Global Curriculum in Surgical Oncology

BACKGROUND

The significant global variations in surgical oncology training paradigms can have a detrimental effect on tackling the rising global cancer burden. While some variations in training are essential to account for the differences in types of cancer and biology, the fundamental principles of providing care to a cancer patient remain the same. The development of a global curriculum in surgical oncology with incorporated essential standards could be very useful in building an adequately trained surgical oncology workforce, which in turn could help in tackling the rising global cancer burden.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The leaders of the Society of Surgical Oncology and European Society of Surgical Oncology convened a global curriculum committee to develop a global curriculum in surgical oncology.

RESULTS

A global curriculum in surgical oncology was developed to incorporate the required domains considered to be essential in training a surgical oncologist. The curriculum was constructed in a modular fashion to permit flexibility to suit the needs of the different regions of the world. Similarly, recognizing the various sociocultural, financial and cultural influences across the world, the proposed curriculum is aspirational and not mandatory in intent.

CONCLUSIONS

A global curriculum was developed which may be considered as a foundational scaffolding for training surgical oncologists worldwide. It is envisioned that this initial global curriculum will provide a flexible and modular scaffolding that can be tailored by individual countries or regions to train surgical oncologists in a way that is appropriate for practice in their local environment. © 2016 Society of Surgical Oncology and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. Published by SpringerNature. All rights reserved.

Consensus Conference on North American Training in Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery: A Review of the Conference and Presentation of Consensus Statements

The findings and recommendations of the North American consensus conference on training in hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery held in October 2014 are presented. The conference was hosted by the Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO), the Americas Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Association (AHPBA), and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS). The current state of training in HPB surgery in North America was defined through three pathways-HPB, surgical oncology, and solid organ transplant fellowships. Consensus regarding programmatic requirements included establishment of minimum case volumes and inclusion of quality metrics. Formative assessment, using milestones as a framework and inclusive of both operative and nonoperative skills, must be present. Specific core HPB cases should be defined and used for evaluation of operative skills. The conference concluded with a focus on the optimal means to perform summative assessment to evaluate the individual fellow completing a fellowship in HPB surgery. Presentations from the hospital perspective and the American Board of Surgery led to consensus that summative assessment was desired by the public and the hospital systems and should occur in a uniform but possibly modular manner for all HPB fellowship pathways. A task force composed of representatives of the SSO, AHPBA, and ASTS are charged with implementation of the consensus statements emanating from this consensus conference.

Changes in apparent diffusion coefficient evaluated with diffusion-weighted MRI to predict complete pathologic response after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer: Literature review and meta-analysis

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Background: A complete pathological response (pCR) is observed in 9-38% of all patients undergoing neo-adjuvant chemo-radiation therapy (CRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (ARC). Imaging techniques that can reliably assess CRT results may enhance identification of those pCR patients for which surgery may potentially be avoided. Recently, several studies have suggested that diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) may predict pathologic response by measuring tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). ADC can be measured before (pre-ADC) and/or after CRT (post-ADC). Both pre- and post-ADC, as well as the variation between pre- and post-ADC (Δ-ADC) can be used to assess pCR. We aimed to assess the reliability of ADC at predicting pCR in ARC patients treated with CRT. To determine the most effective ADC timing to evaluate pCR. Methods: A systematic review of available literature was conducted to compare all the studies of DW-MRI for identification of pCR after CRT for ARC. For each parameter (pre-ADC, post-ADC and D-ADC) we pooled sensitivity and specificity and calculated the area (AUC) under the summary receiver operating characteristics (sROC) curve. Results: We found 10 prospective and 8 retrospective studies examining correlation of ADC and CRT results. Overall, pCR rate was 25%. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were: 0.743, 0.755, and 0.841 for pre-ADC; 0.745, 0.706, and 0.782 for post-ADC; and 0.832, 0.806, and 0.895 for D-ADC. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis confirms that at least 25% of patients with ARC experiences pCR after CRT. DW-MRI is a promising technique for assessment of CRT results and D-ADC appears to be the most effective parameter for prediction of pCR.

