Postoperative complications in individuals aged 70 and over undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer

AIM

This study aims to describe the nature, incidence, severity and outcomes of in-hospital postoperative complications (POCs) in older patients undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer.

METHOD

Patients ≥ 70 years old were identified from a prospectively collected database (2009-2015) focusing on the implementation of geriatric screening and assessment in patients with cancer. Medical and surgical POCs were retrieved retrospectively from the medical records, and the severity of the POCs was graded by the Clavien-Dindo (CD) grading system. The following outcomes were analysed comparing patients with and without CD ≥ 2 and CD ≥ 3 POCs: length of stay (LOS), transfer to the intensive care unit, 30-day readmission rates, 30-day and 1-year mortality.

RESULTS

In the 190 patients included, medical POCs (40.5%) were more frequent than surgical POCs (17.9%), and 37.9% experienced CD ≥ 2 POCs. The most common medical POCs were infections (26.8%), transient confusion or altered mental function (12.1%), cardiac arrhythmia (4.7%), and ileus/gastroparesis/prolonged recovery of transit (4.7%). The most common surgical POCs were surgical site infections (12.1%), wound dehiscence/bleeding (4.7%), anastomotic leak (3.7%) and surgical site bleeding (3.7%). The reoperation rate was 7.9%. CD ≥ 2 POCs led to 11 intensive care unit admissions and increased median postoperative LOS by 114% (P < 0.0001 for both), but did not significantly alter 30-day readmission and 30-day and 1-year mortality rates. CD ≥ 3 POCs increased LOS by 162% (P < 0.0001) and showed an increased 1-year mortality (P = 0.07).

CONCLUSION

This study shows that in-hospital medical and surgical complications after surgery for colorectal cancer in patients ≥ 70 years old are frequent and that complications lead to less favourable outcomes.

Current status and future perspectives on treatment of liver metastasis in colorectal cancer (Review)

Liver metastasis is the most common site of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. Approximately half of all colorectal cancer patients will develop liver metastases. Although radical surgery is the standard treatment modality, only 10-20% of patients are deemed eligible for resection. Despite advances in survival with chemotherapy, surgical resection is still considered the only curative option for patients with liver metastases. Much effort has been expended to address patients with metastatic liver disease. The majority of evidence stated a significant survival benefit with surgical resection to reach an overall 5-year survival rate of 35-55% after hepatic resection. However, still majority of patients will experience disease recurrence even after a successful resection. In this review, we describe current status and controversies related to treatment options for CRC liver metastases and its potential for enhancing oncologic outcomes and improving quality of life.

Early detection of poor outcome in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: tumor kinetics evaluated by circulating tumor cells

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide. New prognostic markers are needed to identify patients with poorer prognosis, and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) seem to be promising to accomplish this.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective study was conducted by blood collection from patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC), three times, every 2 months in conjunction with image examinations for evaluation of therapeutic response. CTC isolation and counting were performed by Isolation by Size of Epithelial Tumor Cells (ISET).

RESULTS

A total of 54 patients with mCRC with a mean age of 57.3 years (31-82 years) were included. Among all patients, 60% (n=32) were carriers of wild-type KRAS (WT KRAS) tumors and 90% of them (n=29) were exposed to monoclonal antibodies along with systemic treatment. Evaluating CTC kinetics, when we compared the baseline (pretreatment) CTC level (CTC1) with the level at first follow-up (CTC2), we observed that CTC1-positive patients (CTCs above the median), who became negative (CTCs below the median) had a favorable evolution (n=14), with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 14.7 months. This was higher than that for patients with an unfavorable evolution (CTC1- that became CTC2+; n=13, 6.9 months; P=0.06). Patients with WT KRAS with favorable kinetics had higher PFS (14.7 months) in comparison to those with WT KRAS with unfavorable kinetics (9.4 months; P=0.02). Moreover, patients whose imaging studies showed radiological progression had an increased quantification of CTCs at CTC2 compared to those without progression (P=0.04).

CONCLUSION

This study made possible the presentation of ISET as a feasible tool for evaluating CTC kinetics in patients with mCRC, which can be promising in their clinical evaluation.

