Effect of Neoadjuvant Radiation Dose and Schedule on Nodal Count and Its Prognostic Impact in Stage II–III Rectal Cancer

Background: the prognostic significance of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in intermediate/thick primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM) remains controversial, partially because conventional evaluation is not reliable, due to inter-observer variability and diverse scoring methods. We aimed to assess the prognostic impact of the density and spatial distribution of immune cells in early stage intermediate/thick PCM. Materials and Methods: digital image acquisition and quantitative analysis of tissue immune biomarkers (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD68, PD-L1, CD163, FOX-P3, and PD-1) was carried out in a training cohort, which included patients with primary PCM ≥ 2 mm diagnosed, treated, and followed-up prospectively in three Italian centers. Results were validated in an independent Italian cohort. Results: in the training cohort, 100 Stage II–III melanoma patients were valuable. At multivariable analysis, a longer disease free survival (DFS) was statistically associated with higher levels of CD4+ intratumoral T-cells (aHR [100 cell/mm2 increase] 0.98, 95%CI 0.95–1.00, p = 0.041) and CD163+ inner peritumoral (aHR [high vs. low] 0.56, 95%CI 0.32–0.99, p = 0.047). A statistically significant longer DFS (aHR [high-high vs. low-low] 0.52, 95%CI 0.28–0.99, p = 0.047) and overall survival (OS) (aHR [high-high vs. low-low] 0.39, 95%CI 0.18–0.85, p = 0.018) was found in patients with a high density of both intratumoral CD8+ T-cells and CD68+ macrophages as compared to those with low density of both intratumoral CD8+ T-cells and CD68+ macrophages. Consistently, in the validation cohort, patients with high density of both intratumoral CD8+ and CD3+ T-cells were associated to a statistically better DFS (aHR[high-high vs. low-low] 0.24, 95%CI 0.10–0.56, p < 0.001) and those with high density of both intratumoral CD8+ and CD68+ were associated to a statistically longer OS (aHR[high-high vs. low-low] 0.28, 95%CI 0.09–0.86, p = 0.025). Conclusion: our findings suggest that a specific preexisting profile of T cells and macrophages distribution in melanomas may predict the risk of recurrence and death with potential implications for the stratification of stage II–III melanoma patients.

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Impact of the Number of Dissected Lymph Nodes on Survival for Gastric Cancer after Distal Subtotal Gastrectomy

Gastroenterology Research and Practice ◽

10.1155/2011/476014 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Chang-Ming Huang ◽

Jian-Xian Lin ◽

Chao-Hui Zheng ◽

Ping Li ◽

Jian-Wei Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Survival Rate ◽

Lymph Nodes ◽

Distal Gastrectomy ◽

Stage I ◽

Stage Ii ◽

Stage Iii ◽

Prognostic Impact ◽

Term Survival

Objectives. To investigate the prognostic impact of the number of dissected lymph nodes (LNs) in gastric cancer after curative distal gastrectomy.Methods. The survival of 634 patients who underwent curative distal gastrectomy from 1995 to 2004 was retrieved. Long-term surgical outcomes and associations between the number of dissected LNs and the 5-year survival rate were investigated.Results. The number of dissected LNs was one of the most important prognostic indicators. Among patients with comparable T category, the larger the number of dissected LNs was, the better the survival would be (). The linear regression showed that a significant survival improvement based on increasing retrieved LNs for stage II, III and IV (). A cut-point analysis yields the greatest variance of survival rate difference at the levels of 15 LNs (stage I), 25 LNs (stage II) and 30 LNs (stage III).Conclusion. The number of dissected LNs is an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer. To improve the long-term survival of patients with gastric cancer, removing at least 15 LNs for stage I, 25 LNs for stage II, and 30 LNs for stage III patients during curative distal gastrectomy is recommended.

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