received systemic therapy, the crude LR rate was 7% at 8 years (95% confidence interval, 1% to 20%). CONCLUSION: Pathologic margin status and the use of adjuvant systemic therapy are the most important factors associated with LR among patients treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy.
Adult↗
Clinical utility of percent-positive prostate biopsies in predicting biochemical outcome after radical prostatectomy or external-beam radiation therapy for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The clinical utility of the percentage of positive prostate biopsies in predicting prostate specific antigen (PSA) outcome after radical prostatectomy (RP) or external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for men with PSA-detected or palpable prostate cancer is not established. METHODS: A Cox regression multivariable analysis was used to determine whether percent-positive prostate biopsies provided clinically relevant information about PSA outcome after RP in 960 men, while accounting for the previously established risk groups based on the pretreatment PSA concentration biopsy Gleason score, and the 1992 American Joint Commission on Cancer clinical T stage. RESULTS: In the intermediate-risk group, 80% of the patients (stage T(2b) or biopsy Gleason 7 or PSA 10-20 ng/mL) could be classified into either an 11% or an 86% 4-year PSA control cohort using the preoperative prostate biopsy data. These findings were validated using an independent surgical (N = 823) and radiation (N = 473) data set. Percent-positive prostate biopsies added clinically significant information regarding time to PSA failure after RP. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of positive prostate biopsies should be considered in conjunction with the PSA level, biopsy Gleason score, and clinical T stage when counseling patients with newly diagnosed and clinically localized prostate cancer about PSA outcome after RP or EBRT.
Biopsy↗
Factors associated with regional nodal failure in patients with early stage breast cancer with 0-3 positive axillary nodes following tangential irradiation alone.
PURPOSE: Recent randomized trials have suggested that improved local-regional control after radiation therapy significantly increases survival for breast cancer patients with positive axillary nodes treated with adjuvant systemic therapy (1, 2). It has been our policy to use a third radiation field only in patients with 4 or more positive nodes. The purpose of this study was to assess whether there are any clinical or pathologic factors associated with an increased risk of regional nodal failure (RNF) in patients with 0-3 positive nodes treated with tangential radiotherapy (RT) alone with or without systemic therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of RNF for 691 patients with clinical Stage I or II invasive breast cancer treated with complete gross excision of the primary tumor and tangential RT alone between 1978-87; 12% also received systemic therapy. All had 0-3 positive nodes on axillary dissection that had histologic examination of > or =6 nodes, and all had potential 8-year follow-up. The median number of axillary nodes removed was 11 (range 6-36). RNF was defined as any recurrence in ipsilateral axillary, internal mammary, supraclavicular, or infraclavicular nodes in the absence of recurrence in the breast, with or without simultaneous distant metastasis. Crude rates for first sites of failure within the first 8 years after treatment were calculated. A polychotomous logistic regression was used to identify factors prognostic for RNF and other sites of first failure. RESULTS: Within 8 years, RNF was the first site of failure for 27 patients for a crude 8-year rate of 3.9%. Isolated axillary failure occurred in 8 patients (1.2%). Isolated supraclavicular and/or infraclavicular failure occurred in 5 (1.3%) and 3 (0.4%) patients, respectively. Isolated internal mammary node failure occurred in 2 patients (0.3%). A polychotomous logistic regression model of first site of failure (local failure, regional nodal, distant/ opposite breast, dead without recurrence, no evidence of disease) within 8 years found age <50 years, moderate or marked necrosis, size greater than 1 cm, and presence of an extensive intraductal component (EIC) to be significantly correlated with site of first failure, but only the last two were associated with a significantly larger relative risk of RNF versus being no evidence of disease at 8 years. The incidence of RNF was 0.7% for patients with tumors < or =1 cm compared to 5.7% among patients with larger tumors. Among patients with EIC-positive tumors the incidence of RNF was 7.6% compared to 3.1% among those whose tumors were EIC-negative. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence of RNF has been shown to be somewhat higher in patients with tumors measuring greater than 1 cm and those with an EIC, RNF is uncommon among all subsets of patients with negative or 1-3 positive lymph nodes treated with conservative surgery, axillary dissection, and only tangential RT fields. Therefore, giving only tangential RT (without a separate nodal field) appears generally acceptable for patients with 0-3 positive nodes.
Adult↗
Concurrent CMF and radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer: results of a pilot study.
