T staging esophageal tumors with x rays.

With histopathology results typically taking several days, the ability to stage tumors during interventions could provide a step change in various cancer interventions. X-ray technology has advanced significantly in recent years with the introduction of phase-based imaging methods. These have been adapted for use in standard labs rather than specialized facilities such as synchrotrons, and approaches that enable fast 3D scans with conventional x-ray sources have been developed. This opens the possibility to produce 3D images with enhanced soft tissue contrast at a level of detail comparable to histopathology, in times sufficiently short to be compatible with use during surgical interventions. In this paper we discuss the application of one such approach to human esophagi obtained from esophagectomy interventions. We demonstrate that the image quality is sufficiently high to enable tumor T staging based on the x-ray datasets alone. Alongside detection of involved margins with potentially life-saving implications, staging tumors intra-operatively has the potential to change patient pathways, facilitating optimization of therapeutic interventions during the procedure itself. Besides a prospective intra-operative use, the availability of high-quality 3D images of entire esophageal tumors can support histopathological characterization, from enabling "right slice first time" approaches to understanding the histopathology in the full 3D context of the surrounding tumor environment.

Proximal Resection Margin in Ivor-Lewis Oesophagectomy for Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a long proximal oesophageal resection margin (PRM) is associated with improved survival after oesophagectomy for cancer and to identify the optimal margin to aim for in this patient group. METHODS: A prospectively maintained database identified 174 patients who underwent Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy for cancer. Demographic, clinical, and pathological data were collected. X-tile software was used to identify the optimal resection point. Two models were analysed: single point resection with comparison of two groups (short and long), and two resection points with three groups (short, medium, and long) to provide a range. RESULTS: The median PRM was 4.0 cm (interquartile range: 2.5-6.0 cm). After adjustment for significant confounders, multivariable Cox PH analysis demonstrated that the optimal resection margin was 1.7 cm, and in the three-group analysis the optimum PRM was between 1.7 and 3 cm. In the two-group analysis, the long margin had no effect on DFS (p = 0.37), but carried a significantly improved overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.46, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.25-0.87, p = 0.02). In the three-group analysis, the medium and long groups had improved OS compared with the short group (on average 54 %, HR ≥ 0.45, p ≤ 0.04). The 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates were highest in the medium PRM group (48 and 57 % respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Optimal survival following oesophagectomy for cancer is achieved with a PRM > 1.7 cm, but a PRM > 3 cm does not yield a further survival advantage. Thus, the optimal PRM is likely to be between 1.7 and 3 cm.

Unplanned excision of soft tissue sarcoma results in increased rates of local recurrence despite full further oncological treatment.

BACKGROUND: Unplanned excision of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) accounts for up to 40% of all initial operations for STS and is undertaken when the mass is presumed to be benign. The effect this has on outcome has never been fully established. METHODS: Patients with extremity or trunk STS between 2001 and 2005 who were treated by an initial inadvertent operation and then referred immediately to our unit were identified. Outcomes were compared with a control group of patients with STS who were stage-matched and had been treated conventionally by core biopsy and definitive surgery. Endpoints were local recurrence, distant metastases and sarcoma-specific survival. RESULTS: 134 patients who had undergone unplanned excision of STS were identified. One hundred twenty-one underwent further re-excision, and 51 (48%) of these patients had residual tumour identified after surgical re-excision. Two hundred nine stage-matched controls were identified who were treated conventionally. Median follow-up was 51.6 months. Local recurrence rates were considerably higher in the study group (23.8 vs. 11%, p = 0.0016), despite the control group having more stage 3 tumours. When the tumours were matched by stage, an increase in local recurrence was seen across all stages but was most pronounced for stage 3 tumours (37.5 vs. 14.2%, p = 0.005). Metastasis-free and sarcoma-specific survival were also significantly increased for stage 3 tumours. CONCLUSION: Unplanned initial excision of extremity soft tissue sarcoma may compromise long-term local control of extremity STS despite full further oncological management.

The role of core needle biopsy in the diagnosis of suspected soft tissue tumours.

BACKGROUND: Controversy surrounds the biopsy method of choice for the histological diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of core needle biopsy (CNB) in patients referred with the suspicion of a soft tissue sarcoma. METHODOLOGY: Previously undiagnosed patients (n = 530) with a suspected soft tissue tumour (STT) who underwent CNB at initial presentation were identified. Specific end-points were the ability to differentiate benign from malignant tumours, soft tissue from non-STT, and for sarcomas to define subtype and grade. RESULTS: Of the 530 patients, 426 patients (80.4%) with soft tissue tumours were identified, of which 225 (52.8%) were malignant and 201 (47.2%) benign. In the remaining 104 patients, tumours masquerading as STT were diagnosed. CNB could differentiate soft tissue sarcomas from benign soft tissue tumours with an accuracy of 97.6%. High grade were differentiated from low grade sarcomas with an accuracy of 86.3%. Tumour subtype was accurately assigned in 89.5% of benign tumours and 88.0% of sarcomas. CONCLUSION: CNB is simple, safe and can accurately diagnose benign and malignant soft tissue tumours. It can reliably identify other tumours masquerading as sarcoma. CNB should be the method of choice to obtain a histological diagnosis in suspected STT.