Disparities in survival after trimodality therapy for esophageal adenocarcinoma

Trimodality therapy with neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery has emerged as the standard of care for the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer. Yet, there is considerable variation in survival within this population. We sought to analyze factors associated with survival after trimodality therapy in esophageal adenocarcinoma. We identified 4,679 patients from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons who received chemotherapy and radiation prior to surgery for esophageal adenocarcinoma from 2006 to 2013. We excluded patients with stage IV disease and unknown pathological nodal status. We performed regression analyses using a Cox proportional hazards model to identify independent predictors of overall survival. On multivariate analysis, pathologic characteristics associated with decreased overall survival included stage, lymphovascular invasion, and positive surgical margins. Insurance status, age, and comorbidity index were also associated with decreased survival. We found that pathologically node-positive patients who received additional adjuvant chemotherapy were associated with improved survival. Compared to private insurance, Medicaid (HR 1.45, CI 1.22-1.73, P < 0.0001), Medicare (HR 1.17, CI 1.04-1.31, P = 0.0082), or having no insurance (HR 1.50, CI 1.17-1.92, P = 0.0012) were all negative predictors of overall survival. In patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma who have undergone trimodality therapy, a number of different factors are associated with overall survival. In particular, socioeconomic factors relating to access to care are independent predictors of survival. Despite receiving the standard of care, treatment disparities persist in this population of patients.

Side-to-side stapled intra-thoracic esophagogastric anastomosis reduces the incidence of leaks and stenosis

Trans-hiatal esophagectomy with a hand-sewn anastomosis was for 2 decades the preferred approach in our institution for patients with esophageal cancer. In our experience, this anastomotic technique was associated with a 12% leak rate and a 48% rate of stricture requiring dilatation. We sought to determine if a side-to-side intra-thoracic anastomosis was associated with a lower rate of anastomotic stricture and leak. Thirty-three consecutive patients with distal esophageal cancer or Barrett's esophagus with high grade dysplasia underwent a trans-thoracic esophagectomy with a side-to-side stapled intra-thoracic anastomosis. The overall morbidity was 27%, with no anastomotic stricture or leaks. One patient died (3%). The median time to the resumption of an oral diet was 7 days (range 5-28), and the median length of stay in hospital was 9 days (range 6-45). Trans-thoracic esophagectomy with a side-to-side stapled anastomosis is safe and it is associated with a very low rate of anastomotic complications. We consider this to be the procedure of choice for patients with distal esophageal cancers.

A multi-gene assay to predict long-term mortality in early stage lung adenocarcinoma

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Background: The likelihood of long-term mortality for patients with early stage lung adenocarcinoma is poorly defined by clinical stage and histopathological findings. Our hypothesis was that a multigene quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay can predict risk of mortality among patients with early stage lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: We identified 65 genes that were previously identified as prognostic for long-term mortality in early stage lung cancer in 3 published microarray studies and 2 PCR-based studies. RNA was extracted from 124 fresh-frozen tumor samples from consecutive patients with completely resected lung adenocarcinoma with at least 3 years of clinical follow-up. 80 samples were randomly assigned to a test group and the remainder assigned to a validation group. Real-time PCR of the 65 identified genes were run on the test set using Taq-man assays. A prediction model was created using a proportional hazards model of normalized gene expression levels using backwards model selection. A model score was calculated for each patient using model coefficients and individual gene expression levels. Patients were defined as high-risk if the model score was greater than the median score. Results: Adequate real-time PCR profiles were identified in all 80 patients. Eighteen genes were included in the final model. The proportion of patients identified as high-risk and low-risk was 52% and 48% percent, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier estimated five-year survival in the low-risk group was 82% and 5% in the high-risk group (P<0.001, log-rank test). Median survival was 22 months in the high-risk group and was not reached in the low-risk group. In multivariate survival analysis, the prognostic score predicted survival independent of tumor stage and size (P<0.001). Prognostic score predicted mortality better than clinical stage, based on model log-likelihood values (P<0.001). Conclusions: This multi- gene assay aids in predicting long-term mortality among patients with surgically resected early stage lung adenocarcinoma. We are currently validating this model in our test set of samples.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Effects of melatonin ingestion on cAMP and cGMP levels in human plasma

The effects of daytime melatonin treatment (0.3 mg) on cAMP and cGMP levels in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-poor plasma (PPP) were investigated in 14 normal human subjects (age+/-s.e.m. 26.2+/-3. 2 years). Plasma levels of cAMP, cGMP and melatonin were measured before and at intervals for 3 h after the treatment was administered at 1300 h. Plasma melatonin concentrations reached peak levels 1 h after the treatment (mean+/-s.d. 182.3+/-43.5 pg/ml). The mean areas under the curve (AUC) for the time-cGMP concentration curves in PPP and in PRP were significantly increased after melatonin treatment compared with those observed after placebo treatment (P=0.001). No significant difference in cGMP levels was observed between PPP and PRP. Increase in self-reported sleepiness after melatonin treatment positively correlated with increase in plasma cGMP levels (r=0.92). The mean AUC for the time-cAMP concentration in PRP, but not in PPP, was increased 1 h after melatonin treatment compared with that observed after placebo treatment, but not thereafter. No correlation between individual PRP or PPP cAMP levels and subjective sleepiness was observed. These results demonstrate a stimulating effect of melatonin treatment on plasma cGMP levels in humans and suggest a correlation between the increase in circulating cGMP levels and the sleep-promoting effect of the pineal hormone.