Pathology practice patterns affect lymph node evaluation and outcome of colon cancer: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: A large variation in the number of nodes examined between patients, hospitals, and regions has been reported for patients with colon cancer. We studied determinants of this variation and its relation to survival in the south of The Netherlands. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent resection for stage I-III colon carcinoma diagnosed from 1999 to 2002 in the Eindhoven Cancer Registry area were included (n = 2168). Determinants of lymph node evaluation and their relationship to survival were assessed, including variation between the six departments of pathology. RESULTS: A median number of six lymph nodes per specimen had been examined. The median number for each department of pathology ranged from three to eight (P < 0.0001). After correction for relevant factors, this variation remained, resulting in differences in the proportion of N+ tumours between departments from 29% to 41% (P < 0.0001). The number of nodes examined was positively associated with survival. Survival for node-negative patients differed between the departments of pathology (up to hazard ratio 1.5; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: There was a large variation in lymph node evaluation between the departments of pathology, leading to differences in stage distribution and survival. Intervention strategies should be directed at nodal assessment.

Greater influence of age than co-morbidity on primary treatment and complications of prostate cancer patients: an in-depth population-based study.

We investigated the influence of age and co-morbidity on treatment, the occurrence of serious non-urological complications of treatment and prognosis for prostate cancer patients diagnosed and treated in community hospitals. Additional information from a random sample of 505 prostate cancer patients (aged 40 years or older) from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry diagnosed between 1995 and 1999 was collected. In all, 43% of the prostate cancer patients aged 40-69 years and 64% of those aged 70 or older suffered from one or more serious concomitant disease that barely affected primary treatment choice. However, compared to patients without co-morbidity, patients with cardiovascular diseases underwent radical prostatectomy less often (P=0.01). In all, 38% of the patients undergoing radical prostatectomy suffered from complications during the first year after diagnosis versus about 20% of those receiving radiotherapy. The number of complications did not seem to be affected by co-morbidity. After adjustment for age, stage, grade, prostate-specific antigen level and treatment, the cumulative risk of death was almost two times higher for patients with two or more concomitant diseases than for patients without co-morbidity. After adjustment for age, prostate cancer patients with co-morbidity were not treated differently, did not suffer from more complications but had a worse prognosis, compared to those without co-morbidity.

Mixed adherence to clinical practice guidelines for colorectal cancer in the Southern Netherlands in 2002.

AIMS: Population-based cancer registries can provide excellent data for insight in disease management practice. This study examines the extent to which the consensus-based national clinical guidelines (version 2000-2001) for colorectal cancer (CRC) had been implemented in the diagnostic and treatment approach in the Southern Netherlands in 2002. METHODS: Data were gathered from the medical records for a random sample from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry of 308 patients with colorectal cancer. Adherence to clinical guidelines was determined for diagnostic assessment, pathology, and treatment during the first year after diagnosis. RESULTS: Surgical procedures and referral for pre-operative radiotherapy were carried out largely conform the recommendations. The number of performed colonoscopies among colon cancer patients amounted to 60%; contrast enemas after incomplete colonoscopy were performed in only 27% of patients. The median number of examined lymph nodes was only six for patients with colon and five for patients with rectal cancer; the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage III colon cancer decreased from 95% of patients younger than 70 years to 48% of patients over 70. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to clinical guidelines was not optimal. Feedback to surgeons and pathologists should improve adherence, especially with respect to nodal retrieval and assessment.

[The correlation of age and comorbidity with therapy and survival in cancer patients in North-Brabant and North-Limburg, 1995-2001]. / Samenhang van leeftijd en comorbiditeit met therapie en overleving bij patiënten met kanker in Noord-Brabant en Noord-Limburg, 1995-2001.

The proportion of elderly cancer patients has increased considerably. This means that more patients are being diagnosed with one or more serious concomitant condition which may complicate the treatment of cancer. Little is known about treatment outcomes, as elderly patients with comorbidity are often excluded from clinical trials. The Eindhoven Cancer Registry has been registering serious co-morbidity in North-Brabant and North-Limburg in the Netherlands since 1993. Using data from patients diagnosed with cancer in 1995-2001, the correlation between age and comorbidity and choice of therapy and survival rates was described. Very elderly patients or patients with co-morbidity often were not treated in accordance with the guidelines. Elderly patients with localized lung cancer or prostate cancer underwent less surgery as often and elderly patients with colorectal cancer, breast cancer or ovarian cancer received less adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy than younger patients. The prognosis was often worse for elderly patients than for younger patients, and the presence of co-morbidity decreased survival in most types of tumour. The question remains whether the prognosis for elderly patients with cancer would improve if more of them were treated in accordance with the guidelines, or if this will only lead to more complications.

