Patients with brain metastases are more prone to developing life-threatening neurological symptoms. Initial therapies include surgery, whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), and stereotactic radiotherapy. With the progress of stereotactic radiotherapy, the indication of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is gradually expanding, and the indications for surgery and WBRT gradually narrowed. The existing studies have shown that SRS can significantly benefit patients who are <50 years old with single brain metastasis, but the specific scope of the application with SRS is still controversial, and a large number of the phase Ⅲ randomized multicenter trials designed around the controversies are also developing. This review summarizes the results of clinical research and came to the conclusion. Firstly, postoperative adjuvant SRS in the treatment of brain metastases is superior to postoperative adjuvant WBRT. Secondly, using SRS in the elderly patients with multiple brain metastases are safe and effective. Thirdly, the use of targeted therapy in patients with brain metastases thereby delaying SRS may lead to poor prognosis. The focus of future research include selection of optimal timing for adjuvant targeted therapy after SRS and the appropriate patient population, as well as prevention of recurrence and metastasis after lacal treatment.
Lung is one of the most common metastatic organs of carcinomas. Pulmonary metastasectomy has become a common procedure in thoracic surgery and its effectiveness has been demonstrated by many researches. Once the malignant tumor is combined with lung metastasis, which belongs to the category of advanced tumor, surgical resection is only a palliative treatment to reduce the tumor load. However, there are still some controversies among the surgical indications, preoperative examinations, surgical methods and resection ranges, lymph node management, recurrence and re-resection of metastatic tumor and prognostic factors. This article reviews pulmonary metastasectomy from the above aspects.
ObjectiveTo investigate clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of surgical resection of pulmonary metastases after esophagectomy. MethodsClinical data of 15 patients who underwent surgical resection of pulmonary metastases after esophagectomy from March 1994 to May 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 10 males and 5 females with their age of 43-72 (65.0±8.8) years. Surgical procedures included partial lung resection, pulmonary wedge resection, segmental resection and lobectomy. Follow-up duration was 60 months after surgical resection of pulmonary metastases. The influence of number and size of pulmonary metastases, TNM staging of primary esophageal cancer, and disease-free interval (DFI) after esophagectomy on postoperative survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy was analyzed. ResultsTwelve, 24 and 60 months survival rates after pulmonary metastasectomy were 80.0%, 66.7% and 6.7%, respec-tively. Median DFI was 30 months. Survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy of patients whose DFI was longer than 24 months was significantly longer than that of patients whose DFI was shorter than 24 months (χ2=5.144, P=0.023). Survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy of patients with solitary pulmonary metastasis was significantly longer than that of patients with multiple pulmonary metastases (χ2=3.990, P=0.046).The size of pulmonary metastases and TNM staging of primary esophageal cancer didn't have significant impact on survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy (P > 0.05). Cox proportional hazards model showed that DFI after esophagectomy was the main factor affecting survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy (P=0.026). ConclusionSurgical resection is a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of pulmonary metas-tases after esophagectomy, and may achieve good clinical outcomes for patients with solitary pulmonary metastasis and patients whose DFI is longer than 24 months.
Objective To determine feasibility of texture analysis of CT images for the discrimination of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) and liver metastases of colon cancer. Methods CT images of 9 patients with 19 pathologically proved HEHEs and 18 patients with 38 liver metastases of colon cancer who received treatment in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from July 2012 to August 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Thirty best texture parameters were automatically selected by the combination of Fisher coefficient (Fisher)+classification error probability combined with average correlation coefficients (PA)+mutual information (MI). The 30 texture parameters of arterial phase (AP) CT images were distributed in co-occurrence matrix (22 parameters), run-length matrix (1 parameter), histogram (4 parameters), gradient (1 parameter), and autoregressive model (2 parameters). The distribution of parameters in portal venous phase (PVP) were co-occurrence matrix (18 parameters), run-length matrix (2 parameters), histogram (7 parameters), gradient (2 parameters), and autoregressive model (1 parameter). In AP, the misclassification rates of raw data analysis (RDA)/K nearest neighbor classification (KNN), principal component analysis (PCA)/KNN, linear discriminant analysis (LDA)/KNN, and nonlinear discriminant analysis, and nonlinear discriminant analysis (NDA)/artificial neural network (ANN) was 38.60% (22/57), 42.11% (24/57), 8.77% (5/57), and 7.02% (4/57), respectively. In PVP, the misclassification rates of RDA/KNN, PCA/KNN, LDA/KNN, and NDA/ANN was 26.32% (15/57), 28.07% (16/57), 15.79% (9/57), and 10.53% (6/57), respectively. The misclassification rates of AP and PVP images had no statistical significance on the misclassification rates of RDA/KNN, PCA/KNN, LDA/KNN, and NDA/ANN between AP and PVP (P>0.05). Conclusion The texture analysis of CT images is feasible to identify HEHE and liver metastases of colon cancer.
Abstract： Pulmonary metastasectomy is an option for patients with metastatic tumor of lung. Numerous retrospectivestudies have demonstrated that complete control of primary tumor and complete resection of metastases limited to thelungs may be associated with prolonged survival. Speci?c issues require consideration when planning pulmonary metastasectomy. Regardless of histological type of primary tumor, complete resection is the most important prognostic factor. The other two important prognostic factors are long disease interval and limited number of metastatic tumor of lung. Hand-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for bilateral lung metastasectomy through sternocostal triangle access is recommended. Pulmonary hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastases are some relative contraindications for this surgery. Nowdays preoperative imaging examinations still have limitations in detecting all the lung metastases. Some data emphasize the importance of considering patients for extended resection in metastatic tumor of lung. Repeat resection after previous metastasectomies can be of benefit under certain circumstances so we should remove as little healthy lung tissue as possible. In this review, we discuss about some disputed issues in order to establish a useful criterion for consideration of pulmonary metastasectomy.