PURPOSE: The optimal sequencing of chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) for patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy is unresolved. Given the concerns arising from delaying either CT or RT, we conducted a pilot study of a concurrent CT-RT regimen in the hope that this would reduce side effects without decreasing efficacy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From 1992-1994, 112 patients with 0-3 positive nodes received 6 monthly cycles of classic oral chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (CMF). On day 15 of cycle 1, patients started tangential field RT (39.6 Gy in 22 fractions), followed by a 16 Gy boost in 8 fractions. Median follow-up time for surviving patients was 53 months. RESULTS: Moist desquamation developed during or shortly after RT in 50% of patients, but only 5 patients required treatment breaks. Grade 4 neutropenia during RT occurred in 16 patients, but only 1 required hospitalization. One patient developed Grade 2 radiation pneumonitis. Ninety-three percent of patients received at least 85% of prescribed drug doses. Cosmetic scores of 51 evaluable patients approximately 2 years after the end of chemotherapy were 47% excellent, 43% good, and 10% fair. We have observed 4 local failures and 20 distant failures. CONCLUSIONS: This concurrent CT-RT scheme had acceptable toxicity and outcome. Further comparison of this approach allowing prompt initiation of both CT and RT to alternative sequences is warranted.
Adult↗
Treatment-related toxicity from a randomized trial of the sequencing of doxorubicin and radiation therapy in patients treated for early stage breast cancer.
PURPOSE: There is concern that breast cancer patients treated with left-sided radiation therapy (XRT) and doxorubicin (DOX) may have an increased risk of cardiac toxicity. In addition, the effect of different sequencing of XRT and chemotherapy (CT) on the likelihood of cardiotoxicity, as well as cellulitis, arm edema, or brachial plexopathy, is not well understood. We reviewed the records of patients treated on a randomized trial testing the sequencing of CT and XRT to determine if there was an increase in cardiac events or other complications in patients treated with a total dose of DOX of 180 mg/m2 and XRT, comparing patients with treatment to the left breast and the right breast, and comparing patients treated with initial CT and initial RT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 1984 to December 1992, 244 patients with clinical stage I or II breast cancer were randomized following conservative surgery to receive CT (4 cycles of CAMFP at 3 week intervals) either before or after XRT (45 Gy to the entire breast, followed by a boost of 16 Gy; nodal radiation therapy was optional). Two hundred thirty-one patients were evaluable for the development of cardiac toxicity. The median age at diagnosis was 45 years (range, 20-68). CT doses were: doxorubicin, 45 mg/m2 IV bolus, d 3; methotrexate, 200 mg/m2 IV, d 1 and 15; 5-fluorouracil, 500 mg/m2 IV, d 1; cyclophosphamide, 500 mg/m2 IV, d 1; prednisone 40 mg p.o., d 1-5. A cardiac event was defined as a myocardial infarction or clinical evidence of congestive heart failure. Median follow-up time was 53 months. RESULTS: No cardiac events were observed for patients with either left- or right-sided breast cancer. The sequencing of CT and XRT had no significant effect on the risk of cardiac toxicity, cellulitis, arm edema or brachial plexopathy. CONCLUSIONS: We observed no evidence of an increased risk of cardiac toxicity from the addition of left breast tangential irradiation to DOX at a total dose of 180 mg/m2. Additional follow-up is needed to exclude possible late events. In addition, the sequencing of CT and XRT does not appear to affect the risk of cellulitis, arm edema, or brachial plexopathy.
Adult↗
Predictors of local recurrence following excision alone for ductal carcinoma in situ.
BACKGROUND: The treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) remains controversial, particularly in regard to the selection of patients who may be appropriately treated with wide excision alone. To help identify such patients, the authors assessed prognostic factors for local recurrence in patients with DCIS treated with excision alone. METHODS: The study population consisted of 59 patients diagnosed with DCIS between 1985 and 1990. All had been treated with excision alone, had their histologic slides available for re-review by a study pathologist, and had negative margins of excision on review. The median age at diagnosis was 54 years, and the median follow-up time was 95.5 months. Ninety-six percent presented with mammographic findings only; all patients had a reexcision. The size of the DCIS was assessed by the total number of low-power fields (LPF) in which DCIS was present (median LPF = 5). RESULTS: Ten patients experienced a local recurrence (LR) at 5-132 months (median, 37 months) after excision. The actuarial 5-year LR rate was 10%. Four of the recurrences were invasive carcinomas, and 6 were DCIS. No patients have developed metastatic disease or have died of disease. Lesion size >5 LPF was the only significant prognostic factor for local recurrence on univariate analysis (3% vs. 17% for < or = 5 vs. > or = 5 LPF, P = 0.02) and in proportional hazards models. Although patients with nuclear Grade 3 lesions had a higher LR rate than those with nuclear Grade 1 and 2 lesions (18% vs. 6% and 5%, respectively) and patients with close margins (< or = 1 mm) had a higher LR rate than patients with negative margins (>1 mm) (25% vs. 8%), these differences did not reach statistical significance. Among the 19 cases with margins negative by more than 1 mm, lesion size < or = 5 LPF, and nuclear Grade 1 or 2, there were no LRs; by contrast, the remaining 40 patients had a 5-year actuarial LR rate of 15% (P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Lesion size was the only statistically significant prognostic factor for local recurrence in this series of patients with DCIS treated with excision alone. Other factors, such as margin status and nuclear grade, may also be useful in the identification of patients with DCIS who can be managed with excision alone. However, the most reliable and reproducible method of assessing these factors and the best way to combine them have not been determined.
