PURPOSE: While curative resection is the only chance of cure in pancreatic cancer, controversies exist about the impact of surgical margin status on survival. Non-standardized pathologic report and different criteria on the R1 status made it difficult to implicate adjuvant therapy after resection based on the margin status. We evaluated the influence of resection margins on survival by meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We thoroughly searched electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. We included studies reporting survival outcomes with different margin status: involved margin (R0 mm), margin clearance with ≤ 1 mm (R0-1 mm), and margin with > 1 mm (R>1 mm). Hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival was extracted, and a random-effects model was used for pooled analysis. RESULTS: A total of eight retrospective studies involving 1,932 patients were included. Pooled HR for overall survival showed that patients with R>1 mm had reduced risk of death than those with R0-1 mm (HR, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 0.88; p=0.001). In addition, patients with R0-1 mm had reduced risk of death than those with R0 mm (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.91; p < 0.001). There was no heterogeneity between the included studies (I2 index, 42% and 0%; p=0.10 and p=0.82, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that stratification of the patients based on margin status is warranted in the clinical trials assessing the role of adjuvant treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms* ; Population Characteristics ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: While curative resection is the only chance of cure in pancreatic cancer, controversies exist about the impact of surgical margin status on survival. Non-standardized pathologic report and different criteria on the R1 status made it difficult to implicate adjuvant therapy after resection based on the margin status. We evaluated the influence of resection margins on survival by meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We thoroughly searched electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. We included studies reporting survival outcomes with different margin status: involved margin (R0 mm), margin clearance with ≤ 1 mm (R0-1 mm), and margin with > 1 mm (R>1 mm). Hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival was extracted, and a random-effects model was used for pooled analysis. RESULTS: A total of eight retrospective studies involving 1,932 patients were included. Pooled HR for overall survival showed that patients with R>1 mm had reduced risk of death than those with R0-1 mm (HR, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 0.88; p=0.001). In addition, patients with R0-1 mm had reduced risk of death than those with R0 mm (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.91; p < 0.001). There was no heterogeneity between the included studies (I2 index, 42% and 0%; p=0.10 and p=0.82, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that stratification of the patients based on margin status is warranted in the clinical trials assessing the role of adjuvant treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms* ; Population Characteristics ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: Few studies for occult breast cancer (OBC) have evaluated the effect of radiotherapy (RT) after mastectomy or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with/without breast surgery. Therefore, we investigated clinicopathologic factors of OBC with the impact of postoperative RT to determine its prognostic significance using large population-based data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 1983 to 2013. A total of 1,045 eligible patients with OBC were identified. We compared overall survival (OS) using Cox proportional hazards regression with propensity score matching after verifying an imbalance of prognosticators between RT group (n=518) and non-RT group (n=479). RESULTS: Patients with age < 70 (p=0.033), married marital status (p < 0.001), undergoing ALND (p < 0.001), more examined lymph nodes (LNs) (p < 0.001), and more metastatic LNs (p < 0.001) were more likely to receive RT. Multivariate analysis after propensity score matching (n=798) showed that patients treated with RT survived significantly longer than those without RT (5-year OS, 81.5% vs. 78.3%; p=0.014). A significantly prolonged OS was observed when RT was given to patients treated with mastectomy (p=0.033), those treated with ALND (p=0.036), or those with more than seven metastatic LNs (p=0.016). CONCLUSION: RT may offer survival benefit in OBC even after mastectomy or ALND, especially in patients with more than seven metastatic LNs. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cohort Studies ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Marital Status ; Mastectomy ; Multivariate Analysis ; Propensity Score ; Prospective Studies ; Radiotherapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; SEER Program

