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Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Although not universally accepted, chemoradiation is considered a standard adjuvant treatment for patients with resected pancreatic cancer. Theoretical advantages of reduced toxicity and increased efficacy with the use of pre-operative chemoradiation compared to post-operative adjuvant chemoradiation have recently been validated with the publication of a phase III trial in the adjuvant treatment of rectal cancer. Additional advantages of pre-operative chemoradiation that apply specifically to pancreatic cancer include increased access to therapy in patients treated before surgery, addressing the systemic disease recurrence risk without delay, and optimal patient selection for pancreaticoduodenectomy through exclusion of patients with rapidly progressive metastatic disease. Critical components of a pre-operative treatment strategy for pancreatic cancer include adherence to a strict definition of resectability, accurate radiographic staging capable of identifying patients with potentially resectable disease, and a safe and efficient means of obtaining a tissue diagnosis and relieving biliary obstruction. Herein, we discuss the rationale for the use of pre-operative chemoradiation in pancreatic cancer, the results of treatment, and future strategies to address the pattern of disease recurrence.
Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2006 Apr
PMID:The argument for pre-operative chemoradiation for localized, radiographically resectable pancreatic cancer. 1654 33

In this review new insights in the dissemination pattern of oesophageal tumours and the implications for the (extent of) surgical and endoscopic resection are discussed. Moreover, the sentinel node concept in oesophageal cancer is reconsidered. Three-years survival after a limited resection for cervical-upper thoracic oesophageal cancer was 14-20% after an extended resection. No patients with distant metastases were alive after five years. Therefore, curative surgery for cervical-upper oesophageal cancer with extended lymph node dissection is probably only indicated in patients without distant lymph nodes metastases. Involved coeliac nodes can be found in tumours of the whole oesophagus. Adenocarcinomas of the gastrooesophageal junction do metastasize predominantly to the paracardial and lesser curvature regions. No significant difference was found in a randomized trial comparing two-field transthoracic resection with limited transhiatal resection for adenocarcinoma of the gastrooesophageal junction.(6) Subgroup analysis for patients with a distal oesophageal adenocarcinoma revealed a 17% survival benefit after transthoracic resection. In several Japanese studies a better five-year survival is claimed after a three-field lymph node dissection than after a conventional two-field lymphadenectomy. In a randomized study, however, no statistically significant difference was found in the short- and long-term survival nor in the recurrence rate. If an early lesion is limited to the mucosa, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) could be considered because of the low chance of lymph node metastases. However, the technique of EMR has not yet been optimized resulting in high numbers of local cancer recurrences and a high need for endoscopic re-resections. Only few studies investigated whether the sentinel node concept is applicable to the oesophagus or gastric cardia. In one study in patients with oesophageal or cardia cancer, the accuracy was 96% and only two false negative sentinel nodes were identified. The sentinel node concept in oesophageal cancers might change future operative strategies.
Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2006
PMID:New insights in the lymphatic spread of oesophageal cancer and its implications for the extent of surgical resection. 1699 68

Neuroendocrine tumours may be broadly divided into pancreatic endocrine tumours (PETs) and carcinoid neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). In both cases, patients may present with a clinical syndrome related to hormone secretion by the tumour. In these cases, cross-sectional imaging plays an important role in the localization of the primary tumour, the detection of metastases, and the assessment of response to treatment. Computed tomography (CT) is established as the primary modality, although following technological advances detection rates on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are now challenging those of CT. Endoscopic ultrasound has an important role in the preoperative assessment of the pancreas where a small functioning tumour or the possibility of multiple tumours is suspected. The sensitivity for the detection of small functioning tumours depends upon optimal technique, whichever modality is used. Non-functioning tumours frequently present late with mass effect, as there is no accompanying clinical syndrome. Carcinoid neuroendocrine tumours are most frequently localized on CT. MRI is usually used as a problem-solving tool. As technology evolves, detection rates may continue to improve, and the highest sensitivities may be achieved by a combination of different modalities.
Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007 Mar
PMID:Imaging of neuroendocrine tumours (CT/MR/US). 1738 65