Adult↗
Bulky, barrel-shaped cervical carcinoma (stages IB, IIA, IIB): the prognostic factors for pelvic control and treatment outcome.
The purpose of this study was to assess the prognostic factors for pelvic control and the treatment outcome in bulky, barrel-shaped cervical carcinomas. Between September 1980 and December 1992, 65 patients with stage IB or stage IIA-B carcinoma of the uterine cervix classified as barrel-shaped or concentrically expanded (i.e., at least 5 cm in greatest diameter) were treated with curative intent. Forty patients had stage IB or stage IIA carcinoma (according to the classification of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics [FIGO]), and 25 patients had FIGO stage IIB carcinoma. Seventy-two percent of the patients were treated with radiotherapy (RT) alone and 28% with radiotherapy followed by extrafascial hysterectomy (RT + S). The median follow-up time of surviving patients was 68 months (range 33-172). Survival and control rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The 10-year actuarial pelvic control rate was 75% for all patients. The likelihood of pelvic control was not affected by FIGO stage, tumor size, patient's age, histologic features, or treatment modality (RT vs. RT + S). The extent of tumor regression following external beam radiotherapy correlated with the likelihood of local control (p = 0.02). For patients treated with RT alone, increased brachytherapy dose was associated with an increased likelihood of local control. The 10-year actuarial overall and cause-specific survival rates were 53% and 68%, respectively, and did not differ significantly between treatment groups. It is concluded that for most patients with bulky cervical carcinoma, RT alone provides good local control and survival. However, for patients with tumors that respond poorly to external beam radiotherapy, local control and survival are poor. More aggressive treatment protocols should be considered for these patients. The routine use of adjuvant hysterectomy is not recommended.
Adult↗
Correlation of tumor size and axillary lymph node involvement with prognosis in patients with T1 breast carcinoma.
BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with T1 breast carcinoma remains controversial. Some studies have shown a low risk of lymph node metastasis and distant failure whereas others have not, possibly due to differences in the definition of tumor size. In this study, the authors assessed the relation between macroscopic tumor size, microscopic invasive tumor size, axillary lymph node involvement, and prognosis in a group of patients with clinically lymph node negative disease. METHODS: Between 1968 and 1986, 1865 women with American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical Stage I or II infiltrating carcinoma of the breast were treated at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy with conservative surgery and radiation therapy. The study population was limited to 118 patients with clinically negative axillary lymph nodes for whom the macroscopic pathologic tumor size was identified unambiguously as being < or = 2.0 cm, who underwent an axillary lymph node dissection with at least 6 lymph nodes sampled, and for whom the microscopic size of the invasive component could be determined. The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 134 months (range, 90-208 months). No patients with pathologically negative axillary lymph nodes received systemic therapy. RESULTS: Macroscopic and microscopic tumor sizes differed by > 5 mm in 17 patients (14%), by 3-5 mm in 24 patients (20%), and by < or = 2 mm in 77 patients (65%). The macroscopic tumor size was smaller than the microscopic size in 37 patients (31%), larger in 55 patients (47%), and equal in 26 patients (22%). Pathologic axillary lymph node involvement was present in 21% of all patients. The risk of lymph node involvement was not significantly different for those patients with tumors < or = 1 cm compared with patients with tumors > or = 1.1 cm, regardless of whether tumor size was measured by macroscopic or microscopic examination. The 10-year actuarial rate of freedom from distant recurrence (FFDR) was 91% for lymph node negative patients with macroscopic tumors measuring < or = 1.0 cm compared with 77% for patients with macroscopic tumors measuring > or = 1.1 cm (P = 0.07). When measured microscopically, the rates were 96% and 72%, respectively (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There often is a discrepancy between microscopic tumor size and macroscopic tumor size. T1 tumors have a substantial risk of axillary lymph node metastasis whether measured macroscopically or microscopically. Among those patients with pathologic lymph node negative tumors who are not treated with systemic adjuvant therapy, microscopic invasive tumor size is a better predictor of 10-year FFDR than macroscopic tumor size. There is a substantial risk of distant failure for patients with tumors whose invasive component microscopically measure > or = 1.1 cm, whereas the prognosis for patients with tumors that microscopically measured < or = 1 cm is excellent. These results suggest that the microscopic size of the invasive component of breast carcinomas < or = 2.0 cm routinely should be reported.
Adult↗
Use of Modern Radiation Therapy Following Surgery for Invasive Breast Cancer.
Radiation therapy has long been used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, it is still very difficult to state with certainty whether or not radiation therapy is truly beneficial for patients with breast cancer, mainly because breast cancers are very heterogeneous in their clinical behavior, and because radiation therapy has undergone significant change in the methodology. We extensively reviewed the literature, and determined that radiation therapy increases the survival of some patients, particularly in conjunction with surgery and systemic therapy. Although the total proportion of such patients seems to be small, appliedto the general population of breast cancer patients, the absolute number of women who might benefit from radiation therapy may be quite large.
Journal Article↗