Trends in autologous fat grafting to the breast: a national survey of the american society of plastic surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Autologous fat grafting has been gaining popularity in recent years, although there remains concern regarding the safety and efficacy of the practice for breast surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine national trends for fat grafting to the breast and to establish the frequency and specific techniques of the procedure to provide more supportive data. METHODS: A questionnaire was e-mailed to 2584 members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Variables included prevalence and applications of fat grafting to the breast. Components of the fat graft protocol were also assessed. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty-six of the 2584 questionnaires were completed. Sixty-two percent of all respondents reported currently using fat grafting for reconstructive breast surgery and 28% of all respondents reported currently using the practice for aesthetic breast surgery. The most common reason cited by respondents for using fat grafting to the breast was as an adjunctive therapy to implant or flap surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Fat grafting to the breast is a common procedure most often used in reconstructive operations. The increasing prevalence of fat grafting to the breast indicates a need for collection of clinical data and supports the establishment of a national prospective registry to track outcomes after aesthetic and reconstructive applications.

Medical specialty society-sponsored data registries: opportunities in plastic surgery.

SUMMARY: Clinical data registries are commonly used worldwide and are implemented for a variety of purposes ranging from physician or facility clinic logs for tracking patients, to collecting outcomes data, to measuring quality improvement or safety of medical devices. In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has used data collected through registries to facilitate the drug and device regulatory process, for ongoing surveillance during the product life cycle, and for disease appraisals. Furthermore, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in certain instances, bases registry participation and submitting data to registries as factors for reimbursement decisions. The purpose of this article is to discuss the use of clinical data registries; the role that medical specialty societies, in particular, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and The Plastic Surgery Foundation, can have in the development and management of registries; and the opportunities for registry use in plastic surgery. As outcomes data are becoming essential measures of quality health care delivery, participation in registry development and centralized data collection has become a critical task for plastic surgery to engage in to proactively participate in the national quality and performance measurement agenda.

Secondary gastrointestinal cancer in childhood cancer survivors: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Childhood cancer survivors develop gastrointestinal cancer more frequently and at a younger age than the general population, but the risk factors have not been well-characterized. OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk and associated risk factors for gastrointestinal subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs) in childhood cancer survivors. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a multicenter study of childhood cancer survivors diagnosed between 1970 and 1986. PATIENTS: 14 358 survivors of cancer diagnosed when they were younger than 21 years of age who survived for 5 or more years after the initial diagnosis. MEASUREMENTS: Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for gastrointestinal SMNs were calculated by using age-specific population data. Multivariate Cox regression models identified associations between risk factors and gastrointestinal SMN development. RESULTS: At median follow-up of 22.8 years (range, 5.5 to 30.2 years), 45 cases of gastrointestinal cancer were identified. The risk for gastrointestinal SMNs was 4.6-fold higher in childhood cancer survivors than in the general population (95% CI, 3.4 to 6.1). The SIR for colorectal cancer was 4.2 (CI, 2.8 to 6.3). The highest risk for gastrointestinal SMNs was associated with abdominal radiation (SIR, 11.2 [CI, 7.6 to 16.4]). However, survivors not exposed to radiation had a significantly increased risk (SIR, 2.4 [CI, 1.4 to 3.9]). In addition to abdominal radiation, high-dose procarbazine (relative risk, 3.2 [CI, 1.1 to 9.4]) and platinum drugs (relative risk, 7.6 [CI, 2.3 to 25.5]) independently increased the risk for gastrointestinal SMNs. LIMITATION: This cohort has not yet attained an age at which risk for gastrointestinal cancer is greatest. CONCLUSION: Childhood cancer survivors, particularly those exposed to abdominal radiation, are at increased risk for gastrointestinal SMNs. These findings suggest that surveillance of at-risk childhood cancer survivors should begin at a younger age than that recommended for the general population. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Cancer Institute.

Racial and ethnic disparities in risk and survival in children with neuroblastoma: a Children's Oncology Group study.

PURPOSE: Although health disparities are well-described for many cancers, little is known about racial and ethnic disparities in neuroblastoma. To evaluate differences in disease presentation and survival by race and ethnicity, data from the Children's Oncology Group (COG) were analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The racial/ethnic differences in clinical and biologic risk factors, and outcome of patients with neuroblastoma enrolled on COG ANBL00B1 between 2001 and 2009 were investigated. RESULTS: A total of 3,539 patients (white, 72%; black, 12%; Hispanic, 12%; Asian, 4%; and Native American, < 1%) with neuroblastoma were included. The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rates were 67% for whites (95% CI, 65% to 69%), 69% for Hispanics (95% CI, 63% to 74%), 62% for Asians (95% CI, 51% to 71%), 56% for blacks (95% CI, 50% to 62%), and 37% for Native American (95% CI, 17% to 58%). Blacks (P < .001) and Native Americans (P = .04) had a higher prevalence of high-risk disease than whites, and significantly worse EFS (P = .01 and P = .002, respectively). Adjustment for risk group abrogated these differences. However, closer examination of the EFS among high-risk patients who remained event free for 2 years or longer, revealed a higher prevalence of late-occurring events among blacks compared with whites (hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.3; P = .04). CONCLUSION: Black and Native American patients with neuroblastoma have a higher prevalence of high-risk disease, accounting for their worse EFS when compared with whites. The higher prevalence of late-occurring events among blacks with high-risk disease suggests that this population may be more resistant to chemotherapy. Studies focused on delineating the genetic basis for the racial disparities observed in this study are planned.