Colorectal carcinoma in patients 30 years of age and younger.

Thirty-seven cases of colorectal cancer in patients aged 30 years or younger have been treated at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center from 1957 through 1992. The present series, comprising patients treated from 1978 through 1992, updates a series presented from our institution comprising patients treated from 1957 through 1977. For the 36-year series, 24 patients (65%) were female, and 13 (35%) were male. Sixteen patients (43%) were black, and 21 patients (57%) were white. Sites of tumor and their frequency were rectosigmoid, 14 (38%), left colon, five (14%), splenic flexure, two (5%), transverse colon, three (9%), hepatic flexure, two (5%), right colon, two (5%), and cecum, six (16%). Twenty-two patients (59%) presented with abdominal pain, whereas 15 (41%) presented with hematochezia or hemoccult positive stools. The average time of onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 2.3 months. Thirty-four of 37 patients (92%) presented with advanced stage disease. Only four patients had precancerous conditions: one each with Gardner's Syndrome, Turcot's Syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and villous adenoma. Twenty-five patients (68%) underwent surgery for cure, and ten (27%) received palliative procedures. Nothing could be done for two patients (5%). Twenty-one patients (57%) had mucinous histology, 13 (35%) had typical adenocarcinoma, one (3%) had small cell carcinoma, and histology was unavailable in two (6%). Nodes were negative in only 10 (27%) patients, of which only three had mucinous histology. There have been five 5-year survivors and three patients alive and disease free at last follow up, ranging from 30 months to 48 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pancreas cancer resection outcome in American University centers in 1989-1990.

BACKGROUND: Series of patients with pancreas cancer from single high-volume institutions or surgeons have demonstrated improvements in morbidity and mortality of pancreatic resection in recent decades. The experience of these single institutions or surgeons may not, however, reflect the results achieved by a cross-section of surgeons or hospitals. This article examines the resection outcome for a large unselected group of university hospitals and surgeons. METHODS: Pancreas cancer resection morbidity and mortality were examined using a multi-institution data base of discharge coding data from 26 American university hospitals. The data were analyzed for relationships of morbidity and mortality with the type of resection, patient age, hospital volume, and individual surgeon case load. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-three resections were performed in 1989-1990 (pancreaticoduodenectomy, 168 patients; total pancreatectomy, 11; distal pancreatectomy, 30; and islet tumor resection, 14). The mortality rate was 6% (13 of 223) with major complications in 21%. Patient age did not correlate with complications or death. The surgeon case load ranged from 1-15 cases (median, 1) over the 2-year period. The mortality rate did not correlate with the case load. Surgeons performing one to three resections had significantly more complications than those performing four or more resections (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Pancreas resection is performed by an unselected cross-section of surgeons in American university centers with acceptable morbidity and mortality rates.

Pathologic findings in nonpalpable invasive breast cancer.

Previous studies have shown that patients with nonpalpable invasive breast cancer have a favorable prognosis. These studies, however, have not analyzed pathologic features of mammographically detected tumors according to tumor size. We describe the histopathologic features of 77 nonpalpable invasive breast cancers, comparing neoplasms less than or equal to 1 cm with larger clinically occult tumors. Forty-seven lesions (61%) were less than or equal to 1 cm (group A) and 30 (39%) were greater than 1 cm (group B). In group A, there were 30 infiltrating ductal carcinomas (IDC); seven infiltrating lobular carcinomas (ILC); and two cases each of mixed ILC and IDC, mixed tubular carcinoma and ILC, and infiltrating cribriform carcinoma. There was one case each of mucinous carcinoma, apocrine carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, and mixed mucinous and IDC. In group B, there were 23 (77%) IDC, five (17%) ILC, and two mixed IDC and ILC. Tumors in group B were more frequently grade 3 (22% versus 7%), but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.21). There were no important differences in the frequency, subtypes and location of carcinoma in situ, or other histopathologic parameters evaluated in the biopsy specimens. Mastectomy specimens with axillary lymph node dissections were available for review in 64 cases (83%). Group B patients had a higher rate of residual invasive carcinoma (31% versus 13%) and lymph node metastases (31% versus 16%), but these differences were not statistically significant. Residual carcinoma in situ was more frequent in group B (54%) compared with group A (26%) (p = .036). Of seven group B cases with negative biopsy margins, residual invasive carcinoma was present in five (71%). We conclude that small nonpalpable invasive breast cancers differ from larger nonpalpable tumors primarily in size. The finding of negative biopsy margins should not be construed as conclusive evidence for the absence of residual infiltrating disease.

