Wasif, Nabil

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesWe assessed the accuracy of preoperative gallium‐68 DOTA‐Tyr3‐octreotate (DOTATATE) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in estimating multifocality and nodal metastases of small bowel neuroendocrine tumors (sbNETs).MethodsA multicenter analysis was performed on patients with sbNETs who underwent preoperative DOTATATE PET imaging and surgical resection, with manual palpation of the entire length of the small bowel, between January 2016 and August 2022. Preoperative imaging reports and blinded secondary imaging reviews were compared to the final postoperative pathology reports. Descriptive statistics were applied.ResultsOne‐hundred and four patients met inclusion criteria. Pathology showed 53 (51%) patients had multifocal sbNETs and 96 (92%) had nodal metastases. The original preoperative DOTATATE PET imaging identified multifocal sbNET in 28 (27%) patients and lymph node (LN) metastases in 80 (77%) patients. Based on original radiology reports, sensitivity for multifocal sbNET identification was 45%, specificity was 92%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 86%, and negative predictive value (NPV) was 62%. For the identification of LN metastases, sensitivity was 82%, specificity was 88%, PPV was 99%, and NPV was 29%.ConclusionsAlthough DOTATATE PET imaging is specific and relatively accurate, sensitivity and NPV are insufficient to guide surgical planning. Preoperative use should not replace open palpation to identify additional synchronous lesions or to omit regional lymphadenectomy.

Objectives: We aimed to quantify the contributions of patient characteristics (PC), hospital structural characteristics (HC), and hospital operative volumes (HOV) to in-hospital mortality (IHM) after major surgery in the United States (US). Background: The volume-outcome relationship correlates higher HOV with decreased IHM. However, IHM after major surgery is multifactorial, and the relative contribution of PC, HC, and HOV to IHM after major surgery is unknown. Study Design: Patients undergoing major pancreatic, esophageal, lung, bladder, and rectal operations between 2006 and 2011 were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample linked to the American Hospital Association survey. Multilevel logistic regression models were constructed using PC, HC, and HOV to calculate attributable variability in IHM for each. Results: Eighty thousand nine hundred sixty-nine patients across 1025 hospitals were included. Postoperative IHM ranged from 0.9% for rectal to 3.9% for esophageal surgery. Patient characteristics contributed most of the variability in IHM for esophageal (63%), pancreatic (62.9%), rectal (41.2%), and lung (44.4%) operations. HOV explained < 25% of variability for pancreatic, esophageal, lung, and rectal surgery. HC accounted for 16.9% and 17.4% of the variability in IHM for esophageal and rectal surgery. Unexplained variability in IHM was high in the lung (44.3%), bladder (39.3%), and rectal (33.7%) surgery subgroups. Conclusions: Despite recent policy focus on the volume-outcome relationship, HOV was not the most important contributor to IHM for the major organ surgeries studied. PC remains the largest identifiable contributor to hospital mortality. Quality improvement initiatives should emphasize patient optimization and structural improvements, in addition to investigating the yet unexplained sources contributing to IHM.

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesSerum tumor markers are widely used for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment response, and surveillance. Our study evaluated cancer embryonic antigen (CEA) in patients with appendiceal adenocarcinoma.MethodsThe National Cancer Database was reviewed (2004–2011) for patients with surgical treatment for appendiceal adenocarcinoma. Patients were stratified into two groups: normal and elevated CEA. Multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to determine the independent effect of CEA on survival.ResultsOur study consisted of 2867 patients, 54.0% having elevated CEA. Patients with elevated CEA were more likely to have Stage IV disease, be female, and African American; all p < 0.001. Three‐year overall survival (OS) was significantly higher with normal CEA (75.5% vs. 62.8%, p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, elevated CEA was associated with worse survival (hazard ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.23–1.80). Patients with elevated CEA had improved 3‐year OS with neo‐adjuvant compared to adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.004), while those with normal CEA showed no difference.ConclusionsIn patients with surgically treated appendiceal adenocarcinoma, preoperative elevation in CEA independently predicts decreased 3‐year survival and correlates with improved OS with neo‐adjuvant therapy. CEA levels should be considered in clinical decision‐making regarding neo‐adjuvant therapy in patients with appendiceal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Current literature has identified textbook outcome (TO) as a quality metric after cancer surgery. We studied whether TO after pancreatic resection has a stronger association with long-term survival than individual hospital case volume. STUDY DESIGN: Patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 2010 to 2015 were identified from the National Cancer Database. Hospitals were stratified by volume (low less than 6, medium 6 to 19, and high 20 cases or more per year), and overall survival data were abstracted. We defined TO as adequate lymph node count, negative margins, length of stay less than the 75th percentile, appropriate systemic therapy, timely systemic therapy, and without a mortality event or readmission within 30 days. The association of TO and case volume was assessed using a multivariable Cox regression model for survival. RESULTS: Overall, 7270 patients underwent surgery, with 30.7%, 48.7%, and 20.6% performed at low-, medium-, and high-volume hospitals, respectively. Patients treated at low-volume hospitals were more likely to be Black, be uninsured or on Medicaid, have higher Charlson comorbidity scores, and be less likely to achieve TO (23.4% TO achievement vs 37.5% achievement at high-volume hospitals). However, high hospital volume was no longer associated with overall survival once TO was added to the multivariable model stratified by volume status. Achievement of TO corresponded to a 31% decrease in mortality (hazard ratio 0.69; p < 0.001), independent of hospital volume. CONCLUSIONS: Improved long-term survival after pancreatic resection was associated with TO rather than high hospital volume. Quality improvement efforts focused on TO criteria have the potential to improve outcomes irrespective of case volume.

