Patterns and prognostic significance of clinical recurrences after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: A 20-year single center experience.

OBJECTIVE: Patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC) due to bladder cancer (BCa) face high risk of clinical recurrence. The aim of our study was to describe recurrence patterns and characteristics related to survival in patients treated with RC due to BCa. METHODS: Years 1992-2012 of a prospectively maintained institutional RC registry were queried for clinical localized urothelial BCa patients. Clinical recurrences were categorized as local, distant or secondary urothelial recurrences. Kaplan Meier analysis assessed time to cancer specific mortality (CSM). Multivariable Cox regression models were constructed to predict recurrence and CSM after recurrence. RESULTS: Data from 1110 patients with urothelial non-metastatic BCa at RC were analyzed with 7.5 years of median follow up. Overall, 324 patients experienced recurrence and 200 (61.7%) were single site recurrence. The locations were: 43 local (22 cystectomy bed and 21 pelvic lymph node dissection template), 138 distant (36 lung, 19 liver, 52 bone, 17 extra pelvic LN, 7 peritoneal, 4 brain and 3 others) and 19 secondary urothelial carcinoma (11 upper urinary tract, 8 urethra). Significant independent predictors of overall recurrence were pathological stage pT3/T4 vs. pT0-2, pathological N positive status and positive surgical margin. Median overall survival after recurrence was 18 months. At multivariate analysis, pathological T3 (Hazard ratio [HR]: 1.62), T4 (HR: 1.58), interval from RC to recurrence (HR: 0.92) and distant (HR: 2.57) recurrences were independently associated with CSM (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, one out of three patients treated with RC face recurrence during follow up. Early and distant recurrences are associated with shortest survival expectancies.

Determinants of long-term survival of patients with locally advanced prostate cancer: the role of extensive pelvic lymph node dissection.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic effect of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) during radical prostatectomy (RP) due to prostate cancer (PCa) is still under debate. We aimed at assessing the impact of more extensive PLND on cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in patients treated with surgery for locally advanced PCa. METHODS: We examined data of 1586 pT3-T4 PCa patients treated with RP and extended PLND between 1987 and 2012 at a tertiary referral care center. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses tested the relationship between the number of nodes removed and CSM rate, after adjusting for potential confounders. Survival estimates were based on the multivariable models. RESULTS: The average number of nodes removed was 19 (median: 17; interquartile range: 11-23). Mean and median follow-up were 80 and 72 months, respectively. At multivariable analyses, Gleason score 8-10 (hazard ratio (HR): 2.5) and a higher number of positive nodes (HR: 1.06) were independently associated with higher CSM rate (all P<0.05). Conversely, higher number of removed LNs (HR: 0.94) and adjuvant radiotherapy (HR: 0.54) were independent predictors of lower CSM rates (all P⩽0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In pT3-T4 PCa patients, removal of a higher number of LNs during RP was associated with higher cancer-specific survival rates. This supports the role of more extensive PLNDs in this patient group. Further prospective studies are needed to validate our findings.

Breast augmentation: Part III--preoperative considerations and planning.

The past four decades since the introduction of silicone mammary prostheses have seen significant improvements in their quality and durability. Advances in our understanding of the aetiopathology and prevention of adverse capsular contracture (ACC) have occurred such that surgical technique itself has now probably become the single most important determinant of both immediate and long-term outcome. Considered a simple, and in some quarters mindless, procedure it has evolved such that high-quality short- and stable long-term results are now expected. Whilst the fundamentals of breast augmentation (BA) remain, evolutionary philosophies confront today's surgeon with a wealth of options. Of fundamental importance has been the paradigm shift from a purely, or predominantly, volumetric, through biodimensional to a tissue-based approach. With BA, more than any other aesthetic procedure, possessing more variables, choice and influential external factors a thorough understanding of the myriad options available is essential. This review seeks to cover the key elements in obtaining an optimal primary result. It provides a rational basis for the selection of an option tailored to both the patient and the individual tissue characteristics in addition to the pertinent medico-legal issues.

Breast augmentation: Part II--Adverse capsular contracture.

Although adverse capsular contracture (ACC) following breast augmentation remains an enigmatic phenomenon, significant progress has been made in diminishing its occurrence during the previous surgical generation. Given the rising global frequency of breast augmentation, however, ACC is likely to be with us for the foreseeable future and an understanding of its nature, and particularly prevention, will continue to be of foremost importance as breast augmentation undergoes a paradigm shift from anti-contracture to aesthetic result as the key outcome measure. Whilst clinical research has hitherto been the mainstay of investigation, providing both understanding and practical guidance, further improvements may derive from new developments in the fields of immunology and molecular biology: convergence of these complementary avenues may eventually yield a non-surgical treatment for ACC. This review presents a summary of our extant knowledge, providing evidence where it exists and a consensus view where it does not. It aims at providing a sound comprehension of the underlying aetiopathology that has provoked the measures seen to date and guides selection of the appropriate therapeutic strategy, which will be expanded in a future review.

A rare case of giant cutaneous horn.

Cutaneous horn, a clinical manifestation of hyper-proliferation of compact keratin, can represent a wide array of underlying benign and malignant pathologies. Here we report a unique case of a giant cutaneous horn (7x4x3 cm) that developed on a chronic ulcer in a non sun-exposed area. This case presented challenges in terms of diagnosis and treatment. We also review the literature about this rare condition.

Controversial issues in diagnosis of liposarcomas of the thigh. A report of 18 cases.

Liposarcoma is a common soft tissue neoplasm mainly found in the thigh. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential for survival, but clinical diagnosis may not be easy, and the importance of imaging is controversial as it often fails to indicate the presence of liposarcoma so that treatment is delayed. We report our experience of 18 cases of liposarcoma (16 of which in the thigh). This experience has led us to revise our opinions about imaging, clinical, and histopathological diagnosis, and the surgical and medical treatment. We now suggest that any hard, subfascial mass in an adult should be considered as a soft tissue neoplasm. Of these neoplasms, liposarcoma is the most common type, after malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Diagnosis by imaging techniques is rarely possible, so that integration with clinical data is essential. Among the various imaging techniques, computed tomography and ultrasound seem to be most useful.