Comparative effectiveness of combination TACE/ablation vs. monotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma

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Background: Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Loco-regional treatment modalities for HCC include Trans-Arterial Chemoembolization (TACE) and Radiofrequency/Microwave Ablation (RFA/MWA). Studies have shown that dual therapy with both TACE and ablation is beneficial, though data is limited. We retrospectively studied all HCC patients treated with either TACE, ablation, or dual therapy at a tertiary referral public hospital to determine differences in survival. Methods: Following IRB approval, all patients diagnosed with HCC (1998-2013) at our institution were retrospectively analyzed for date of diagnosis, treatment-type, length of follow-up, and survival. Patients were excluded if they did not undergo TACE or RFA/MWA, or underwent other treatments, such as surgery. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality 5 years after diagnosis. Kaplan Meier curves were created and statistics with Log-rank testing and hazard ratios (HR) were performed. Results: Of 509 patients diagnosed with HCC, 109 (21.4%) met inclusion criteria. 60 were treated with TACE alone, 30 with ablation alone, and 19 were treated with both, either concomitantly or in sequence. Median follow-up and overall median survival was 15.5, 19, and 52 months for TACE, ablation, and dual therapy, respectively. Survival at 5 years was 11.9%, 13.3% and 42.1% for TACE, ablation, and combination groups respectively. Kaplan Meier analysis revealed a significant increase in survival in the combination therapy group vs. RFA or TACE alone at 5 years (p = 0.0006). However, there was no significant difference in survival when comparing TACE vs. RFA/MWA at 5 years (HR = 1.18, p = 0.48). Conclusions: Our study suggests a greater survival benefit for patients treated with TACE and RFA/MWA versus either modality alone.

Abstract A35: Integration of melanoma genotyping in clinical care

Background: Molecularly targeted therapy is improving response rates and overall survival in subsets of melanoma patients. However, targeted therapy for triple negative patients (BRAF, NRAS and c-KIT wild type) is not yet defined. In addition, new evidence suggests that germline variants may have an impact in melanoma progression and response to therapy. In this study, we attempt to define the utility of a recently developed clinical assay that encompasses targeted sequencing of 50 genes with known impact on cancer progression.

Methods: We used the AmpliSeq Cancer Panel HotSpot.V2 from Ion Torrent. The panel targets sequencing of Hotspot regions including 2,800 COSMIC mutations within 50 oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Tumor and blood germline DNAs were studied. All identified mutations were independently validated by Sanger sequencing. We then linked the molecular profile to extensive clinicopathological information including treatment and prospective clinical follow-up.

Results: We examined 35 tumor samples from 35 melanoma patients (2 patients had 2 specimens). 14/35 (40%) had BRAF mutations, 15/35 (34%) had NRAS, KRAS or HRAS mutations and 1 had c-KIT mutant tumor. Eight patients were triple negative and presented with mutations in TP53, ERBB4, PIK3CA, NOTCH, EZH2 and VHL. We detected germline variants in TP53 (49%), KDR (VEGFR2 - 34%), APC (31%), KIT (23%) and PIK3CA (14%) genes. Notably, KDR Q472H has been shown to affect VEGFR2 function. Patients with KDR Q742H had higher microvessels density and higher VEGF production. In addition, melanoma cell lines with KDR Q472H variant proliferate and invade more when compared with WT cell lines. More important, only cell lines with that variant respond to anti-VEGFR2 treatment. Finally, the presence of the KDR Q472H variant is associated with a higher prevalence of brain metastases and with a shorter survival (15.1 months compared to 54.6 months).

Conclusions: Sequencing using a validated clinical assay was informative of several targetable mutations in triple negative melanoma. Inhibitors targeting some of these mutations are already FDA approved for non-melanoma and others are currently tested in clinical trials. Our data also revealed a role of germline variant KDR Q472H in melanoma progression, that was not reported before, suggesting that further functional studies are warranted.