Abstract Background Appendiceal cancers represent a diverse group of malignancies with varying biological behavior. The significance of lymph node metastases in relation to long‐term survival and chemotherapy response is poorly defined. Methods The National Cancer Database was queried to find patients diagnosed with appendiceal cancer from 1998 to 2012. Kaplan–Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to study the association between lymph node status and overall survival. Stage IV patients were excluded. Results The rate of nodal positivity of the 9841 patients with known node status was: signet ring 47.4%, carcinoid 42.3%, nonmucinous adenocarcinoma 28.8%, goblet cell 21.9%, and mucinous adenocarcinoma 20.4%. Node‐positive patients had worse long‐term survival for all subtypes with the exception of carcinoid tumors ( p < 0.001). The strongest association was for signet cell and goblet cell. Adjuvant chemotherapy in node‐positive patients improved survival for mucinous, nonmucinous, and signet ring cell histology ( p < 0.01), but not for goblet cell. Conclusions Nodal involvement in patients with appendiceal cancer varies in incidence, association with adverse survival, and response to systemic therapy. Individualized treatment algorithms for the management of the subtypes of appendiceal cancer are needed.

Linitis plastica (LP), a subset of gastric adenocarcinoma (GA), has been considered as a fatal disease with few management options. Little evidence has been reported regarding the role for surgical therapy in treating LP. A retrospective review of GA patients with LP from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database (2004–2009) was performed. 29,440 patients with GA were identified, of whom 948 (3.2%) had LP. After matching for American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) stage, LP patients had significantly worse 5-year disease specific survival (DSS) compared with GA (6 vs 34%, P < 0.001). For potentially resectable LP patients (i.e., stage I–III), 5-year DSS was 0 per cent for no treatment and for radiation therapy alone, 18 per cent for both and surgery and radiation, and 20 per cent for surgery alone(P < 0.001). LP is a marker of poor survival in patients with GA. However, surgical resection provides the best oncologic outcomes in these patients with a 20 per cent 5-year DSS in patients with loco-regional disease.

Excisional biopsy has been recommended for papillary lesions diagnosed on core needle biopsy (CNB) because a significant proportion of cases are upstaged to in situ/invasive cancer after surgical excision. The study goals were to identify patients at lowest risk of upstaging in whom excisional biopsy may potentially be avoided. We retrospectively evaluated 46 patients with a papillary lesion on CNB. Six patients were upstaged overall (13%), to intraductal papillary carcinoma (7%), invasive papillary carcinoma (4%), and mixed invasive ductal/lobular carcinoma (2%). The upstaging rate for patients with atypia on CNB was higher than for patients without atypia (33 vs 3%, P = 0.011). No patient younger than 65 years was upstaged to in situ or invasive carcinoma, and the mean lesion size was also higher among patients who were upstaged ( P > 0.05). Patients younger than 65 years with small papillary lesions lacking atypia on CNB may therefore represent a low-risk group that may be offered close clinical and radiologic follow-up.

Objectives We compared risk-adjusted short- and long-term outcomes between standard pancreaticoduodenectomy (SPD) and a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD). Methods The National Cancer Database was queried for the years 2004 to 2014 to identify patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head undergoing SPD and PPD. Margin status, lymph node yield, length of stay (LOS), 30- and 90-day mortality, and overall survival were compared. Results A total of 11,172 patients were identified, of whom 9332 (83.5%) underwent SPD and 1840 (16.5%) PPPD. There was no difference in patient age, sex, stage, tumor grade, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy treatment between the 2 groups. Total number of regional lymph nodes was examined, and surgical margin status and overall survival were also comparable. However, patients undergoing PPPD had a shorter LOS (11.3 vs 12.3 days, P < 0.001), lower 30-day mortality (2.5% vs 3.7%, P = 0.02), and 90-day mortality (5.5% vs 6.9%, P = 0.03). On multivariate analyses, patients undergoing SPD were at higher risk for 30-day mortality compared with PPPD (odds ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.07–2.13). Conclusions Standard pancreaticoduodenectomy and PPPD are oncologically equivalent, yet PPPD is associated with a reduction in postoperative mortality and shorter LOS.