Oncoplastic breast conserving surgery and oncological outcome: Systematic review.

UNLABELLED: Oncoplastic surgery consists a new approach for extending breast conserving surgery possibilities This manuscript aimed to systematically review data on the oncological outcome of oncoplastic breast surgery. Electronic databases were searched with the appropriate search term up to and included April 2013. INCLUSION CRITERIA: full publications including at least 10 patients and providing evidence on at least one of the following outcomes: margin involvement, local recurrence, metastatic disease, death number. Forty studies including 2830 patients, met inclusion criteria; twenty one studies investigated volume displacement techniques; fifteen studies investigated volume replacement techniques; four studies presented data on various oncoplastic techniques. Study quality was low. The majority of studies were observational studies. The length of follow up was relatively short, with only two studies reporting a median duration longer than 60 months. Only seven studies including more than 100 patients. There was great variation in the frequency of margin involvement ranging between 0% and 36% of patients. Local recurrence was observed in 0-10.8% of patients. Distant metastasis was observed in 0-18.9% of patients. In conclusion, long term oncological outcome of oncoplastic surgery for breast cancer is not adequately investigated. Further research efforts should focus on Level I evidence on oncological outcome of oncoplastic surgery.

Minimally invasive pancreatic surgery.

Minimally invasive pancreatic surgery is feasible and safe. Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy should be widely adopted for benign lesions of the pancreas. Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy, although technically demanding, in the setting of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has a number of advantages including shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, allowing patients to recover in a timelier manner and pursue adjuvant treatment options. Furthermore, it seems that progression-free survival is longer in patients undergoing laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy in comparison with those undergoing open pancreaticoduodenectomy. Minimally invasive middle pancreatectomy seems appropriate for benign or borderline tumors of the neck of the pancreas. Technological advances including intraoperative ultrasound and intraoperative fluorescence imaging systems are expected to facilitate the wide adoption of minimally invasive pancreatic surgery. Although, the oncological outcome seems similar with that of open surgery, there are still concerns, as the majority of relevant evidence comes from retrospective studies. Large multicenter randomized studies comparing laparoscopic with open pancreatectomy as well as robotic assisted with both open and laparoscopic approaches are needed. Robotic approach could be possibly shown to be less invasive than conventional laparoscopic approach through the less traumatic intra-abdominal handling of tissues. In addition, robotic approach could enable the wide adoption of the technique by surgeon who is not that trained in advanced laparoscopic surgery. A putative clinical benefit of minimally invasive pancreatic surgery could be the attenuated surgical stress response leading to reduced morbidity and mortality as well as lack of the detrimental immunosuppressive effect especially for the oncological patients.

Pharmacogenomics of phase II metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters: clinical implications.

The clinical impact of pharmacogenomics remains a hot topic of current research efforts. Although pharmacogenomics of phase I metabolizing enzymes seems to have been well studied, knowledge on the clinical impact of genetic variability of phase II metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters is more limited. This paper reviews data on the pharmacogenomics of phase II metabolizing enzymes as well as of ATP binding cassette transporters and of solute carrier transporters focusing on clinical implications for drug efficacy and drug toxicity. The clinical impact of some of these polymorphisms has been well defined i.e. the association between polymorphisms of organic anion transporter polypeptides and statin induced myopathy. However, as the same drug may be substrate for different enzymes and different transporters, it is difficult to elucidate the impact of each polymorphism. Investigating the impact of multiple polymorphisms might be more clinically meaningful, although methodologically challenging.

Clinical implications of the histologically and immunohistochemically detected solitary lymph node metastases in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Topographic correlation between the primary gastric tumor and the first peri- and extragastric lymphatic drain basin (solitary lymph node metastasis) on gastrectomy specimens, represents a reliable method to investigate and understand the exact pattern of lymphatic drainage from a gastric tumor. Analyzing that correlation, useful information regarding the extent of the appropriate oncological perigastric lymphadenectomy will be provided. We retrospectively evaluate the usefulness of a modified D2 lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer patients, based on the topographic correlation between the primary tumor and the location of the solitary lymph node metastases, as they were detected by histology and immunohistochemistry. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Between April 2003 and March 2010, 134 gastric cancer patients were submitted to a modified D2 lymphadenectomy. Postoperatively, the standard histological ex-amination by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, disclosed metastatic infiltration of at least two lymph nodes in 90 patients, solitary lymph node metastases were histologically detected in 10 patients, while the remaining 34 patients were classified as pN0. All lymph nodes of the ten patients with histological solitary lymph node metastases, as well as the 34 patients who had been classified as pN0 by histology, were further submitted to immunohistochemistry for micrometastases detection. More than one micrometastases were detected in none of them, while in seven patients solitary micrometastases were detected either in the level I perigastric or in the level II extragastric lymph nodes stations (skip micrometastases). RESULTS: Solitary lymph node metastases were detected by histology in ten patients and by immunohistochemistry in additional seven (nine females and eight males). Solitary metastases were detected in the level I LN stations in seven patients (four by histology and three by immunohistochemistry) and in the level II LN stations in ten patients (six by histology and four by immunohistochemistry). In order of frequency, the solitary lymph node metastases were located in the no 7 (n = 6), no 6 (n = 4), no 9 (n = 2), no 5 (n = 2), no 4 (n = 1), no 8 (n = 1) and no 12 (n = 1) LN stations. Skip metastases encountered the 60% of the histologically detected, 57% of the immunohistochemically detected and 59% of all solitary lymph node metastases. 80% of solitary metastases in the level II LN stations, were mainly located in the nos 7-9 lymph node stations complex. Tumors of the lower and middle-third of the stomach were equally drained both to the level I and level II lymph node stations, while 67% of the tumors towards the lesser curvature, were mainly drained in the level II lymph node stations. CONCLUSION: D2 lymphadenectomy increases the number of true R0 resections. Thus, a modified D2 lymphadenectomy should be routinely performed in gastric cancer patients.