Citation Format: Amel Salhi, Ines Pires Da Silva, Kevin P. Lui, Naima Ismaili, Chaowei Wu, Eleazar C. Vega-Saenz de Miera, Richard L. Shapiro, Russell S. Berman, Anna C. Pavlick, Judy Zhong, Adriana Heguy, Iman Osman. Integration of melanoma genotyping in clinical care. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Melanoma: From Biology to Therapy; Sep 20-23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(14 Suppl):Abstract nr A35.

Training and certification of the surgical oncologist

Surgical Oncology has evolved as a distinct subspecialty of General Surgery with a well-defined curriculum focused on surgical care of the cancer patient, specific areas of clinical and basic science research focus and specialty journals dedicated to the discipline. The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), originally formed as the James Ewing Society, has provided leadership in developing training programs in Surgical Oncology and for three decades has been involved in the approval and oversight of Surgical Oncology training programs. Over this time, Surgical Oncology Fellowship training has expanded and in 2013 there were 103 applicants for 56 fellowship positions in 21 programs. The basic tenants of Surgical Oncology training has remained devoted to the core principles of multidisciplinary care, surgical management of cancer patients and a focus on education in research, clinical trials, community outreach, patient advocacy and leadership in oncology. With the maturation of Surgical Oncology as a separate specialty, Surgical Oncology training programs are now accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and graduates of the programs will soon be offered subspecialty certification in Complex General Surgical Oncology (CGSO) by the American Board of Surgery, which has created a component Surgical Oncology Board (SOB). Similar expansion has occurred in other specialty areas including an expansion of Breast Fellowships, which are still being approved by the SSO. In the 2013 SSO Breast Oncology Match, there were 67 applicants for 54 positions in 39 Breast Fellowship programs. Continued advances in cancer biology and technology will challenge us to evolve training programs in Surgical Oncology to produce surgeons capable of advancing the multidisciplinary care of cancer patients.

Identification of metastasis-suppressive microRNAs in primary melanoma

BACKGROUND

Surgical management of primary melanoma is curative for most patients with clinically localized disease at diagnosis; however, a substantial number of patients recur and progress to advanced disease. Understanding molecular alterations that influence differential tumor progression of histopathologically similar lesions may lead to improved prognosis and therapies to slow or prevent metastasis.

METHODS

We examined microRNA dysregulation by expression profiling of primary melanoma tumors from 92 patients. We screened candidate microRNAs selected by differential expression between recurrent and nonrecurrent tumors or associated with primary tumor thickness (Student's t test, Benjamini-Hochberg False Discovery Rate [FDR] < 0.05), in in vitro invasion assays. We performed in vivo metastasis assays, matrix remodeling experiments, and molecular studies to identify metastasis-regulating microRNAs and their cellular and molecular mechanisms. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS

We identified two microRNAs (hsa-miR-382, hsa-miR-516b) whose expression was lower in aggressive vs nonaggressive primary tumors, which suppressed invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo (mean metastatic foci: control: 37.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 25.6 to 50.2; miR-382: 19.5, 95% CI = 12.2 to 26.9, P = .009; miR-516b: 12.5, 95% CI = 7.7 to 17.4, P < .001, Student's t test). Mechanistically, miR-382 overexpression inhibits extracellular matrix degradation by melanoma cells. Moreover, we identified actin regulators CTTN, RAC1, and ARPC2 as direct targets of miR-382. Depletion of CTTN partially recapitulates miR-382 effects on matrix remodeling, invasion, and metastasis. Inhibition of miR-382 in a weakly tumorigenic melanoma cell line increased tumor progression and metastasis in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

Aberrant expression of specific microRNAs that can functionally impact progression of primary melanoma occurs as an early event of melanomagenesis.

Analysis of recurrence patterns in acral versus nonacral melanoma: should histologic subtype influence treatment guidelines?