Nonpalpable invasive breast cancer.

The use of mammography has resulted in 1464 breast biopsies for nonpalpable abnormalities at the University of Virginia in the 10 years 1980 to 1989. Two hundred sixty-four cancerous lesions (18%) were found. One hundred seventy-eight of these (67%) were in situ lesions. Invasive cancer (86 of 264 lesions or 33%) forms the basis for this report. Mammographic findings leading to biopsy were a mass in 61 of 86 cases (71%), microcalcifications in 23 of 86 (27%), or both in 2 of 86 cases. Histologic subtypes were infiltrating ductal (63 of 86), infiltrating lobular (14 of 86), and other infiltrating (9 of 86). Mastectomy was performed in 71 of 86 lesions (82%), lumpectomy/radiation in 14 of 86 (16%), and lumpectomy alone in 1 of 86 lesions. Division of the tumors into size with nodal status revealed 19 of 86 lesions (22%) less than 0.5 cm with 0 of 14 positive nodes. Thirty-nine of eighty-six lesions (46%) measured 0.6 to 1.0 cm with 10 (26%) positive nodes. Twenty-eight of eighty-six lesions (32%) measured more than 1.0 cm with 8 of 28 (28%) positive nodes. Nodal status is unknown for eight patients. Overall 18 of 78 lesions (23%) had positive nodes. Median follow-up is 44 months. Disease-free survival rate is 92% (79 of 86 patients) and overall survival rate is 94% (81 of 86 patients). Six of seven recurrences occurred in node-positive patients. For those with negative or unknown nodes, the disease-free survival rate is 98% (67 of 68 patients). These findings emphasize the benefit of early detection of breast cancer through the use of mammography.

Seroma prevention using fibrin glue in a rat mastectomy model.

Seromas are a frequent complication of mastectomy (17% to 53%) in humans and are correlated to skin flap elevation, lymphovascular interruption, and drainage into surgically created potential spaces. The use of intraoperative topical fibrin glue to reduce morbidity in rats undergoing radical mastectomies has been evaluated. A model consistently producing seromas was developed by radical mastectomy and lymphadenectomy in the Sprague-Dawley rat. A fibrin glue application procedure was tested using this model. The double-blinded protocol called for spray application of saline or fibrin glue to mastectomy wounds followed by sequential inspection and necropsy on postoperative days 5, 8, 11, and 14. Topical fibrin glue was shown to be statistically significant in decreasing the presentation of seromas following a radical mastectomy in the Sprague-Dawley rat.

The relationship between psychosocial factors and breast cancer: some unexpected results.

A growing body of research suggests a link between psychosocial factors and breast cancer. Research in this area often contains methodological problems, however, such as small sample size, inadequate comparison groups, omission of important control variables, inclusion of only a few psychosocial variables, and failure to analyze moderating effects. To overcome these problems, the present study examined the link between breast cancer and multiple psychosocial variables (life events, coping, Type A behavior pattern, availability of social support) among 1,052 women with and without breast cancer. After controlling for history of breast cancer and age, we found very few significant relationships between psychosocial variables and breast cancer. Furthermore, the relationship between life events and breast cancer was not moderated by coping, Type A, or availability of social support. Methodological and substantive reasons for these findings are discussed.

Technique and guidelines for needle localization biopsy of nonpalpable lesions of the breast.

The advances made in mammography, including its accuracy, safety and publicity, will lead to an increasing number of biopsies of the breast after needle localization. The surgeon must carefully evaluate the mammograms and orient the location of the tip of the wire with respect to the mammographic abnormality and the exact location within the breast. The technique described has been used in more than 600 instances. It has led to the detection of cancer in 20 per cent of nonpalpable suspicious mammographic findings. It is well tolerated, readily accomplished, cost effective and accurate.