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the prognostic efficacy of the number and location of positive lymph nodes (LN), LN ratio (LNR), and log odds of positive LNs (LODDs) in high-risk cervical cancer treated with radical surgery and adjuvant treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty high-risk patients who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic node dissection followed by adjuvant treatment were analyzed retrospectively. The patients had International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IA2-IIB. Upper LN is defined as common iliac or higher LN, and LNR is the ratio of positive LNs to harvested LNs. LODDs is log odds between positive LNs and negative LNs. Radiotherapy was delivered to the whole pelvis with median 50.4 Gy/28 Fx± to the para-aortic regions. Platinum-based chemotherapy was used in most patients (93%). The median follow-up duration was 80 months. RESULTS: The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 76.1%, and the overall survival (OS) rate was 86.4%. Treatment failure occurred in 11 patients, and distant failure (DF) was the dominant pattern (90.9%). In univariate analysis, significantly lower DFSwas observed in patients with perineural invasion, ≥ 2 LN metastases, LNR ≥ 10%, upper LN metastasis, and ≥ -1.05 LODDs. In multivariate analysis, ≥ -1.05 LODDs was the only significant factor for DFS (p=0.011). Of patients with LODDs ≥ -1.05, 40.9% experienced DF. LODDs was the only significant prognostic factor for OS as well (p=0.006). CONCLUSION: LODDs ≥ -1.05 was the only significant prognostic factor for both DFS and OS. In patients with LODDs ≥ -1.05, intensified chemotherapy might be required, considering the high rate of DF.
Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Lymph Nodes* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Obstetrics ; Pelvis ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Failure ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Considering the distinctive biology of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), this study aimed to identify TNBC-specific prognostic factors and determine the prognostic value of the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) and its variant indices. METHODS: A total of 233 patients with newly diagnosed stage I to III TNBC from 2003 to 2012 were reviewed. We retrospectively analyzed the patients' demographics, clinicopathologic parameters, treatment, and survival outcomes. The NPI was calculated as follows: tumor size (cm)×0.2+node status+Scarff-Bloom-Richardson (SBR) grade. The modified NPI (MNPI) was obtained by adding the modified SBR grade rather than the SBR grade. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 67.8 months. Five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 81.4% and 89.9%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that the MNPI was the most significant and common prognostic factor of DFS (p=0.001) and OS (p=0.019). Young age (≤35 years) was also correlated with poor DFS (p=0.006). A recursive partitioning for establishing the prognostic model for DFS was performed based on the results of multivariate analysis. Patients with a low MNPI (≤6.5) were stratified into the low-risk group (p<0.001), and patients with a high MNPI (>6.5) were subdivided into the intermediate (>35 years) and high-risk (≤35 years) groups. Age was not a prognostic factor in patients with a low MNPI, whereas in patients with a high MNPI, it was the second key factor in subdividing patients according to prognosis (p=0.023). CONCLUSION: The MNPI could be used to stratify patients with stage I to III TNBC according to prognosis. It was the most important prognosticator for both DFS and OS. The prognostic significance of young age for DFS differed by MNPI.
Age Factors ; Biology ; Demography ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: To analyze the outcome of adjuvant postoperative external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 84 patients treated with EBRT for WDTC from February 1981 to December 2010. Among them, we analyzed 39 patients who received EBRT after initial radical surgery. Twenty-four females and 15 males were included. The median age was 49 years (range, 16 to 72 years). There were 34 papillary thyroid carcinomas and 5 follicular thyroid carcinomas. Most patients showed pathologic T3/T4 stage (54%/26%). Ten patients (25.6%) had gross residual tumors. Five patients (12.8%) had tumor cells at the margin. The median EBRT dose and fraction size were 62.6 Gy and 1.8 to 2.0 Gy, respectively. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 73 months (range, 21 to 372 months). The five-year overall survival (OS) and locoregional recurrence free survival (LRFS) were 97.4% and 86.9%, respectively. Locoregional failures occurred in 5 and all failure sites were the neck node area. In univariate analysis, OS was significantly influenced by invasion of the trachea (p = 0.016) or esophagus (p = 0.006). LRFS was significantly decreased by male (p = 0.020), gross residuum after resection (p = 0.002), close or positive tumor at surgical margin involvement (p = 0.044), and tracheal invasion (p = 0.040). No significant prognostic factor was identified in the multivariate analysis. No patient experienced the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group grade 3 or more toxicity. CONCLUSION: Our locoregional control rate of 87.2% is comparable to historical controls with surgery alone, even though our study had a large proportion of advanced stage. Adjuvant EBRT may an effective and safe treatment option in patients with WDTC.
Adenocarcinoma, Follicular ; Esophagus ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neck ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Trachea

