Multivariate Prognostic Models for Patients with Stages I and Ii Colon Carcinoma: a Strobe-Compliant Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

Colorectal cancer is the most frequent gastrointestinal malignancy worldwide. The value of adjuvant treatment is controversial in Stages I and II.

Objective

The aim of this study was to construct post-operative prognostic models applicable to patients with stages I-II colon carcinoma (CC).

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with Stage I-II CC treated over a 25-year period. Exposure was defined as clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical factors (including CDX2 and MUC2 expression). Patients were randomly allocated to either a “modeling set” or a “validation set”. Factors associated with recurrence, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were defined in the “modeling set”. Their performances were tested in the “validation set”.

Results

From a total of 556 recruited patients, 339 (61%) were allocated to the “modeling set” and 217 (39%) to the “validation set”. Three models explaining recurrence, DFS, and OS were described. Tumor location in the left colon (Hazards ratio [HR] = 1.57; 95% Confidence interval [CI] 0.99-2.48), lymphocyte (HR = 0.46; 96% CI 0.27-0.88) and monocyte (HR = 0.99; 95% CI 0.99-1) counts, neutrophil/platelet ratio (HR = 1.3; 95% CI 0.74-2.3, and HR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-4.1; for second and third category, respectively), albumin/monocyte ratio (HR = 0.43; 95% CI 0.21-0.87), and microscopic residual disease after surgery (HR = 8.7; 95% CI 3.1-24) were independently associated with OS. T classification and expression of CDX2 and/or MUC2 were not independently associated with recurrence or prognosis.

Conclusion

These models are simple and readily available, and distinguish the risk and prognosis in patients with CC stages I and II; these models require cheaper processes than the use of more sophisticated molecular biology techniques. They may guide either the need for adjuvant therapy versus post-operative surveillance only, as well as aid in the design of clinical trials.

Inhalation Injury in the Burned Patient

Inhalation injury causes a heterogeneous cascade of insults that increase morbidity and mortality among the burn population. Despite major advancements in burn care for the past several decades, there remains a significant burden of disease attributable to inhalation injury. For this reason, effort has been devoted to finding new therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes for patients who sustain inhalation injuries.The three major injury classes are the following: supraglottic, subglottic, and systemic. Treatment options for these three subtypes differ based on the pathophysiologic changes that each one elicits.Currently, no consensus exists for diagnosis or grading of the injury, and there are large variations in treatment worldwide, ranging from observation and conservative management to advanced therapies with nebulization of different pharmacologic agents.The main pathophysiologic change after a subglottic inhalation injury is an increase in the bronchial blood flow. An induced mucosal hyperemia leads to edema, increases mucus secretion and plasma transudation into the airways, disables the mucociliary escalator, and inactivates hypoxic vasocontriction. Collectively, these insults potentiate airway obstruction with casts formed from epithelial debris, fibrin clots, and inspissated mucus, resulting in impaired ventilation. Prompt bronchoscopic diagnosis and multimodal treatment improve outcomes. Despite the lack of globally accepted standard treatments, data exist to support the use of bronchoscopy and suctioning to remove debris, nebulized heparin for fibrin casts, nebulized N-acetylcysteine for mucus casts, and bronchodilators.Systemic effects of inhalation injury occur both indirectly from hypoxia or hypercapnia resulting from loss of pulmonary function and systemic effects of proinflammatory cytokines, as well as directly from metabolic poisons such as carbon monoxide and cyanide. Both present with nonspecific clinical symptoms including cardiovascular collapse. Carbon monoxide intoxication should be treated with oxygen and cyanide with hydroxocobalamin.Inhalation injury remains a great challenge for clinicians and an area of opportunity for scientists. Management of this concomitant injury lags behind other aspects of burn care. More clinical research is required to improve the outcome of inhalation injury.The goal of this review is to comprehensively summarize the diagnoses, treatment options, and current research.