Clinical development of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC): a modified herpes simplex virus type-1-derived oncolytic immunotherapy

Tumor immunotherapy is emerging as a promising new treatment option for patients with cancer. T-VEC is an intralesional oncolytic virus therapy based on a modified herpes simplex virus type-1. T-VEC selectively targets tumor cells, causing regression in injected lesions and inducing immunologic responses that mediate regression at uninjected/distant sites. In a randomized phase III trial, T-VEC met its primary endpoint of improving the durable response rate vs granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients with unresectable melanoma. Responses were observed in injected and uninjected regional and visceral lesions. Exploratory analyses suggested survival differences in favor of T-VEC in patients with untreated or stage IIIB/IIIC/IVM1a disease. T-VEC was generally well tolerated, the most common adverse events being flu-like symptoms. Here, we overview recent advances in cancer immunotherapy, focusing on the clinical development of T-VEC, from first-in-human studies and studies in other cancer types, to ongoing combination trials with checkpoint inhibitors.

TNFerade, an innovative cancer immunotherapeutic

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a chemokine with effective tumoricidal properties. However, severe systemic toxicity limits its use of as anticancer agent. TNFerade is a novel replication deficient adenovector based gene therapy, which enables the radiation inducible translation of human TNF-α gene specifically in cancer cells. When injected intratumorally, it has least systemic distribution. Consequently, it lacks TNF-α related systemic toxicity. Evidence suggests that it has superior tumoricidal activity and tolerability with minimum adverse effects. It has demonstrated its beneficial role in the treatment of a variety of cancers in terms of improving the disease free and overall survival, delaying tumor progression, and inducing tumor regression when used with concurrent radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Intrapulmonary Delivery of CpG Microparticles Eliminates Lung Tumors

CpG oligonucleotides (ODN) stimulate the innate immune system by triggering cells that express TLR9. The resulting response promotes tumor regression, an effect optimized by delivery of CpG ODN to the tumor site. This work examines the effect of instilling CpG ODN adsorbed onto polyketal microparticles (CpG-MP) into the lungs of mice with non-small cell lung cancer. Intrapulmonary delivery of CpG-MP improved ODN uptake and retention at the tumor site, thereby inducing a stronger Th1 response than systemically administered or unadsorbed CpG ODN. CpG-MP reversed the immunosuppression that characterized the tumor microenvironment by (i) decreasing the number of immunosuppressive Tregs and M2 macrophages while (ii) increasing the number of tumoricidal CD8(+) T cells and M1 macrophages. These effects promoted tumor regression and culminated in 82% permanent survival of mice with otherwise fatal Lewis lung cancer.

Managing synchronous liver metastases from colorectal cancer: a multidisciplinary international consensus

An international panel of multidisciplinary experts convened to develop recommendations for managing patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and synchronous liver metastases (CRCLM). A modified Delphi method was used. CRCLM is defined as liver metastases detected at or before diagnosis of the primary CRC. Early and late metachronous metastases are defined as those detected ⩽12months and >12months after surgery, respectively. To provide information on potential curability, use of high-quality contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) before chemotherapy is recommended. Magnetic resonance imaging is increasingly being used preoperatively to aid detection of subcentimetric metastases, and alongside CT in difficult situations. To evaluate operability, radiology should provide information on: nodule size and number, segmental localization and relationship with major vessels, response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, non-tumoral liver condition and anticipated remnant liver volume. Pathological evaluation should assess response to preoperative chemotherapy for both the primary tumour and metastases, and provide information on the tumour, margin size and micrometastases. Although the treatment strategy depends on the clinical scenario, the consensus was for chemotherapy before surgery in most cases. When the primary CRC is asymptomatic, liver surgery may be performed first (reverse approach). When CRCLM are unresectable, the goal of preoperative chemotherapy is to downsize tumours to allow resection. Hepatic resection should not be denied to patients with stable disease after optimal chemotherapy, provided an adequate liver remnant with inflow and outflow preservation remains. All patients with synchronous CRCLM should be evaluated by a hepatobiliary multidisciplinary team.

