Post-operative weight loss affects 3-year survival in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma after gastrectomy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma are at high risk of malnutrition. Some patients benefit from total gastrectomy associated with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) with or without cytoreduction surgery (CR) as a curative strategy. The aim of this study was to describe pre- and post-operative nutritional assessments and their impact on survival in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma treated with gastrectomy and HIPEC with or without CR at Lyon University Hospital were retrospectively included from April 2012 to August 2017. Carcinologic data, history of weight, anthropometric measures, nutritional biological markers and CT-scan body composition were collected. RESULTS: 54 patients were included. Malnutrition affected 48.1% before and 64.8% after surgery, and severe malnutrition respectively 11.1% and 20.3%. Pre-operative sarcopenia diagnosed by CT scan was found in 40.7% of the patients while 81.1% of the sarcopenic patients had a normal or high body mass index. A loss of ⩾ 20% of usual weight on discharge was a pejorative factor of survival at 3 years of follow-up (p = 0.0470). Only 14.8% of the patients continued artificial nutrition following discharge but artificial nutrition was resumed in 30.4% of the patients within 4 months after discharge owing to weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma undergoing gastrectomy and HIPEC with or without CR are at high risk of malnutrition. Post-operative weight loss has a pejorative impact on outcome. These patients should be systematically screened for malnutrition with early interventionist nutritional care and close nutritional follow-up.

Scalloping of the Liver and Spleen on Preoperative CT-Scan of Pseudomyxoma Peritonei Patients: Impact on Prediction of Resectability, Grade, Morbidity and Survival.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is ideally treated by cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), leading to significant morbidity. Beyond the histologic grade, the prognosis lies in the completeness of cytoreduction (CC-score of 0/1 vs. 2/3) and the severe complication rate. The mucinous nature of the peritoneal implants sometimes induces liver and/or spleen scalloping on imaging. The predictive value of scalloping was assessed regarding resectability, grade, survival and severe morbidity. This monocentric, retrospective analysis compared CC-0/1 with CC-2/3 groups regarding liver and spleen scalloping parameters, assessed on pre-operative computed tomography (CT) scan, reviewed for the study. In addition, prognostic factors of severe complications and recurrence-free and overall survivals were explored in the CC-0/1 population. Overall, 129 patients were included (109 CC-0/1, 20 CC-2/3), with 58 (45%) exhibiting scalloping. All patients with splenic scalloping also had a liver one. Scalloping was more frequent (75% vs. 39%), with greater median maximal depth (21 vs. 11 mm) and higher PCI (32 vs. 14) in the CC-2/3 population, but was not predictive of either grade or survival. In CC-0/1 patients, survivals and postoperative complications were not affected by scalloping parameters. Scalloping appeared as a marker of advanced PMP, but was not predictive of grade, severe complications, or long-term outcomes.

Diagnosis of Ectopic Pancreas in Small Intestine With 18F-DOPA PET/CT.

ABSTRACT: A 77-year-old man was referred for a PET/CT 18F-FDG after incidental discovery of a lobulated jejunal lesion during surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The lesion was not removed due to the risk of digestive perforation. PET/CT 18F-FDG did not show pathologic hypermetabolism. Subsequently, we decided to perform PET/CT 18F-DOPA to better characterize this incidentaloma. A moderate uptake was showed, less than the pancreas. After multidisciplinary discussion, taking into account macroscopic and imaging aspects, the hypothesis of an ectopic pancreas was retained, allowing the exclusion of surgical excision.

Overall survival of pseudomyxoma peritonei and peritoneal mesothelioma patients after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy can be predicted by computed tomography quantified sarcopenia.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is associated with increased postoperative morbidity in abdominal surgery. This study aimed to determine if sarcopenia and/or abdominal fat composition could predict postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) for pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) and peritoneal mesothelioma (PM). METHODS: All patients who underwent a complete CRS-HIPEC for PMP and PM, between January 2009 and September 2017, were retrospectively studied. Preoperative computed tomography (CT) was used to measure the cross-sectional surface of skeletal muscle mass and adipose tissue (visceral and subcutaneous), at the level of the third lumbar vertebrae, to assess for sarcopenia and abdominal fat composition. RESULTS: Among 115 patients, 82 were treated for PMP and 33 for PM. 64 patients (55.7%) were sarcopenic on the preoperative imagery. Major postoperative complications occurred in 63 patients (54.8%), without observable difference between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients (56.2% vs. 52.9%; p = 0.723). The median overall survival (OS) was 73.3 for the patients with a normal muscle mass and 57.2 months for the sarcopenic patients (p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: CT measured sarcopenia is an independent predictive factor for overall survival in patients treated for PMP and PM with CRS-HIPEC, but cannot predict postoperative morbidity.