Evolution of clinical nature, treatment and survival of locally recurrent rectal cancer: Comparative analysis of two national cross-sectional cohorts

BACKGROUND

In the Netherlands, use of neoadjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer declined after guideline revision in 2014. This decline is thought to affect the clinical nature and treatability of locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). Therefore, this study compared two national cross-sectional cohorts before and after the guideline revision with the aim to determine the changes in treatment and survival of LRRC patients over time.

METHODS

Patients who underwent resection of primary rectal cancer in 2011 (n = 2094) and 2016 (n = 2855) from two nationwide cohorts with a 4-year follow up were included. Main outcomes included time to LRRC, synchronous metastases at time of LRRC diagnosis, intention of treatment and 2-year overall survival after LRRC.

RESULTS

Use of neoadjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy for the primary tumour decreased from 88.5% to 60.0% from 2011 to 2016. The 3-year LRRC rate was not significantly different with 5.1% in 2011 (n = 114, median time to LRRC 16 months) and 6.3% in 2016 (n = 202, median time to LRRC 16 months). Synchronous metastasis rate did not significantly differ (27.2% vs 33.7%, p = 0.257). Treatment intent of the LRRC shifted towards more curative treatment (30.4% vs. 47.0%, p = 0.009). In the curatively treated group, two-year overall survival after LRRC diagnoses increased from 47.5% to 78.7% (p = 0.013).

CONCLUSION

Primary rectal cancer patients in 2016 were treated less often with neoadjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy, while LRRC rates remained similar. Those who developed LRRC were more often candidate for curative intent treatment compared to the 2011 cohort, and survival after curative intent treatment also improved substantially.

The diagnostic accuracy of local staging in colon cancer based on computed tomography (CT): evaluating the role of extramural venous invasion and tumour deposits

PURPOSE

The shift from adjuvant to neoadjuvant treatment in colon cancer demands the radiological selection of patients for systemic therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the CT-based TNM stage and high-risk features, including extramural venous invasion (EMVI) and tumour deposits, in the identification of patients with histopathological advanced disease, currently considered for neoadjuvant treatment (T3-4 disease).

METHODS

All consecutive patients surgically treated for non-metastatic colon cancer between January 2018 and January 2020 in a referral centre for colorectal cancer were identified retrospectively. All tumours were staged on CT according to the TNM classification system. Additionally, the presence of EMVI and tumour deposits on CT was evaluated. The histopathological TNM classification was used as reference standard.

RESULTS

A total of 176 patients were included. Histopathological T3-4 colon cancer was present in 85.0% of the patients with CT-detected T3-4 disease. Histopathological T3-4 colon cancer was present in 96.4% of the patients with CT-detected T3-4 colon cancer in the presence of both CT-detected EMVI and CT-detected tumour deposits. Histopathological T0-2 colon cancer was present in 50.8% of the patients with CT-detected T0-2 disease, and in 32.4% of the patients without CT-detected EMVI and tumour deposits.

CONCLUSION

The diagnostic accuracy of CT-based staging was comparable with previous studies. The presence of high-risk features on CT increased the probability of histopathological T3-4 colon cancer. However, a substantial part of the patients without CT-detected EMVI and tumour deposits was diagnosed with histopathological T3-4 disease. Hence, more accurate selection criteria are required to correctly identify patients with locally advanced disease.

Neoadjuvant FOLFOXIRI prior to chemoradiotherapy for high-risk ("ugly") locally advanced rectal cancer: study protocol of a single-arm, multicentre, open-label, phase II trial (MEND-IT)

Background

The presence of mesorectal fascia (MRF) invasion, grade 4 extramural venous invasion (EMVI), tumour deposits (TD) or extensive or bilateral extramesorectal (lateral) lymph nodes (LLN) on MRI has been suggested to identify patients with indisputable, extensive locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), at high risk of treatment failure. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether or not intensified chemotherapy prior to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy improves the complete response (CR) rate in these patients.

