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Biomedical subjects

John E Niederhuber

Publications and source records attributed to John E Niederhuber.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Treatment of metastatic disease in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GENTs) compromise a heterogeneous group of relatively uncommon neoplasms with a yearly incidence rate of 1.2 to 3.0 per 100,000 population. These tumors share numerous histologic and biologic features, allowing their consideration as a common entity. They are postulated to arise from neuroendocrine cells, but most are not from neural crest origin. Their predominant site of origin is the gastrointestinal tract, where most involve the small intestine and appendix, but are also found in the adrenal medulla, bronchopulmonary system, pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid, and paraganglia cells. A common feature is their often indolent course, but some tumors are poorly differentiated and behave aggressively. This article addresses the surgical management of endocrine malignancies and the treatment of metastatic disease in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Algorithms↗

Response to: "Rescuing the NIH before it is too late".

We, the directors of the 27 NIH institutes and centers, wanted to respond to the points made by Andrew Marks in his recent editorial. While we appreciate that the scientific community has concerns, the current initiatives and directions of the NIH have been developed through planning processes that reflect openness and continued constituency input, all aimed at assessing scientific opportunities and addressing public health needs.

Humans↗

Models of breast cancer growth and investigations of adjuvant surgical oophorectomy.

Clinical observations of the natural history of breast cancer and its response to a variety of therapeutic interventions have contributed to changing concepts about the growth and metastatic spread of this disease. Increased attention has been given to tumor cell dormancy and the occurrence of greatly delayed metastatic disease development, which has been important to rethinking therapy. Although gene profiling of breast tumors recently has highlighted the importance of individual tumor characteristics in patients' prognosis, considerable data also support the concept of breast cancer as a problem of macro- and microenvironmental regulatory imbalance and dynamic chaos. Observations of unexpectedly large survival benefits from adjuvant surgical oophorectomy done in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle in premenopausal women are consistent with an interpretation that extratumoral interactions in the host environment are important in prognosis. These observations also suggest that a treatment paradigm shift from an exclusive focus on cell kill and specific tumor cell molecular targets to one focused also on broad host regulatory control may be useful. Clinical trials and laboratory mechanistic investigations based on these data and observations can determine the potential impact of therapeutic interventions targeting host system macro and micro tumor cell environments.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Combined serous microcystic adenoma and well-differentiated endocrine pancreatic neoplasm: a case report and review of the literature.

We report a case of combined microcystic adenoma and pancreatic endocrine neoplasm of the pancreas in a 53-year-old male patient. The pancreatic tumor was an incidental computed tomography scan finding and was not accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms. The tumor was located in the head of the pancreas and was composed of numerous small cysts lined by uniform clear cells with a centrally located solid endocrine component. Four cases of similar neoplasm have recently been reported, exclusively in women. Literature review and case analysis indicate that combined microcystic adenoma and pancreatic endocrine neoplasm is characterized by the presence of pancreatic endocrine neoplasm within microcystic adenoma in the head of the pancreas, affects women more often than men, and presents at a younger age when compared to microcystic adenoma.

Cell Differentiation↗

Cryoablation and liver resection for noncolorectal liver metastases.

BACKGROUND: Liver resection for noncolorectal liver metastases has merit for selected primary tumor types. The role of cryosurgical tumor ablation within this cohort of patients has not been evaluated. This is a single institutional review of treatment outcomes using cryosurgical ablation and conventional resection techniques for noncolorectal liver metastases. METHODS: The medical records of 42 patients undergoing 48 hepatic tumor ablative procedures from February 1991 through May 2001 at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival and local hepatic tumor recurrence-free survival were analyzed for different surgical procedures and primary tumor types. RESULTS: Overall survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years are 82%, 55%, and 39%, respectively (median survival, 45 months). Local hepatic tumor recurrence-free survival rates for resection only (n = 25) and cryosurgery with or without resection (n = 23), at 3 years are 24% and 19%, respectively. The survival rates at 5 years are 40% and 37%, for resection only and cryosurgery with or without resection, respectively. CONCLUSION: Cryosurgical hepatic tumor ablation for metastatic noncolorectal primary tumors results in survival and local hepatic tumor recurrence rates similar to resection alone. The combination of cryosurgery and resection extends the cohort of patients with surgically treatable disease.

Adolescent↗

Should suspected early gallbladder cancer be treated laparoscopically?

Early gallbladder cancer (EGC), defined as T1 and T2 disease, is frequently curable when completely excised without bile spillage. The objective of the present study was to determine what effect initial laparoscopic cholecystectomy has on outcome in patients with EGC. Of 89 patients referred to our institution with gallbladder cancer over an 11-year period, 26 had undergone initial laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Sixteen of the 26 patients had T1 or T2 disease and are the subjects of this report. These patients were reviewed retrospectively to assess preoperative diagnosis, intraoperative bile spillage, and outcome (recurrence and survival). In addition, the Western literature was reviewed to determine the impact of initial laparoscopic cholecystectomy on recurrence and survival of patients with EGC. Six patients had a preoperative ultrasound consistent with a mass in the gallbladder wall. Seven (44%) had documented bile spillage during the laparoscopic cholecystectomy. T stage based on the laparoscopic cholecystectomy was T1 (n = 1) and T2 (n = 15). Twelve patients underwent reexploration of whom seven underwent further radical excision (gallbladder liver bed resection and extensive lymphadenectomy). After a mean follow-up of 20.1 months (range 4 to 39 months), 69% of patients have had a recurrence or died. Three patients had a port-site recurrence. Five (71%) of seven patients with bile spillage at laparoscopic cholecystectomy have had a recurrence or died of disease. A review of the Western literature on EGC initially removed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy (including the present series) yielded 21 patients with T1 and 42 patients with T2 disease. One-year Kaplan-Meier survival (T1 = 89%, T2 = 71%) and 3-year Kaplan-Meier survival (T1 = 47%, T2 = 40%) of these patients is worse than prior reports for open cholecystectomy. An initial laparoscopic cholecystectomy with its potential for bile spillage can convert potentially curable EGC to incurable disease. Patients with preoperative findings suspicious for gallbladder cancer should undergo open exploration with intent to perform a radical cancer operation as a primary procedure if the diagnosis is confirmed intraoperatively.

Adult↗