[Metachronous pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma: Role of imaging in a review of 17 cases with surgical correlation]. / Métastases pancréatiques métachrones des carcinomes rénaux : rôle de l'imagerie à propos de 17 patients avec corrélations chirurgicales.

PURPOSE: To describe the imaging features of pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 17 patients with isolated metachronous pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma with surgical and pathological correlation. RESULTS: The preoperative diagnosis was made on ultrasound in 13 cases. Contrast-enhanced CT showed intense tumor enhancement at the arterial phase, mostly homogeneous but sometimes heterogeneous. There were multiple lesions in six cases. Following complete surgical resection, survival was fairly good. CONCLUSION: Long-term follow-up with CT obtained in the arterial and portal venous phases is mandatory. The arterial phase acquisition is essential for the diagnosis of pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma.

Carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. Results of one-stage surgery (271 cases).

A group of 271 squamous carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus were studied. All of these patients underwent the same operation: one-stage esophagogastrectomy through a combined abdominal and right thoracic approach. Adenocarcinomas, tumors of the cardia and excisions through a left-sided thoracic approach were excluded. The resectability of these tumors has increased progressively and, at present, applies to 74 percent of operative cases. A majority of these excisons (73 percent) were only palliative. Operative mortality was 16.6 percent for the group as a whole. In the last 3 years this rate has fallen to 4.6 percent. Overall survival at 5 years was 9.3 percent (8.7 percent without recurrence). There was a marked difference between the 5 year survival rate after curative excision (28 percent) and after palliative excision (2.3 percent). Despite such poor results, palliative excision remains justified and offers the patient longer and more comfortable survival than any other type of treatment. Two-stage excision represents a longer, more complex and more grave procedure than one-stage esophagogastrectomy. The addition of postoperative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in the last 3 years had led to a marked improvement in survival.

[Post-operative cobalt irradiation and chemotherapy in cancer of the oesophagus (author's transl)]. / Traitement du cancer de l'oesophage thoracique. Intérét de la cobaltothérapie et de la chimiothérapie post-opératoire.

Oesophago-gastrectomy through combined abdominal and right thoracic incision was performed on 271 patients with epidermoid carcinoma of the thoracic oesophagus. The overall post-operative mortality rate of 16.6% dropped to 4.8% during the last 3 years. The global survival rate at 5 years was 9.3% but could be as high as 28% in patients with good prospects of cure. At the moment, the resectability rate is 74% and the "curability index" approximately 27%. The authors emphasize the need for a post-operative medical treatment capable of improving upon the results obtained with surgery. After reviewing the benefits provided by various therapeutic measures, they have adopted a treatment combining cobalt irradiation and chemotherapy. The results over a period of 2 1/2 years and in a limited number of cases appear to be encouraging.