Current surgical treatment of primary melanoma is uniform for all histosubtypes, although certain types of melanoma, such as acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), have a worse prognosis. No study has explored the effectiveness of standard melanoma treatment guidelines for managing ALM compared with nonacral melanoma (NAM). Study subjects were identified from a prospectively enrolled database of patients with primary melanoma at New York University. Patients with ALM were matched to those with NAM (1:3) by gender and melanoma stage, including substage (ALM, 61; NAM, 183). All patients received standard-of-care treatment. Recurrence and survival outcomes in both cohorts were compared. ALM histologic subtype was an independent negative predictor of recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.24; P=.001) and melanoma-specific survival (HR, 2.58; P=.001) compared with NAM. Recurrence was significantly more common in patients with ALM than in those with NAM (49% vs 30%; P=.007). For tumors less than 2 mm in thickness, a significantly higher recurrence rate was seen with ALM versus NAM (P=.048). No significant difference was seen in recurrence for tumors greater than 2 mm (P=.12). Notably, the rate of locoregional recurrence was nearly double for ALM compared with NAM (P=.001). The data presented herein reveal a high rate of locoregional failure in ALM compared with NAM when controlling for AJCC stage. These results raise the question of whether ALM may require more aggressive surgical treatment than nonacral cutaneous melanomas of equal thickness, particularly in tumors less than 2 mm thick. Larger multicenter trials are necessary for further conclusions.

When surgeons decide to become surgeons: new opportunities for surgical education

BACKGROUND

When surgeons decide to become surgeons has important implications. If the decision is made prior to or early in medical school, surgical education can be more focused on surgical diseases and resident skills.

METHODS

To determine when surgeons - compared with their nonsurgical colleagues - decide on their medical path, residents in surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and emergency medicine were surveyed. Timing of residency choice, demographic data, personal goals, and reason for residency choice were queried.

RESULTS

A total of 234 residents responded (53 surgical residents). Sixty-two percent of surgeons reported that they were "fairly certain" of surgery before medical school, 13% decided during their preclinical years, and 25% decided during their clerkship years. This compares with an aggregate 40%, 7%, and 54%, respectively, for the other 5 residency specialties. These differences were statistically significant (P = .001). When the 234 residents were asked about their primary motivation for choosing their field, 51% pointed to expected job satisfaction and 44% to intellectual curiosity, and only 3% mentioned lifestyle, prestige, or income.

CONCLUSIONS

General surgery residents decide on surgery earlier than residents in other programs. This may be advantageous, resulting in fast-tracking of these medical students in acquiring surgical knowledge, undertaking surgical research, and early identification for surgical residency programs. Surgical training in the era of the 80-hour work week could be enhanced if medical students bring much deeper knowledge of surgery to their first day of residency.

Impact of age on the management of primary melanoma patients

OBJECTIVES

Age is an understudied factor when considering treatment options for melanoma. Here, we examine the impact of age on primary melanoma treatment in a prospective cohort of patients.

METHODS

We used logistic regression models to examine the associations between age and initial treatment, using recurrence and melanoma-specific survival as endpoints.

RESULTS

444 primary melanoma patients were categorized into three groups by age at diagnosis: 19-45 years (24.3%), 46-70 (50.2%), and 71-95 (25.5%). In multivariate models, older patients experienced a higher risk of recurrence (hazard ratio 3.34, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.53-7.25; p < 0.01). No significant differences were observed in positive biopsy margin rates or extent of surgical margins across age groups. Patients in the middle age group were more likely to receive adjuvant therapy than those in the older group (odds ratio 2.78, 95% CI 1.19-6.45; p = 0.02) and showed a trend to longer disease-free survival when receiving adjuvant therapy (p = 0.09).

CONCLUSION

Our data support age as an independent negative prognostic factor in melanoma. Our data suggest that age does not affect primary surgical treatment but may affect decisions of whether or not patients receive postoperative treatment(s). Further work is needed to better understand the biological variables affecting treatment decisions and efficacy in older patients.