Lobular carcinoma in situ of the breast: mammographic features.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (lobular neoplasia; LCIS) of the breast is most commonly an incidental microscopic finding in breast tissue removed for some other reason. The authors reviewed the clinical and mammographic features and surgical findings in 26 cases of LCIS not associated with other breast abnormalities. In 16 instances, needle localization was performed before removal of the tissue, which yielded LCIS on histologic examination. Calcifications were the most common reason for biopsy, although there were no distinctive mammographic features of LCIS.

Splenectomy in hematologic disorders. The ever-changing indications.

A comparison between a series of splenectomies performed at the University of Virginia Medical Center for hematologic disorders between 1946 and 1962 (Series I) and 1963 and 1982 (Series II) is presented. Four hundred splenectomies (20 per year) were performed between 1963 and 1982 compared with 94 (5.5 per year) between 1946 and 1962. Also noted in Series II was a sharp decline in the number performed each year between 1974 and 1983. The major factor responsible for these observations was the evolution of the staging laparotomy for malignant lymphomas, particularly Hodgkin's disease, and the decline in the average annual incidence of staging laparotomies since 1974. Staging laparotomy currently is rarely done for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Also contributing to the changes noted was an increase in the total number but subsequent fall in the annual incidence of splenectomy for hereditary spherocytosis, idiopathic hypersplenism, and myeloproliferative disorders in Series II. The average number of splenectomies for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura increased from 1.1 per year in Series I to 3.6 per year in Series II; the annual incidence during the study period of Series II, however, remained constant. The total number of splenectomies for hairy cell leukemia and Felty's syndrome increased from zero in Series I to 12 and 17, respectively, in Series II, whereas the number of miscellaneous reasons dropped from 29 (1.7 per year) in Series I to 15 (0.75 per year) in Series II. The mortality rate in Series I was 6.3% compared with 4.0% in Series II. No deaths occurred in Series II after 1979. Indications for splenectomy in Series II were for diagnostic purposes in 3.2%, therapeutic in 56.5%, staging in 39.5%, and restaging in 0.8%. Accessory spleens were found in 49 (12.5%) in Series II.

The changing mammogram. A primary indication for needle localization biopsy.

Screening mammography results in improved detection and survival for women with breast cancer. Interval mammographic changes may be one of the major indications for biopsy. Four hundred fifty-two needle localization biopsies carried out for microcalcifications, mass, asymmetric density, or a combination of calcifications with mass or asymmetric density detected 95 cancers (21%). Interval mammographic changes detected 35 cases (17.9%). Invasive cancers constituted 51% of the initial group but only 34% of the cancers detected because of interval change. Benign breast disease occurred in 160 of 195 women who had undergone biopsy because of interval changes. These changes continued into the postmenopausal period. Hyperplasia and/or atypia was found in 57 (35%) of 160 of the interval group. Interval mammographic abnormalities detect significant pathologic changes in the breast and should be considered a major indication for breast biopsy.

Has monitoring of the contralateral breast improved the prognosis in patients treated for primary breast cancer?

Bilateral breast cancer has a cumulative incidence of about 7% in patients with primary operable breast cancer, and most of these lesions are metachronous. Most retrospective studies have shown that a majority of these patients have invasive cancer in the second breast, and varying percentages have nodal metastases, which may be of a higher stage than the first cancer. Physicians are now more aware of the importance of careful monitoring of the second breast after ipsilateral mastectomy, and improvements have been made in mammographic surveillance. A retrospective, comparative analysis of two separate breast cancer populations at risk for bilateral breast cancer was done on patients who entered into the system before effective mammographic monitoring (BEM) and after effective mammographic monitoring (AEM). The first group of patients consisted of 500 consecutive patients with primary breast cancer diagnosed during the years 1969 through 1975, of whom 37 (7.4%) had bilateral breast cancer. The second group consisted of 557 consecutive patients diagnosed during the years 1977 through 1984, of whom 36 (6.5%) had bilateral breast cancer. The staging percentages of the second breast cancer in the BEM group were Stage 0, 5.4%; Stage I, 48.6%; Stage II, 10.8%; Stage III, 21.6%; and Stage IV, 13.5%. The second group had an improvement in stage, with 33.3% being Stage 0, 22.2% Stage I, 29.6% Stage II, 3.7% Stage III, and 3.7% Stage IV (P less than 0.05). The median interval between primary lesions was 39 months in the first group and 19 months in the second group (in part, this difference may represent increased identification of synchronous cancers). The second breast cancer was undetected by mammography in 9 of 34 (26%) patients. Six were detected by contralateral biopsy (all were lobular carcinomas in situ), and three were found by clinical examination (all were invasive cancers). It was concluded that more aggressive monitoring of the second breast by frequent clinical examination, mammography, and selected contralateral biopsy appears to have increased the early detection rate of second breast cancers in patients under observation.