Protective effect of salicylates against hydrogen peroxide stress in yeast.

AIMS: To investigate the effects of salicylates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae exposed to oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). METHODS AND RESULTS: Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cultured through to the postlogarithmic phase of growth. Stress was induced by the addition of 1.5 mmol l(-1) H(2)O(2) for 1 h, while N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) and glutathione (GSSG) were used as control agents that affect the redox balance. Sodium salicylate, at 0.01-10 mmol l(-1)or acetylsalicylic acid, at 0.02-2.5 mmol l(-1) was administered at various times before hydrogen peroxide stress. Both agents conferred resistance to a subsequent hydrogen peroxide stress, similarly to the induction of the adaptive response observed upon pretreatment with NAC and GSSG. Sodium salicylate was more potent as a short-term, but not as a long-term pretreatment agent, compared to acetylsalicylic acid. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacological pretreatment with salicylates resulted in dose related increases in cell survival, indicating the induction of the protective response in yeast. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The possible role of salicylates in the modulation of the hydrogen peroxide stress response in eukaryotic cells address questions on the effects of these commonly used therapeutic agents in a number of disorders exhibiting an oxidative stress component.

Surgical-site infection surveillance in general surgery: a critical issue.

This prospective study assessed the Surgical Site Infection (SSI) rates in General Surgery and the microorganisms isolated. From January 2000 to October 2000, 898 patients were enrolled and electively operated in a General Surgery Clinic in Athens, Greece. Pre-coded questionnaires were used. The diagnosis and surveillance of SSIs was made by the surgeon-investigator who interviewed the patients. Patients were monitored during hospitalization and post-discharge for 30 days. Overall, 402 patients underwent a clean and 496 patients underwent a clean-contaminated operation. A total of 17 SSIs (4.2%) were observed in clean and 64 SSIs (12.9%) in clean-contaminated operations. Microorganisms were isolated in 36 of 65 (55%) of cases that microbiological evaluation was performed. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest microorganism isolated, followed by Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. SSI rates were higher than expected and most SSIs, 43 of 81 (53.1%), were diagnosed post-operatively. Post-discharge surveillance of SSIs remains a critical issue. Health care professionals, especially surgeons, should participate in surveillance networks and be aware of the results so to take appropriate action.

Adherence to guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis in general surgery: a critical appraisal.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the adherence of general surgeons to guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis. This study was held from January 2000 until October 2000 in a General Surgery Clinic in a hospital in Athens, Greece. METHODS: Eight hundred and ninety-eight patients were enrolled and operated on electively. Questionnaires concerning demographic data, health status, type of surgery (clean and clean-contaminated) and parameters of antibiotic prophylaxis (antibiotic choice, route, dose, timing of first dose, timing of operative redosing and duration of prophylaxis) were completed. RESULTS: Of the patients, 44.8% underwent a clean surgical operation and 55.2% underwent a clean-contaminated surgical operation. Inguinal hernia repair and laparoscopic cholecystectomy were the commonest operations in each category. Second-generation cephalosporins were the most frequently prescribed antibiotics, in 67%. Although, only 78.5% of procedures required prophylaxis, it was administered in 97.5%, so it was not justified and inappropriately administered in 19%. It was revealed that 100% of patients received antibiotic prophylaxis on time. The choice of antimicrobial agent was appropriate in 70% and the duration of prophylaxis was optimal in 36.3%. The overall compliance rate of surgeons with guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis was 36.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to separate aspects of guidelines for surgical prophylaxis has to be improved. The duration of antibiotic prophylaxis was the main parameter of interest. Interventions have to be made about the development, distribution and adoption of adequate guidelines in collaboration with surgeons.