Methods

This multicentre, single-arm, open-label, phase II trial will include 128 patients with non-metastatic high-risk LARC (hr-LARC), fit for triplet chemotherapy. To ensure a study population with indisputable, unfavourable prognostic characteristics, hr-LARC is defined as LARC with on baseline MRI at least one of the following characteristics; MRF invasion, EMVI grade 4, enlarged bilateral or extensive LLN at high risk of an incomplete resection, or TD. Exclusion criteria are the presence of a homozygous DPD deficiency, distant metastases, any chemotherapy within the past 6 months, previous radiotherapy within the pelvic area precluding standard chemoradiotherapy, and any contraindication for the planned treatment. All patients will be planned for six two-weekly cycles of FOLFOXIRI (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and irinotecan) prior to chemoradiotherapy (25 × 2 Gy or 28 × 1.8 Gy with concomitant capecitabine). A resection will be performed following radiological confirmation of resectable disease after the completion of chemoradiotherapy. A watch and wait strategy is allowed in case of a clinical complete response. The primary endpoint is the CR rate, described as a pathological CR or a sustained clinical CR one year after chemoradiotherapy. The main secondary objectives are long-term oncological outcomes, radiological and pathological response, the number of resections with clear margins, treatment-related toxicity, perioperative complications, health-related costs, and quality of life.

Discussion

This trial protocol describes the MEND-IT study. The MEND-IT study aims to evaluate the CR rate after intensified chemotherapy prior to concomitant chemoradiotherapy in a homogeneous group of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer and indisputably unfavourable characteristics, defined as hr-LARC, in order to improve their prognosis.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04838496, registered on 02–04-2021 Netherlands Trial Register: NL9790.

Protocol version

Version 3 dd 11–4-2022.

Accurate staging of non-metastatic colon cancer with CT: the importance of training and practice for experienced radiologists and analysis of incorrectly staged cases

PURPOSE

To investigate whether locoregional staging of colon cancer by experienced radiologists can be improved by training and feedback to minimize the risk of over-staging into the context of patient selection for neoadjuvant therapy and to identify potential pitfalls of CT staging by characterizing pathologic traits of tumors that remain challenging for radiologists.

METHODS

Forty-five cases of stage I-III colon cancer were included in this retrospective study. Five experienced radiologists evaluated the CTs; 5 baseline scans followed by 4 sequential batches of 10 scans. All radiologists were trained after baseline scoring and 2 radiologists received feedback. The learning curve, diagnostic performance, reader confidence, and reading time were evaluated with pathologic staging as reference. Pathology reports and H&E slides of challenging cases were reviewed to identify potential pitfalls.

RESULTS

Diagnostic performance in distinguishing T1-2 vs. T3-4 improved significantly after training and with increasing number of reviewed cases. Inaccurate staging was more frequently related to under-staging rather than over-staging. Risk of over-staging was minimized to 7% in batch 3-4. N-staging remained unreliable with an overall accuracy of 61%. Pathologic review identified two tumor characteristics causing under-staging for T-stage in 5/7 cases: (1) very limited invasive part beyond the muscularis propria and (2) mucinous composition of the invading part.

CONCLUSION

The high accuracy and specificity of T-staging reached in our study indicate that sufficient training and practice of experienced radiologists can ensure high validity for CT staging in colon cancer to safely use neoadjuvant therapy without significant risk of over-treatment, while N-staging remained unreliable.

Improved response rate in patients with prognostically poor locally advanced rectal cancer after treatment with induction chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy when compared with chemoradiotherapy alone: A matched case-control study

INTRODUCTION

The addition of induction chemotherapy (ICT) to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has the potential to improve outcomes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). However, patient selection is essential to prevent overtreatment. This study compared the complete response (CR) rate after treatment with and without ICT of LARC patients with prognostically poor characteristics.

METHODS

All LARC patients who were treated with neoadjuvant CRT, whether or not preceded by ICT, and who underwent surgery or were considered for a wait-and-see strategy between January 2016 and March 2020 in the Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, were retrospectively selected. LARC was defined as any T4 tumour, or a T2/T3 tumour with extramural venous invasion and/or tumour deposits and/or N2 lymph node status, and/or mesorectal fascia involvement (T3 tumours only). Case-control matching was performed based on the aforementioned characteristics.

RESULTS

Of 242 patients, 178 (74%) received CRT (CRT-group) and 64 patients (26%) received ICT followed by CRT (ICT-group). In the ICT-group, 3 patients (5%) did not receive the minimum of three cycles. In addition, in this selected cohort, compliance with radiotherapy was 100% in the ICT-group and 97% in the CRT-group. The CR rate was 30% in the ICT-group and 15% in the CRT-group (p = 0.011). After case-control matching, the CR rate was 28% and 9%, respectively (p = 0.013).