Fine needle aspiration cytology in lieu of open biopsy in management of primary breast cancer.

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) can be used in place of open breast biopsy in most patients with primary breast cancer. This report summarizes our experience with 398 patients who had FNA of the breast. There was a total of 136 cancers, of which 100 (74%) were diagnosed by FNA. Seventy-one patients had mastectomy without frozen section. Thirteen had an excisional biopsy before mastectomy by preference of the surgeon. These cases occurred early in this series, before the surgeons became confident in the technique. The presence of locally advanced disease was confirmed by FNA in 12 patients and metastases to the breast were confirmed in four. There were no false-positives. Fine needle aspiration was interpreted as "suspicious" but not diagnostic of malignancy in 31 patients and open biopsy was requested. Biopsies demonstrated primary breast carcinoma in 22 patients and metastatic cancer in one. There were 103 patients with FNA negative for cancer who had open biopsy; 102 were confirmed negative, and one was positive for cancer. Fine needle aspiration yielded insufficient material in 38 patients, and 12 of these were found to have carcinoma with open biopsy. Advantages of FNA: It is safe, atraumatic and rapid, and permits definitive discussion about treatment planning at the initial office visit. It obviates the need for frozen section, reducing anesthesia and operative time. Our experience shows that FNA is highly accurate in the diagnosis of breast malignancy if rigorous criteria are used. Although a negative FNA requires biopsy to exclude malignancy, a FNA that is positive for cancer eliminates the need for open biopsy and allows the surgeon to proceed to mastectomy with confidence.

Evaluation of the pathologic and prognostic correlates of estrogen receptors in primary breast cancer.

The presence of estrogen receptors in breast cancer tissue has been reported to correlate with improved prognosis in women after mastectomy. The prognostic value (if any) of the presence or absence of estrogen receptors (ER) in malignant breast tissue was evaluated 104 women who were treated for primary breast cancer, whose pathology was re-examined, and whose records were subjected to multifactorial analysis. Sixty patients were ER positive, and 44 were ER negative, and a total of 94 who had curative resections were available for follow-up (mean follow-up time 20 months). The presence of estrogen receptors showed significant positive correlations with age, lobular cancer, and a variant of infiltrating duct cancer that is prevalent in the elderly and characterized by the presence of cells showing granular eosinophilic cytoplasm. Of 26 cases identified as infiltrating duct cancer showing granular eosinophilic cytoplasm, 22 were ER positive, one was ER negative, and three had borderline values. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to family history of breast cancer or hysterectomy. A striking observation was noted in the ER positive group in which there were seven cases of second primary breast cancers, whereas no such cases occurred in the ER negative patients (p=0.05). There was a higher percentage of nodal metastases in the patients who were ER positive compared with those who were ER negative; 27 of 53 (51%) of the ER positive patients has positive nodes compared with four of 40 (32%) who were ER negative, p = 0.08. There was no significant correlation of disease free survival nor time to recurrence in either the overall group nor according to stage. In patients whose tumors had been reviewed and graded, there was no prognostic relationship of ER status in high grade tumors, but in patients with low-grade tumors, improved disease-free survival was demonstrated in patients who were ER negative. Although the estrogen receptor assay is a highly useful tumor marker and guide for therapy of advanced breast cancer, its relationship to the prognostic variables of primary breast cancer is complex and controversial and merits continued study.

Anticoagulant-induced hematomas of the small intestine.

Intramural hematomas of the small bowel, an uncommon complication of anticoagulant therapy, usually present with nausea, vomiting, crampy abdominal pain, and often gastrointestinal bleeding of some degree. The diagnosis can be suggested by history and by a plain abdominal x-ray film, but an upper GI series is the most reliable means of confirming the diagnosis. Treatment is nonoperative, with emphasis on correction of clotting abnormalities, and blood loss, continuous nasogastric decompression, parenteral alimentation, and hydration.