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term outcome in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for distal cholangiocarcinoma (DCC) in a high-volume center and to identify the prognostic impact of clinicopathologic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 132 consecutive patients who met the inclusion criteria were retrieved from the institutional database from January 1995 to September 2009. All patients received adjuvant treatments at a median of 45 days after the surgery. Median follow-up duration was 57 months (range, 6 to 225 months) for all patients and 105 months for survivors (range, 13 to 225 months). RESULTS: The 5-year locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) rates were 70.7%, 55.7%, 49.4%, and 48.1%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed poorly differentiated (P/D) tumors and lymph node (LN) metastasis were significantly associated with DMFS and OS. Additionally, preoperative carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level was significantly correlated with DFS, LRRFS, and DMFS. Upon multivariate analysis for OS, P/D tumors (p=0.015) and LN metastasis (p=0.003) were significant prognosticators that predicted inferior OS. Grade 3 or higher late gastrointestinal toxicity occurred in only one patient (0.8%). CONCLUSION: Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after PD for DCC is an effective and tolerable strategy without significant side effects. During long-term follow-up, we found that prognosis of DCC was mainly influenced by histologic differentiation and LN metastasis. For patients with these risk factors, further research should focus on improving adjuvant strategies as well as other treatment approaches.
Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant* ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy* ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Survivors

Background/Objectives: To evaluate clinical significance of FDG PET-CT for detection of residual cancer cells after curative radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy for patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of Head and NeckMaterials & Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with SCC of Head and neck with curative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherpy between June 2011 and Jan. 2019 was performed. Sixty patients were treated with Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The Metabolic responses were evaluated on the post-treatment FDG PET-CT at 12 weeks after curative radiotherapy completion. Results: Median follow up was 51.5 months (3-102). The overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), local control rate (LCR), and Distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) at 5 years were 80.5%, 80.1%, 87.7% and 89.1%. Metabolic CR was found in 43 (71.7%) and partial metabolic response (PR) was noted in 17 (14.6%). Metabolic CR was significantly correlated with OS, DFS, LCR, and DMFS. On multivariate analysis, Metabolic CR remained significant for DFS and LCR. Conclusion Metabolic CR on post-radiotherapy FDG PET-CT is highly predictive of increased DFS and LCR in patients with head and neck cancer.

Background/Objectives: To evaluate clinical significance of FDG PET-CT for detection of residual cancer cells after curative radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy for patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of Head and NeckMaterials & Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with SCC of Head and neck with curative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherpy between June 2011 and Jan. 2019 was performed. Sixty patients were treated with Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The Metabolic responses were evaluated on the post-treatment FDG PET-CT at 12 weeks after curative radiotherapy completion. Results: Median follow up was 51.5 months (3-102). The overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), local control rate (LCR), and Distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) at 5 years were 80.5%, 80.1%, 87.7% and 89.1%. Metabolic CR was found in 43 (71.7%) and partial metabolic response (PR) was noted in 17 (14.6%). Metabolic CR was significantly correlated with OS, DFS, LCR, and DMFS. On multivariate analysis, Metabolic CR remained significant for DFS and LCR. Conclusion Metabolic CR on post-radiotherapy FDG PET-CT is highly predictive of increased DFS and LCR in patients with head and neck cancer.

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess prognostic value of metastatic pelvic lymph node (mPLN) in early-stage cervical cancer treated with radical surgery followed by postoperative chemoradiotherapy. Also, we sought to define a high-risk group using prognosticators for recurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted using the data from 13 Korean institutions from 2000 to 2010. A total of 249 IB-IIA patients with high-risk factors were included. We evaluated distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in relation to clinicopathologic factors including pNstage, number of mPLN, lymph node (LN)ratio (number of positive LN/number of harvested LN), and log odds of mPLNs (log(number of positive LN+0.5/number of negative LN+0.5)). RESULTS: In univariate analysis, histology (squamous cell carcinoma [SqCC] vs. others), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), number of mPLNs (≤ 3 vs. > 3), LN ratio (≤ 17% vs. > 17%), and log odds of mPLNs (≤ -0.58 vs. > -0.58) were significant prognosticators for DMFS and DFS. Resection margin involvement only affected DFS. No significant survival difference was observed between pN0 patients and patients with 1-3 mPLNs. Multivariate analysis revealed that mPLN > 3, LVI, and non-SqCC were unfavorable index for both DMFS (p < 0.001, p=0.020, and p=0.031, respectively) and DFS (p < 0.001, p=0.017, and p=0.001, respectively). A scoring system using these three factors predicts risk of recurrence with relatively high concordance index (DMFS, 0.69; DFS, 0.71). CONCLUSION: mPLN > 3 in early-stage cervical cancer affects DMFS and DFS. A scoring system using mPLNs > 3, LVI, and non-SqCC could stratify risk groups of recurrence in surgically resected early-stage cervix cancer with high-risk factors.
Chemoradiotherapy ; Cohort Studies* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes* ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Multivariate Analysis ; Recurrence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*