The field of surgery for liver metastases is evolving rapidly. The proportion of patients viewed as amenable to resection is increasing with surgeons becoming more aggressive and systemic therapy more effective. Surgical resection is associated with low mortality and overall 5-year survival approaching 40%. Best candidates for resection are those with stage I or II colorectal cancer, fewer than 4 hepatic lesions, no lesions larger than 5 cm in diameter, no evidence of extra-hepatic disease, CEA level less than 5 ng/mL, and a disease-free interval of at least 2 years. Perioperative chemotherapy with or without biotherapies, in-situ ablation techniques, portal vein embolization, and staged hepatectomy have extended the indications without lessening the results of liver resection for colorectal metastases.
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PMID:Hepatectomy for resectable colorectal cancer metastases--indicators of prognosis, definition of resectability, techniques and outcomes. 1760 90

Although radical surgical R0 resections are the basis of cure for gastric cancer, surgery alone only provides long-term survival in 20-30% of patients with advanced-stage disease. Thus, in Western and European countries, advanced gastric cancer has a high risk of recurrence and metachronous metastases. Very recently, multimodal strategies combining different neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant protocols have improved the prognosis of gastric cancer when combined with surgery with curative intent. As used in palliative regimens, the combination of cisplatin with intravenous or oral fluoropyrimidines has been the integral component of such (neo)adjuvant strategies. However, the cytotoxic agents docetaxel, oxaliplatin and irinotecan and new targeted biologicals such as cetuximab, bevacizumab or panitumumab are currently under investigation, with or without irradiation, in multimodal treatment regimens. These studies may further increase R0 resection rates, and prolong disease-free and overall survival times in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. This article reviews the most relevant literature on multimodal treatment of gastric cancer, and discusses future strategies to improve locoregional failures.
Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2007
PMID:The multidisciplinary management of gastrointestinal cancer. Multimodal treatment of gastric cancer. 1807 Jun 98

The finding of a focal solid liver lesion represents a challenge for the clinician in terms of the most optimal diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm. Tumours may arise from hepatocytes (hepatocellular adenoma, dysplastic nodules and carcinoma), bile ducts (cholangiocarcinoma) or mesenchymal tissue (hemangioma, epithelioid haemangioendothelioma), or are metastases from primary tumours outside the liver. Focal nodular hyperplasia is the most frequent tumour-like lesion. Imaging techniques are able to detect and characterise most lesions. However, small hypervascular lesions in a cirrhotic liver may be difficult to characterise. More insight has been gathered recently in the histological classification of hepatocellular adenomas, but the differential diagnosis by imaging of adenoma versus FNH or well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma remains often difficult. The therapy of a focal liver lesion is determined by its natural history and the functional status of the surrounding liver parenchyma. Selected patients with primary liver cancer are candidates for liver transplantation, while patients with advanced malignant tumours have a poor outcome.
Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2007
PMID:The multidisciplinary management of gastrointestinal cancer. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach for primary solid liver tumours in adults. 1807 Jun 99

Greater understanding of the natural history of rectal cancer, and the knowledge that a histologically involved circumferential margin due to inadequate lateral dissection confers a high risk of local recurrence have driven technical advances in surgical technique with meticulous surgical dissection along embryological planes. Significant improvements in local control and overall survival have been seen for patients with resectable rectal cancer. However, even high-quality surgery cannot always achieve a curative resection for locally advanced cancers that extend below the levators, having transgressed the mesorectal fascia. Magnetic resonance imaging is now accepted as a practical method of clinical staging, and can accurately predict pre-operatively the likelihood of achieving a clear circumferential margin. Technological advances in radiation planning and new effective cytotoxic drugs also give scope for dealing with unresectable rectal cancer, and the potential for controlling distant micrometastases. Hence, modern multimodal treatment of rectal cancer attempts to integrate surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and address the two distinct problems of local recurrence and metastatic disease. Multidisciplinary teams achieve the best results. This paper discusses the surgical management of rectal cancer, the pathology, the principles of imaging, and the lessons learnt from randomized trials of radiotherapy and chemoradiation.
Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2007
PMID:The multidisciplinary management of gastrointestinal cancer. Multimodal treatment of rectal cancer. 1807 Jul 3

