Efficacy and Feasibility of Adding Induction Chemotherapy to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Phase II Clinical Trial

PURPOSE: Currently, neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) followed by total mesorectal resection is considered the standard of care for treating locally advanced rectal cancer. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of adding induction chemotherapy to neoadjuvant CRT in locally advanced rectal cancer. METHODS: This phase-II clinical trial included 54 patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced (clinical T3–4 and/or N1–2, M0) rectal cancer. All patients were treated with 3 cycles of preoperative chemotherapy using the XELOX (capecitabine + oxaliplatin) regimen before and after a concurrent standard long course of CRT (45–50.4 Gy) followed by standard radical surgery. Pathologic complete response (PCR) rate and toxicity were the primary and secondary end-points, respectively. RESULTS: The study participants included 37 males and 17 females, with a median age of 59 years (range, 20–80 years). Twenty-nine patients (54%) had clinical stage-II disease, and 25 patients (46%) had clinical stage-III disease. Larger tumor size (P = 0.006) and distal rectal location (P = 0.009) showed lower PCR compared to smaller tumor size and upper rectal location. Pathologic examinations showed significant tumor regression (6.1 ± 2.7 cm vs. 1.9 ± 1.8 cm, P < 0.001) with 10 PCRs (18.5%) compared to before the intervention. The surgical margin was free of cancer in 52 patients (96.3%). Treatment-related toxicities were easily tolerated, and all patients completed their planned treatment without interruption. Grade III and IV toxicities were infrequent. CONCLUSION: The addition of induction chemotherapy to neoadjuvant CRT is an effective and well-tolerated treatment approach in patients with rectal cancer.

Prognostic significance of adjuvant radiation therapy in adenocarcinoma of the cecum

PURPOSE: Local recurrence is a common failure pattern in adenocarcinoma of the cecum. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of adjuvant radiation therapy on oncologic outcomes of patients with adenocarcinoma of the cecum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was carried out at three large tertiary university hospitals. We analyzed the characteristics, prognostic factors, and survival of 162 patients with adenocarcinoma of the cecum that were treated and followed up between 2000 and 2013. All the patients had undergone a right hemicolectomy and received chemotherapy with (n = 48) or without (n = 114) adjuvant radiation therapy. RESULTS: The subjects were 65 females and 97 males with a median age of 56 years (range, 17 to 90 years) at diagnosis. The 5-year local control (LC), disease free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) rates were 72.7%, 57.2%, and 62.6% respectively. In a multivariate analysis, age, tumor stage, node stage, and adjuvant radiation therapy were determined to be independent prognostic factors. Age more than 55 years (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06–0.32; p = 0.003], T4 stage (HR = 6.8; 95% CI, 3.07–15.36; p < 0.001), node positive disease (HR = 4.2; 95% CI, 1.94–9.13; p < 0.001), and the absence of adjuvant radiation therapy (HR = 3.0; 95% CI, 1.39–6.46; p = 0.005) had a negative influence on OS. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant radiation therapy significantly improves DFS and OS in patients with adenocarcinoma of the cecum.

Prognostic Significance of Mucinous Histologic Subtype on Oncologic Outcomes in Patients With Colorectal Cancer

PURPOSE: Mucinous adenocarcinomas account for about 10% of all colorectal cancers. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of mucinous histologic subtype on oncologic outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed at two large tertiary university hospitals. We analyzed the characteristics, prognostic factors, and survival of patients with colorectal cancer who were treated and followed up between 2000 and 2013. RESULTS: Totally, 144 of 1,268 patients with a colorectal adenocarcinoma (11.4%) had mucinous histologic subtype. Statistically significant results found in this research are as follows: Mucinous histologic subtype tended to present in younger patients and to have larger tumor size, higher histologic grade, higher node stage, larger number of positive nodes, and higher rate of perineural invasion compared to nonmucinous histologic subtype. On the univariate analysis, mucinous subtype was a prognostic factor for disease-free and overall survival. On the multivariate analysis, primary tumor location, node stage and lymphatic-vascular invasion were independent prognostic factors for the local control rate. Rectal tumor location, higher disease stage, tumor grade II, and presence of lymphatic-vascular invasion had negative influences on disease-free survival, as did rectal tumor location, higher disease stage and presence of lymphatic-vascular invasion on overall survival. CONCLUSION: Mucinous histologic subtype was associated with some adverse pathologic features in patients with colorectal cancer; however, it was not an independent prognostic factor for oncologic outcome.

Comparison of the patients' satisfaction after inpatient and outpatient operations for haemorrhoidal disease

To compare the patients' satisfaction between outpatient and inpatient haemorrhoidectomy. Cross-sectional study. Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, from January to July 2011. A total of 208 patients were involved in this cross-sectional study. All patients were examined by their specialists and after definite diagnosis of haemorrhoid, they were randomly allocated to two groups: outpatient and inpatient. Data for this study was collected by a satisfaction questionnaire. There was no statistical significant difference between the two groups' satisfaction. Both groups were quite satisfied. Also, there was no statistical significance regarding the variable of time of visit. In addition, there was no association between the patients' satisfaction and with, occupation, and level of education. Based on the results of the study, minor operations such as haemorrhoidectomy are better to be done in clinics since they do not differ from the operating room regarding the patients' satisfaction

Late results of endorectal flap in management of high type perianal fistula

Fistula-in-ano is a problematic perianal disease for physicians and patients because of its occasional difficulty in management. Due to the different types of fistulas seen in patients, careful approach is necessary to correctly choose from among the various surgical techniques. One surgical method for complex fistula is the endorectal advancement flap which has been frequently performed because of its low complication rate. This study enrolled 40 [33 males, 7 females] patients who suffered from high type fistula [greater than 30%-50% involvement of the external sphincter] as noted on digital rectal examination and endoanalsonography. Patients were seen at Shahid Faghihi Hospital, affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, between 2007 and 2011. All enrolled patients received similar preoperational preparation. We used the jackknife operative position and determined the internal orifice of the fistula by inserting a probe, with injection of methylene blue or oxygen peroxide. Endorectal advancement flap included the mucosa, submucosa and thin portion of the muscle that completely covered the sutured internal orifice area. The external orifice was opened to adjust the external border of the external sphincter to allow for effective drainage. All enrolled patients were followed for 36 months, which was noticeable statistically when compared with other study findings of high type fistula. The location of the external orifice, age, sex and bowel habits were not related to recurrence rate. Endorectal advancement flap in selected patients who suffer from high type fistula seems to have beneficial effects with a low recurrence rate. Therefore, management of complex high type fistulas remains a challenging topic.