Co-morbidity leads to altered treatment and worse survival of elderly patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of co-morbidity on the treatment and prognosis of elderly patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: The independent influence of age and co-morbidity on treatment and survival was analysed for 6931 patients with colorectal cancer aged 50 years or more diagnosed between 1995 and 2001 in the southern part of the Netherlands. RESULTS: Co-morbidity had no influence on resection rate. The use of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage III colonic cancer was influenced by co-morbidity, especially a previous malignancy (odds ratio (OR) 0.2 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0.1 to 0.6); P = 0.002) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR 0.3 (95 per cent c.i. 0.1 to 0.9); P = 0.043). Co-morbidity also influenced use of adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer, especially the presence of hypertension in combination with diabetes (OR 0.5 (95 per cent c.i. 0.2 to 0.9); P = 0.031). Co-morbidity influenced survival (hazard ratio up to 1.6), when adjusted for age, sex, tumour stage and treatment. The greatest influence on survival of patients with colonic cancer was previous malignancy, cardiovascular disease and COPD, and that of patients with rectal cancer was COPD, hypertension, and hypertension in combination with diabetes. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients with co-morbidity were treated less aggressively and had a worse survival than those with no concomitant disease.

[Surgery and follow-up 131I therapy in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma in the south-east of the Netherlands, 1983-1996, compliance with the 1987 consensus guidelines: additional data]. / Chirurgie en 131I-nabehandeling bij patiënten met gedifferentieerde schildklierkanker in Zuidoost-Nederland, 1983-1996, vergeleken met de consensusrichtlijnen uit 1987: aanvullende gegevens.

In a previous study using data from the regional cancer registry of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre South, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, we concluded that in the majority of cases surgical treatment was in accordance with the consensus recommendations, but that about 40% of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer from a number of regional hospitals had not been referred for 131I therapy. However, in a subsequent study using patient data from these hospitals, it became clear that almost all patients had in fact been referred for therapy but to centres outside the 131I therapy region. The conclusion of the study should therefore be altered: the great majority of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer in the south-east of The Netherlands (1983-96) were referred for 131I treatment and therefore the primary surgical and the follow-up treatment complied with the 1987 consensus guidelines.

Anaemia prior to operation is related with poorer long-term survival in patients with operable rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Local hypoxia has been linked to a higher risk of metastasis in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix and a haemoglobin concentration of 7.45 mmol/l or less. It is unknown whether the same holds true for rectal cancer. We evaluated the independent impact of pre-operative anaemia on survival in patients with rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A random set of 144 patients diagnosed with Dukes' A, B or C rectal cancer in the period 1995-1999 and registered in the database of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry was included in a survival analysis. Parameters tested were gender, age, pre-operative haemoglobin concentration, tumour stage and therapy. The ones that showed a relation with survival (log-rank test, p<0.1) were entered in a multivariate analysis. RESULTS: For patients without pre-operative anaemia, the hazard ratio of death was 0.35 (95% confidence interval 0.19-0.65, p=0.001), which indicates a three times higher mortality risk. For patients with a higher tumour stage (Dukes' B vs. Dukes' A or Dukes' C vs. Dukes' B) the hazard ratio of death was 1.52 (95% CI 1.04-2.23, p=0.03). For older patients (64-73 years vs. <64 years or >73 years vs. 64-73 years) the hazard ratio of death was 1.85 (95% CI 1.29-2.63, p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Long-term survival was significantly affected in rectal cancer patients with pre-operative anaemia. Further study on the relation between anaemia, tumour oxygenation and prognosis is needed, as it may have implications for future therapy.

Comorbidity has negligible impact on treatment and complications but influences survival in breast cancer patients.

In the present study, we investigated whether age and serious comorbid conditions influence treatment decisions, complications and survival in breast cancer patients. The Eindhoven Cancer Registry records patient, tumour and therapy characteristics of all patients diagnosed with cancer in the southern part of the Netherlands. Additional information on severity of comorbidity and serious complications was collected for a random sample of 527 breast cancer patients (aged 40 years and older). More than 70% of the patients >or=80 exhibited high severity of comorbidity compared to 6% of those aged 40-49 years. Treatment was not influenced by severity of comorbidity. Less than 30% of the breast cancer patients had complications after diagnosis. The number of complications was not related to age or severity of comorbidity. The hazard ratio (HR) of dying for patients with low/moderate severity of comorbidity was 2.4 for those aged 40-69 years and 1.6 for those aged >or=70 years, after adjustment for age, nodal status and treatment. For patients with high severity of comorbidity, the risk of dying was almost three times higher. Older breast cancer patients with serious comorbidity were not treated differently and did not have more complications compared to those without comorbidity, but they exhibited a worse prognosis.