Outcomes of Interventions for Angiosarcoma.

Objective: Angiosarcoma is a rare malignant vascular tumor, and the management and outcome of this disease are not well-described. The aim of this study was to report the incidence, patient demographics, and outcomes of angiosarcoma based on national data. Methods: Data on patients with angiosarcoma were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Inverse probability treatment weights (IPTW) were used to assess the survival benefit of operation with additional chemo or radiation therapy compared to operation alone. These variables were further compared against patients who did not receive an operation despite being initially offered one. Cox regression was used to assess survival. Statistical analyses were performed on RStudio. Results: For this study, 5,135 patients (46% men; median age 69, range 0-102) with angiosarcoma were identified in the SEER database between 1975 and 2016. The age-adjusted incidence rate was 1-4%. Patients were mostly non-Hispanic Caucasian (75.4%). The average tumor size was 4.7 cm, range (.1-98.9). Tumor grades were high at presentation (Grade III 17.2, Grade IV 19, and unknown 50.6%), but half were considered localized tumors. Most patients underwent an operation (66.1%). In 5.6% of patients, the operation was recommended but not performed. The overall 5-year survival was 26.7% (95% CI 25.4-28.1%). IPTW with adjusted Cox proportional hazard model demonstrated worse survival, showing that operation compared to no operation and operation with chemo/radiation compared to operation alone had worse survival between months 0 and 25 but had improved survival after month 25. Conclusions: The incidence of angiosarcoma is low and long-term survival is poor. Multimodal therapy in the form of neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemo/radiation therapy offers significant long-term survival benefits over operation alone.

Survey of Anesthesiologists on Topical Vasoconstrictors and Intravenous Tranexamic Acid for Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Topical vasoconstrictors and intravenous tranexamic acid (IV TXA) are safe and efficacious to decrease bleeding and improve the surgical field during endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). The purpose of this study was to investigate practice patterns, awareness of clinical evidence, and comfort levels among anesthesia providers regarding these hemostatic agents for ESS. METHODS: A total of 767 attending anesthesiologists, residents, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) at 5 United States academic centers were invited to participate in a survey regarding their experience with IV TXA and 3 topical vasoconstrictor medications (oxymetazoline, epinephrine, and cocaine) during ESS. RESULTS: 330 (47%) anesthesia providers responded to the electronic survey. 113 (97%) residents, 92 (83%) CRNAs, and 52 (68%) attendings managed 5 or fewer ESS cases per month. Two-thirds of providers had not reviewed efficacy or safety literature for these hemostatic agents. Oxymetazoline was perceived safest, followed by epinephrine, IV TXA, and cocaine. Respondents considered potential side effects over surgical field visibility when selecting agents. The majority of providers had no formal training on these agents for ESS, but indicated interest in educational opportunities. CONCLUSION: Many anesthesia providers are unfamiliar with safety and efficacy literature regarding agents used to improve hemostasis for ESS, highlighting a need for development of relevant educational resources. Rhinologic surgeons have an opportunity to communicate with anesthesia colleagues on the use of hemostatic agents to improve the surgical field during ESS.

Mobilization-based transplantation of young-donor hematopoietic stem cells extends lifespan in mice.

Mammalian aging is associated with reduced tissue regeneration and loss of physiological integrity. With age, stem cells diminish in their ability to regenerate adult tissues, likely contributing to age-related morbidity. Thus, we replaced aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with young-donor HSCs using a novel mobilization-enabled hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) technology as an alternative to the highly toxic conditioning regimens used in conventional HSCT. Using this approach, we are the first to report an increase in median lifespan (12%) and a decrease in overall mortality hazard (HR: 0.42, CI: 0.273-0.638) in aged mice following transplantation of young-donor HSCs. The increase in longevity was accompanied by reductions of frailty measures and increases in food intake and body weight of aged recipients. Young-donor HSCs not only preserved youthful function within the aged bone marrow stroma, but also at least partially ameliorated dysfunctional hematopoietic phenotypes of aged recipients. This compelling evidence that mammalian health and lifespan can be extended through stem cell therapy adds a new category to the very limited list of successful anti-aging/life-extending interventions. Our findings have implications for further development of stem cell therapies for increasing health and lifespan.

Urinary Diversion Disparity Following Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer in the Hispanic Population.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if disparities in quality of surgical care exist between Hispanics and non-Hispanics undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational cohort study was conducted retrospectively on patients who underwent radical cystectomy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder at our institution between January 2005 and July 2018. Data was collected on demographic, clinical, and pathological characteristics of patients, including self-reported ethnicity. Univariable and multivariable logistic or linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of ethnicity with receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, utilization of laparoscopic surgery, number of lymph nodes removed, and continent urinary diversion. RESULTS: We identified 507 patients in our database out of which, 136 (27%) were Hispanic and 371 (73%) were non-Hispanic. Compared to non-Hispanics, Hispanics had a higher body mass index (26.9 kg/m2 vs 28.2 kg/m2, P = .006) and lived further away from site of surgery (34 vs 96 miles, P = .02). No significant differences were observed in receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, laparoscopic surgery, or number of lymph nodes removed during cystectomy between ethnicity groups. However, Hispanics were less likely than non-Hispanics to receive a continent urinary diversion on multivariable analysis (odds ratio 0.30, 95% confidence interval 0.10 - 0.92, P = .03). CONCLUSION: Disparity exists in the delivery of continent urinary diversions for Hispanic patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Further investigation is needed to determine the potential causes for this disparity in care delivered.