Curative Intent Surgery of Oral Malignant Melanoma and Regional Lymph Node Biopsy Assessment in 25 Dogs: 2006-2017

Medical records were searched for dogs that had received curative intent surgery for oral malignant melanoma and ipsilateral excisional regional lymph node biopsy. Twenty-seven dogs were operated on and 25 dogs of these dogs met the inclusion criteria of signalment, post-excision margin status, presence of metastasis for each biopsied lymphocentrum, survival time post-excision, presence of recurrence or metastasis at follow-up or at death/euthanasia, location of the primary tumor, and any postoperative adjuvant treatment. These 25 dogs had complete tumor excision with tumor-free margins and 19 (76%) had postoperative adjuvant therapy. Median survival time after excision for the dogs in this study was 335.5 days. Results of this study support previous work that documents prolonged survival time following complete excision of oral malignant melanoma with tumor-free surgical margins in dogs. Additionally, 4 dogs (16%) had histologically confirmed regional lymph node metastasis at the time of definitive surgery.

Overall survival by pattern of recurrence following curative intent surgery for colorectal liver metastasis

BACKGROUND

Following curative intent surgery (CIS) for colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM), patterns of recurrence and subsequent survival outcomes are not widely reported.

METHODS

An institutional database (January 2002-December 2012) was reviewed to evaluate patterns of recurrence following CIS for CRLM.

RESULTS

163 patients with CRLM underwent successful CIS. Median follow-up and disease-free interval were 33 and 16 months, respectively. 5-year overall survival (OS) was 55%. After initial CIS, 102 (63%) patients recurred: liver-44% (5-year OS 55%), lung-15% (5-year OS 45%), and other/multifocal-41% (5-year OS 24%). OS for isolated liver and lung recurrences were not significantly different. Liver only recurrence was associated with 1-5 mm liver resection margins (P = 0.048). Lung only recurrence was associated with extrahepatic metastasis (at the time of initial CRLM) (P = 0.025). Other/multifocal recurrence was associated with bilobar CRLM (P = 0.026), and extrahepatic metastasis (P = 0.028).

CONCLUSIONS

Patterns of recurrence following CIS for CRLM have important implications for OS. 5-year OS was similar between isolated lung and liver recurrences. During CIS, decreased liver resection margin may be associated with increased risk of liver only recurrence. Patients with aggressive primary or metastatic liver disease are at higher risk for pulmonary or other/multifocal recurrence.