[Treatment of patients with esophageal cancer in Argentina. Surgery or clinical research?]. / Tratamiento de los pacientes con cáncer de esófago en la Argentina. Cirugía o investigación clínica?

In Accident the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has increased at a rate exceeding that of all other tumors. In Argentina, the incidence of cancer of the oesophagus is unknown and patients are treated according to the classic medical or institutional experience and usually local and poorly effective treatment modalities are used. Currently, the prognosis of patients with this condition is very poor and there is a need to explore new therapeutics. We think that instead of treating patients with classic modalities with predictable results, the aim should be a search of alternatives based on clinical research.

[Resection of hepatic colorectal metastases]. / Cirugia de las metástasis hepáticas de cáncer colorrectal.

Between October 1986 and March 1995, 35 patients had hepatic resections because of metastases of colorectal cancer: 24 (68.6%) metastasectomies were carried out and 11 formal resections. The surgical morbility was 34.3% (12/35 patients) and the mortality 5.7% (2/35 patients). The medium hospitalization was 13.1 days (range: 6-68). The medium follow up of our population was 30.3 months. From the 33 evaluable patients (2 out of the 35 patients were discarded from the analysis for intraoperatory death) 21 relapsed. The medium disease free survival was 18.9 months; 19/33 patients died (all from progressive disease). The medium survival for the 33 patients was 26.6 months. The 5 years survival was 42.4%, comparable with other international series. We consider that factors related with the strict selection of the patients contributed to achieve these encouraging results. The multidisciplinary work (that made easier the selection of the better candidates for surgery) involving surgeons, anesthesiologists, oncologists, radiologists and internists, were made possible in a public hospital.

Radiotherapy for bone metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Radiotherapeutic effects of 42 bone metastases in 26 hepatocellular carcinoma patients were retrospectively analyzed. Pain relief was observed in 79% of 37 bone metastases treated (29/37). Antitumor effects and improvement of paralysis were also observed in 88% (8/9) and 17% (1/6), respectively. The toxicities experienced were tolerable. Radiotherapy was an effective means of palliation in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma bone metastases.