Spine is a common site of metastasis in patients with malignant tumors, and tumor metastasis to the spine can lead to pain, pathological fractures, and nerve compression. In order to optimize the diagnosis and management of patients with spinal metastases and metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK proposed the first diagnostic and treatment guidelines for patients with MSCC (or at risk of MSCC) in 2008. In recent years, with the rapid advancement of spinal surgery and radiotherapy technology, the standardized process of MSCC diagnosis and treatment urgently needs to be updated. In 2023, NICE launched new guidelines for spinal metastases and MSCC. Based on a thorough study of the guidelines, this article discusses and interprets pain management, corticosteroid treatment, application of bisphosphonates and denosumab, tools for assessing spinal stability and prognosis, radiation therapy, surgical timing and approach, etc., providing reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment in China.
Brain metastases are the most common intracranial malignant tumors in adults. Radiotherapy isa common treatment for brain metastases. In particular, stereotactic radiosurgery can control tumors well, and can significantly reduce the impact on cognitive function compared with whole brain radiation therapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have less toxic side effects in the treatment of patients with advanced tumors, and show good survival advantages. This article introduces radiotherapy, immunotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors for brain metastases, discusses the mechanism of stereotactic radiosurgery combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, and its therapeutic value and research progress in brain metastases, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the better application of stereotactic radiosurgery combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors to brain metastases.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of robot-guided percutaneous fixation and decompression via small incision in treatment of advanced thoracolumbar metastases. Methods A clinical data of 57 patients with advanced thoracolumbar metastases admitted between June 2017 and January 2021 and met the selection criteria was retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 26 cases were treated with robot-guided percutaneous fixation and decompression via small incision (robot-guided group) and 31 cases with traditional open surgery (traditional group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, lesion segment, primary tumor site, and preoperative Tokuhashi score, Tomita score, Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS), visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI), Karnofsky score, and Frankel grading between groups (P>0.05). The operation time, hospital stays, hospital expenses, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, blood transfusion, complications, and survival time were compared. The pedicle screw placement accuracy was evaluated according to the Gertzbein-Robbins grading by CT within 4 days after operation. The pain, function, and quality of life were evaluated by VAS score, ODI, Karnofsky score, and Frankel grading. Results During operation, 257 and 316 screws were implanted in the robot-guided group and the traditional group, respectively; and there was no significant difference in pedicle screw placement accuracy between groups (P>0.05). Compared with the traditional group, the operation time, hospital stays, duration of ICU stay were significantly shorter, and intraoperative blood loss and postoperative drainage volume were significantly lesser in the robot-guided group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in hospital expenses, blood transfusion rate, and complications between groups (P>0.05). All patients were followed up 8-32 months (mean, 14 months). There was no significant difference in VAS scores between groups at 7 days after operation (P>0.05), but the robot-guided group was superior to the traditional group at 1 and 3 months after operation (P<0.05). The postoperative ODI change was significantly better in the robot-guided group than in the traditional group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the postoperative Karnofsky score change and Frankel grading change when compared to the traditional group (P>0.05). Median overall survival time was 13 months [95%CI (10.858, 15.142) months] in the robot-guided group and 15 months [95%CI (13.349, 16.651) months] in the traditional group, with no significant difference between groups (χ2=0.561, P=0.454) . Conclusion Compared with traditional open surgery, the robot-guided percutaneous fixation and decompression via small incision can reduce operation time, hospital stays, intraoperative blood loss, blood transfusion, and complications in treatment of advanced thoracolumbar metastases.
ObjectiveTo explore the percutaneous hollow screw internal fixation combined with cementoplasty in the treatment of periacetabular metastasis. Methods A retrospective study was performed on 16 patients with periacetabular metastasis who were treated with percutaneous hollow screw internal fixation combined with cementoplasty between May 2020 and May 2021. There were 9 males and 7 females. The age ranged from 40 to 73 years, with an average of 53.6 years. The tumor involved around the acetabulum, and 6 cases were located on the left and 10 cases on the right. Operation time, frequency of fluoroscopy, bed rest time, and complications were recorded. Before operation, and at 1 weeks, 3 months after operation, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score was used to evaluate the pain degree, the short-form 36 health survey scale (SF-36) score was used to evaluate the quality of life. At 3 months after operation, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scoring system was used to evaluate the functional recovery of patients. During follow-up, the loosening of internal fixator and bone cement leakage were observed by X-ray film. Results All patients were performed operation successfully. The operation time ranged from 57 to 82 minutes, with an average of 70.4 minutes. The frequency of intraoperative fluoroscopy was 16-34 times, with an average of 23.1 times. After operation, 1 case of incision hematoma and 1 case of scrotal edema occurred. All patients felt the pain relieved after operation. The patients started walking at 1-3 days after operation, with an average of 1.4 days. All patients were followed up 6-12 months (mean 9.7 months). The VAS and SF-36 scores significantly improved after operation when compared with the preoperative scores, and the scores at 3 months after operation were significant better than those at 1 week after operation (P<0.05). At 3 months after operation, the MSTS score ranged from 9 to 27, with an average of 19.8. Among them, 3 cases were excellent (18.75%), 8 cases were good (50%), 3 cases were fair (18.75%), and 2 cases were poor (12.5%). The excellent and good rate was 68.75%. And 11 patients returned to normal walking, 3 had mild claudication, and 2 had obvious claudication. Radiological examination showed that there were 2 cases of bone cement leakage after operation, and there was no internal fixator loosening or displacement. Conclusion Percutaneous hollow screw internal fixation combined with cementoplasty can effectively relieve pain and improve the quality of life of patients with periacetabular metastasis.