The Effect of Single-Dose Intraperitoneal Bevacizumab on Peritoneal Adhesion Formation.

BACKGROUND: Intra-abdominal adhesions and their complications following abdominal surgery are serious problems, with an incidence of 67-93%. Prevention of peritoneal adhesion formation may eliminate the need for surgical intervention, decreasing complications, morbidity, and cost. Bevacizumab is a recombinant monoclonal antibody which specifically binds vascular endothelial growth factor, an important cytokine in adhesion formation, and neutralizes its biological activity. We developed an experimental model in rats to determine the effect of bevacizumab in preventing adhesion formation and analyzed its effect both micro- and macroscopically. METHODS: We used 32. Wistar rats randomly divided into two groups: Group A (control) and Group B (bevacizumab), with 16 rats each. A modified cecum abrasion model was developed; 0.9% NaCl solution was administered intraperitoneally to Group A and bevacizumab to Group B. On day 15, adhesion formation was evaluated both macro- and microscopically. RESULTS: Both micro- and macroscopic adhesion grades in Group B were significantly lower than those of control Group A; macroscopic grades were 2.69 ± 0.95 and 0.69 ± 0.8, and microscopic grades were 2.25 ± 1.06 and 0.5 ± 0.52 for Groups A and B, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Bevacizumab was effective in preventing intraperitoneal adhesion formation in our study; however, its inhibitory effects on embryogenesis and the hematopoietic, endocrine, and immune systems may limit its clinical use.

The results of 21-year experience of treating anal squamous cell carcinomas.

OBJECTIVE: Anal squamous cell carcinomas are one of the rare cancer types. Due to the developments in the past 35 years, surgery is no longer the first treatment of choice. The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine the outcomes of 24 patients treated in a single center in the last 21 years in terms of applied treatment, local relapse, distant metastasis, post-treatment complications, and survival. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data obtained from 24 anal squamous cell carcinoma patients, who were treated in Ankara Oncology Research and Education Hospital between 1990 and 2010, were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 24 patients, 16 had anal canal squamous cell carcinoma and eight had perianal squamous cell carcinoma. All of the patients with anal canal squamous cell carcinoma (n=16) received chemoradiotherapy. Three of these patients who did not respond to treatment, underwent abdominoperineal resection. The patients with perianal squamous cell tumors were treated by local excision. During the follow -ups, seven patients experienced local relapse, and one patient had distant organ metastasis. Only one patient died. Five-year disease free survival rate was found as 66%. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the first alternative in the treatment of anal squamous cell tumors should be chemoradiotherapy; and surgery seems to be the appropriate approach for the non-responsive and relapsing cases.

Prognostic factors affecting postmastectomy locoregional recurrence in patients with early breast cancer: are intrinsic subtypes effective?

BACKGROUND: Many studies have investigated the association between the molecular subtypes of breast cancer and survival. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of intrinsic subtypes of breast cancer and the other clinicopathological factors on postmastectomy locoregional recurrence (LRR) in patients with early breast cancer. METHODS: The records of 1,195 consecutive early breast cancer patients treated with modified radical mastectomy between 2004 and 2008 were retrospectively evaluated. The effects of intrinsic subtypes of the tumor (luminal A, luminal B, HER2-overexpressing, and triple-negative) and classical clinicopathological factors on LRR were identified by univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 44 months, and 16 (1.3%) patients experienced a LRR during this period. In univariate analysis, the intrinsic subtypes of breast cancer had a significant effect on LRR (p = 0.002). In multivariate analysis, only extranodal invasion and estrogen receptor (ER) status were significant predictors of LRR (p = 0.003 and 0.0001, respectively), whereas intrinsic subtypes did not reveal a significant relationship with LRR (p = 0.57; hazard ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-4.7). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the extranodal invasion and negative ER status should potentially be considered when evaluating the risk of LRR. The predictive power of intrinsic subtypes for LRR is less than that of classical pathological indicators. This information may be useful in planning management of LRR in early breast cancer patients treated with mastectomy.