Multiple myeloma is a tumor of terminally differentiated plasma cells that home to and expand in the bone marrow. It is the second most common hematologic malignancy, with approximately 16,000 new cases per year, and accounts for an estimated 11,000 deaths in the USA. It is the most common cancer to metastasize to bone, with up to 90% of patients developing bone lesions. The bone lesions are purely osteolytic in nature, and up to 60% of patients develop a pathologic fracture over the course of their disease. Bone disease is a hallmark of multiple myeloma, and the bone disease differs from other bone metastasis caused by other tumors. Although both myeloma and other osteolytic metastasis induce increased osteoclastic bone resorption, in contrast to other tumors, osteoblast activity in myeloma is either severely decreased or absent. The basis for this severe imbalance between increased osteoclastic bone resorption and decreased bone formation resulting from suppressed osteoblastic activity has been a topic of extensive investigation during the last several years. The clinical consequences of this extensive accelerated and imbalanced bone destruction process include bone pain, pathologic fractures, hypercalcemia and spinal cord compression syndromes, which can be devastating for patients and significantly impact overall quality of life and expected survival. In this chapter, we will discuss the pathophysiology underlying bone disease in myeloma. This results from the uncoupling of bone remodeling and is characterized by markedly increased activity of osteoclasts and profound decreased activity of osteoblasts. In addition, we also review the emerging data on novel targeted therapies aimed at ameliorating myeloma bone disease.
Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 2007 Dec
PMID:Pathophysiology of myeloma bone disease. 1807 Jul 9

Residual tissue androgens are consistently detected within the prostate tumors of castrate individuals and are thought to play a critical role in facilitating the androgen receptor-mediated signaling pathways leading to disease progression. The source of residual tumor androgens is attributed in part to the uptake and conversion of circulating adrenal androgens. Whether the de novo biosynthesis of androgens from cholesterol or earlier precursors occurs within prostatic tumors is not known, but it has significant implications for treatment strategies targeting sources of androgens exogenous to the prostate versus 'intracrine' sources within the prostatic tumor. Moreover, increased expression of androgen-metabolizing genes within castration-resistant metastases suggests that up-regulated activity of endogenous steroidogenic pathways may contribute to the outgrowth of 'castration-adapted' tumors. These observations suggest that a multi-targeted treatment approach designed to simultaneously ablate testicular, adrenal and intracrine contributions to the tumor androgen signaling axis will be required to achieve optimal therapeutic efficacy.
Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008 Apr
PMID:Intracrine androgen metabolism in prostate cancer progression: mechanisms of castration resistance and therapeutic implications. 1847 83

The old concept of androgen depletion therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer, which had been established on the basis of clinical experiences essentially on the far advanced disease, should be changed. The recent major increase in the diagnosis of localized and locally advanced prostate cancer due to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening prompts us to make clear the role of ADT for such an early stage of prostate cancer. Recent literature has proved that combination therapy of castration (medical or surgical) and non-steroidal anti-androgens (maximal androgen blockade, MAB, or combined androgen blockade, CAB) is markedly effective on non-metastatic prostate cancer. It is important to promote basic and clinical research based on the understanding that cure of prostate cancer is almost always possible with ADT if progression to the hormone-independent prostate cancer which accompanies metastatic disease can be avoided.
Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008 Apr
PMID:Current status and prospects of androgen depletion therapy for prostate cancer. 1847 87


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