Prognostic Factors and Differences in Survival of Right and Left Colon Carcinoma: A STROBE Compliant Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Right-colon cancer (RCC) presents differences with Left-colon cancer (LCC) in terms of Overall survival (OS), but certain reports provide conflicting findings. Our objective is to define differences regarding prognostic factors in RCC and LCC by multivariate analysis.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort including patients treated from 1992-2016. The Kaplan-Meier and Cox models were used to define prognostic factors.

RESULTS

871 patients had RCC and 748 LCC; mean age was 58.1. Location was associated with socioeconomic status, body mass, blood hemoglobin, serum albumin, lymphocyte count and Prognostic nutritional index (PNI). Distribution of TNM stages was similar between groups, as well as gender, age, surgical morbidity/mortality; 72.3% of RCC and 83.2% of LCC were well/moderately differentiated (p <0.0001). Mean surgical lymph-node retrieval was 19.3 (SD14.6) for RCC and 15.7 (SD13.1) for LCC (p <0.0001). Median OS was 5.2 (95% CI 3.9-6.5) for RCC, and 3.2 years (95% CI 2.1-4.4) for LCC (p = 0.426). OS was different between RCC and LCC by stratified analyses within PNI, TNM, differentiation and R classification. RCC presents different OS in stages IIIC, and IVB than LCC.

CONCLUSION

Differences between RCC and LCC were mainly by immunonutritional variables. Differences in OS were found after stratified analysis of PNI, TNM stages, differentiation degree, and R classification. Location of the neoplasm in the colon should be considered in the design of clinical trials in patients with colon cancer.

Association of the prognostic nutritional index and overall survival in patients with colorectal cancer: A STROBE compliant retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The TNM classification does not completely reflect the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Several clinical factors have been used to increase its prognostic value, but factors pertaining to the patient's immunonutritional status have not usually been addressed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and other well-known prognostic factors by multivariate analysis in a cohort of patients with CRC.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients with CRC managed in a cancer center between January 1992 and December 2016. Cox's model was used to define the association of the PNI and other factors with Overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

A total of 3301 patients were included: 47.7% were female and 52.3% were male, with a mean age of 58.7 years. By bivariate analysis, PNI was strongly associated with OS (Risk ratio [RR] 0.968, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 0.962-0.974; P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, PNI was an independent explanatory variable (as continuous variable and as categorized variable; RR 0.732, 95% CI 0.611-0.878; RR 0.656, 95% CI 0.529-0.813 and RR 0.646, 95% CI 0.521-0.802, for quintiles 2, 3, and 4-5, respectively); a biological gradient effect was demonstrated. The final prognostic model included PNI, location of the neoplasia in the colorectum, basal hemoglobin, lymphocyte count, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, TNM stage, differentiation degree, R classification, and postoperative complications.

CONCLUSIONS

PNI is a significant and independent prognostic factor in patients with CRC. Its prognostic value adds precision to the TNM staging system including specific subgroups of patients with CRC; it should be evaluated in prospective clinical studies.

Baseline serum albumin and other common clinical markers are prognostic factors in colorectal carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study

The aim of the present study was to define the prognostic role of baseline serum albumin (BSA) in colorectal cancer (CRC) across tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stages and other well defined prognostic factors. Many prognostic models in medicine employ BSA to define or refine treatments in very specific settings; in CRC, BSA has been found to be a prognostic factor as well. A retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients with CRC demonstrated by biopsy, who attended a cancer center during a 7-year period. Multivariate analysis was utilized to define prognostic factors associated with overall survival (OS) employing the Cox model. In this retrospective cohort study, 1465 patients were included; 46.6% were females and 53.4% males (mean age, 59.1 years). Mean BSA was inversely correlated with TNM stages. By multivariate analysis, it was an independent explanatory variable. TNM stages, "R" classification, age, lymphocyte count, neutrophil/platelet ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, postoperative morbidity, and BSA were independently associated with OS. Morbidities, surgery type, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were considered confounders after adjusting by TNM stages. BSA is a significant and independent prognostic factor in patients with CRC, and its effect is maintained across TNM strata and other well known clinical prognostic factors. It can be easily used in prognostic models and should be employed to stratify prognosis in therapeutic randomized clinical trials.