Role of primary tumor resection among chemotherapy-treated patients with synchronous stage IV colorectal cancer: a survival analysis

INTRODUCTION

The benefit of an operation to remove the primary tumor among patients with synchronous stage IV colorectal cancer is controversial. This study analyzed the survival benefits associated with primary tumor resection among chemotherapy-treated stage IV colorectal cancer patients.

METHODS

The study analyzed 11,716 chemotherapy-treated stage IV colorectal cancer patients in the California Cancer Registry between 1996 and 2007, with follow-up through 2009. Patients were stratified into operation and non-operation groups. Estimates of median overall and colorectal cancer-specific survival were generated.

RESULTS

Patients undergoing operation compared to those who are not had higher median overall and colorectal cancer-specific survival, 21 versus 10 months (p < 0.0001) and 22 versus 12 months (p < 0.0001), respectively. Patients who were offered surgery but refused had decreased median overall and colorectal cancer-specific survival when compared to patients who underwent resection, 8 versus 21 months (p < 0.001) and 7 versus 22 months (p < 0.001), respectively. In multivariate regression models, patients who underwent resection of primary tumor had improved overall (hazard ratio (HR), 0.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40-0.44, p < 0.0001) and colorectal cancer-specific survival (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.41-0.45; p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Primary tumor resection is associated with improved survival among stage IV chemotherapy-treated colorectal cancer patients.

The Role of Surgery for Asymptomatic Primary Tumors in Unresectable Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

There are still debates regarding the appropriate primary treatment policy for asymptomatic primary colorectal lesions in cases of unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer. Even though there are patients with asymptomatic primary tumors when starting chemotherapy, those patients may still undergo surgery due to complications related to primary tumors in the middle of chemotherapy; therefore, controversy exists regarding surgical resection of primary colorectal lesions in cases where symptoms are absent when making a diagnosis. Thus, based on the published literature, we discuss opinions that prefer first-line surgery for primary tumors as well as opinions favoring first-line chemotherapy for treating unresectable synchronous metastatic colorectal cancer. Although the upfront chemotherapy including targeted agents is suggested as an effective treatment in recent years, the first line surgery has been a preferred treatment for decades. The first line surgery is beneficial to prolong the survival duration given the retrospective analysis of randomized trial data. So far, no prospective comparison study has only focused on the first-line treatment modality; thus, future clinical studies focusing on the survival duration and the quality of life should be performed as soon as possible. Furthermore, at this point, multidisciplinary team approaches would be helpful in finding the appropriate therapy. Regardless of symptoms, the performance status and the tumor burden should be taken into consideration as well. In case of surgical resection, minimally invasive surgery, such as laparoscopic surgery, is recommended.

The Role of Surgery for Asymptomatic Primary Tumors in Unresectable Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

There are still debates regarding the appropriate primary treatment policy for asymptomatic primary colorectal lesions in cases of unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer. Even though there are patients with asymptomatic primary tumors when starting chemotherapy, those patients may still undergo surgery due to complications related to primary tumors in the middle of chemotherapy; therefore, controversy exists regarding surgical resection of primary colorectal lesions in cases where symptoms are absent when making a diagnosis. Thus, based on the published literature, we discuss opinions that prefer first-line surgery for primary tumors as well as opinions favoring first-line chemotherapy for treating unresectable synchronous metastatic colorectal cancer. Although the upfront chemotherapy including targeted agents is suggested as an effective treatment in recent years, the first line surgery has been a preferred treatment for decades. The first line surgery is beneficial to prolong the survival duration given the retrospective analysis of randomized trial data. So far, no prospective comparison study has only focused on the first-line treatment modality; thus, future clinical studies focusing on the survival duration and the quality of life should be performed as soon as possible. Furthermore, at this point, multidisciplinary team approaches would be helpful in finding the appropriate therapy. Regardless of symptoms, the performance status and the tumor burden should be taken into consideration as well. In case of surgical resection, minimally invasive surgery, such as laparoscopic surgery, is recommended.