The Emergency Surgery Frailty Index (EmSFI) in Elderly Patients with Acute Appendicitis: An External Validation of Prognostic Score

BACKGROUND

Identification of reliable risk-stratification tools is critical for surgical decision making, particularly in frail and elderly. The aim of the study is to validate the Emergency Surgery Frailty Index (EmSFI), in over 65 years old patients operated on for acute appendicitis.

METHODS

An observational study was conducted enrolling elderly patients with diagnosis of acute appendicitis who underwent emergency appendicectomy or right colectomy, between 2016 and 2021. All patients were treated according to the last SIFIPAC/WSES/SICG/SIMEU guidelines.

RESULTS

Overall, 61 patients were analyzed. Complication rate was higher for patients in the second EmSFI risk Class. Moreover, ROC analyses identified 3 as the best cutoff value in predicting risk of adverse postoperative events. Complication rate was higher in oldest elderly patients-over 80 years-(42.9 vs 22.5%; p 0.05) and was mainly related to medical complications (42.9 vs 12.5%, p 0.007). However, intestinal obstruction, peri-appendicular abscess on preoperative CT, peritonitis and a longer duration of surgery are related with increased risk of complications in the group of patients under 80 years.

CONCLUSION

The EmSFI score results a valid prognostic marker for frailty status, and it may support the surgeon in emergency setting for acute appendicitis. Patients aged 80 years or older have a higher risk of complications, independent from those factors which relate to increased morbidity in younger elderly patients. Age alone is not a reliable indicator of the real surgical risk, but it must encourage the adoption of multidisciplinary collaborative models of care for this group of patients.

The Percentage of Signet Ring Cells Is Inversely Related to Aggressive Behavior and Poor Prognosis in Mixed-Type Gastric Cancer

Background and Objectives

Only recently the percentage of signet ring cells (SRCs) in gastric cancer (GC) has been proposed as an independent predictor of survival. High amounts of SRCs have been related to lower recurrence and mortality rates, better prognosis, and favorable clinicopathological features in a poorly cohesive histotype. It is not known what the effect of SRC percentage in mixed-type GC is. We investigate the role of SRCs as a prognostic marker in mixed-histotype GC.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed through a prospectively maintained database of patients with diagnosed “mixed-type” gastric carcinoma, defined according to 2019 WHO classification. These patients underwent surgery between 1995 and 2016, and their tissue samples were stored in a tissue bank. All slides were analyzed, and patients were divided into three groups according to the percentage of SRCs: “Group 1” (displaying ≤10% of SRCs), “Group 2” (displaying <90% but >10% of SRCs), and “Group 3” (displaying ≥90% of SRCs). We compared clinical and pathological features as well as prognostic factors between the different groups.

Results

Among 164 enrolled patients, 68.9% were male and 31.1% were female (p = 0.612). The mean (±SD) age at diagnosis was 71.4 ± 9.6 years. Ninety-eight (59.7%) patients were classified as “Group 1”, 66 (40.3%) as “Group 2”, and none as “Group 3”. Five-year overall survival was remarkably higher in Group 2 (73.8%) in comparison to Group 1 (35.4%), p < 0.001. Mortality risk was three times higher in patients with ≤10% SRC pattern compared to those with >10% [HR 2.70 (95% CI 1.72–4.24)]. After adjusting according to potential confounding factors, SRC percentage was still an independent predictor of survival.

Conclusions

The proportion of SRCs is inversely related to aggressive behavior and poor prognosis in mixed-type GCs, highlighting the role of SRC amount as an independent predictor of survival.

Methylene Blue Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging in Breast Cancer Sentinel Node Biopsy

Simple Summary

Currently the gold standard for sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients is radioactive nanocolloid and a blue dye. In the age of fluorescence guided surgery new fluorophores are used and methylene blue presents some fluorescent properties. This study is the first in a clinical series presenting the possible use of methylene blue as a fluorescent dye for the identification of sentinel nodes in breast cancer sentinel node biopsy. We presented a feasibility of this new method and also in additional experiments because of the quenching effect limitation, found possible dilution of methylene blue presenting improved fluorescence.

Abstract

Introduction: Fluorescence-based navigation for breast cancer sentinel node biopsy is a novel method that uses indocyanine green as a fluorophore. However, methylene blue (MB) also has some fluorescent properties. This study is the first in a clinical series presenting the possible use of MB as a fluorescent dye for the identification of sentinel nodes in breast sentinel node biopsy. Material and methods: Forty-nine patients with breast cancer who underwent sentinel node biopsy procedures were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent standard simultaneous injection of nanocolloid and MB. We visualized and assessed the sentinel nodes and the lymphatic channels transcutaneously, with and without fluorescence, and calculated the signal-to-background ratio (SBR). We also analyzed the corresponding fluorescence intensity of various dilutions of MB. Results: In twenty-three patients (46.9%), the location of the sentinel node, or the end of the lymphatic path, was visible transcutaneously. The median SBR for transcutaneous sentinel node location was 1.69 (range 1.66–4.35). Lymphatic channels were visible under fluorescence in 14 patients (28.6%) prior to visualization by the naked eye, with an average SBR of 2.01 (range 1.14–5.6). The sentinel node was visible under fluorescence in 25 patients (51%). The median SBR for sentinel node visualization with MB fluorescence was 2.54 (range 1.34–6.86). Sentinel nodes were visualized faster under fluorescence during sentinel node preparation. Factors associated with the rate of visualization included diabetes (p = 0.001), neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.003), and multifocality (p = 0.004). The best fluorescence was obtained using 40 μM (0.0128 mg/mL) MB, but we also observed a clinically relevant dilution range between 20 μM (0.0064 mg/mL) and 100 μM (0.032 mg/mL). Conclusions: For the first time, we propose the clinical usage of MB as a fluorophore for fluorescence-guided sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patients. The quenching effect of the dye may be the reason for its poor detection rate. Our analysis of different concentrations of MB suggests a need for a detailed clinical analysis to highlight the practical usefulness of the dye.

Signet ring cell percentage in poorly cohesive gastric cancer patients: A potential novel predictor of survival

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Signet ring cells (SRC) are widely acknowledged as a prognostically unfavorable histotype amongst poorly cohesive gastric cancer. In this study we evaluated the impact of SRC percentage on the clinical, pathological and prognostic features of these tumors according to the classification by the European Chapter of the IGCA.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed records of patients with poorly cohesive gastric cancer that underwent surgery between 1995 and 2016, whose tissue specimens were available in a biological bank. All slides were put under revision, patients were reclassified into three groups according to the proportion of signet ring cells: "pure" SRC (containing ≥90% of SRCs), Poorly Cohesive-Not Otherwise Specified (PC-NOS) (containing ≤10% of SRCs), and PC-NOS/SRC (containing <90% but >10% of SRCs). The clinicopathological factors between different types were analyzed and prognostic differences were compared.

RESULTS

Among 143 enrolled patients, 51% were male and 49% were female. The mean (±SD) age at diagnosis was 61 ± 13.9 years. Eighty-seven patients (60.8%) were reclassified as PC-NOS, 56 (39.2%) as PC-NOS/SRC and none as "pure" SRC. Five-years overall survival was significantly higher in PC-NOS/SRC group (63.3%) compared with PC-NOS group (12.7%). The increase in mortality risk was more than four-fold in patients with PC-NOS pattern compared to those with PC-NOS/SRC (HR 4.32 [95% CI 2.5-7.4]. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, SRC pattern was still an independent predictor of survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The percentage of SRCs is inversely related to tumor aggressiveness, confirming the role of SRC pattern as an independent predictor of survival.