CONCLUSION

Treatment including ICT seemed well tolerated and resulted in a high CR rate. Hence, this treatment strategy may facilitate organ preservation and improve survival in LARC patients with prognostically poor characteristics.

Impact of a history of metastases or synchronous metastases on survival in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer

AIM

Patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) frequently present with either synchronous metastases or a history of metastases. This study was conducted to evaluate whether LRRC patients without metastases have a different oncological outcome compared to patients with a history of metastases treated with curative intent or patients with potentially curable synchronous metastases.

METHOD

All consecutive LRRC patients who underwent intentionally curative surgery between 2005 and 2017 in a large tertiary hospital were retrospectively reviewed and categorized as having no metastases, a history of (curatively treated) metastases or synchronous metastases. Patients with unresectable distant metastases were excluded from the analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 349 patients who were analysed, 261 (75%) had no metastases, 42 (12%) had a history of metastases and 46 (13%) had synchronous metastases. The 3-year metastasis-free survival was 52%, 33% and 13% in patients without metastases, with a history of metastases, and with synchronous metastases, respectively (P < 0.001) A history of metastases did not influence overall survival (OS), but there was a trend towards a worse OS in patients with synchronous metastases compared with patients without synchronous metastases (hazard ratio 1.43; 95% CI 0.98-2.11).

CONCLUSION

LRRC patients with a history of curatively treated metastases have an OS comparable to that in patients without metastases and should therefore be treated with curative intent. However, LRRC patients with synchronous metastases have a poor metastasis-free survival and worse OS; in these patients, an individualized treatment approach to observe the behaviour of the disease is recommended.

Dedicated MRI staging versus surgical staging of peritoneal metastases in colorectal cancer patients considered for CRS-HIPEC; the DISCO randomized multicenter trial

Background

Selecting patients with peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer (CRCPM) who might benefit from cytoreductive surgery followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) is challenging. Computed tomography generally underestimates the peritoneal tumor load. Diagnostic laparoscopy is often used to determine whether patients are amenable for surgery. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown to be accurate in predicting completeness of CRS. The aim of this study is to determine whether MRI can effectively reduce the need for surgical staging.

Methods

The study is designed as a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) of colorectal cancer patients who are deemed eligible for CRS-HIPEC after conventional CT staging. Patients are randomly assigned to either MRI based staging (arm A) or to standard surgical staging with or without laparoscopy (arm B). In arm A, MRI assessment will determine whether patients are eligible for CRS-HIPEC. In borderline cases, an additional diagnostic laparoscopy is advised. The primary outcome is the number of unnecessary surgical procedures in both arms defined as: all surgeries in patients with definitely inoperable disease (PCI > 24) or explorative surgeries in patients with limited disease (PCI < 15). Secondary outcomes include correlations between surgical findings and MRI findings, cost-effectiveness, and quality of life (QOL) analysis.

Conclusion

This randomized trial determines whether MRI can effectively replace surgical staging in patients with CRCPM considered for CRS-HIPEC.

Trial registration

Registered in the clinical trials registry of U.S. National Library of Medicine under NCT04231175.

Improved Outcomes for Responders After Treatment with Induction Chemotherapy and Chemo(re)irradiation for Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

Despite improvements in the multimodality treatment for patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC), oncological outcomes remain poor. This study evaluated the effect of induction chemotherapy and subsequent chemo(re)irradiation on the pathologic response and the rate of resections with clear margins (R0 resection) in relation to long-term oncological outcomes.

METHODS

All consecutive patients with LRRC treated in the Catharina Hospital Eindhoven who underwent a resection after treatment with induction chemotherapy and subsequent chemo(re)irradiation between January 2010 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Induction chemotherapy consisted of CAPOX/FOLFOX. Endpoints were pathologic response, resection margin and overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), local recurrence free survival (LRFS), and metastasis free survival (MFS).

RESULTS

A pathologic complete response was observed in 22 patients (17%), a "good" response (Mandard 2-3) in 74 patients (56%), and a "poor" response (Mandard 4-5) in 36 patients (27%). An R0 resection was obtained in 83 patients (63%). The degree of pathologic response was linearly correlated with the R0 resection rate (p = 0.026). In patients without synchronous metastases, pathologic response was an independent predictor for LRFS, MFS, and DFS (p = 0.004, p = 0.003, and p = 0.024, respectively), whereas R0 resection was an independent predictor for LRFS and OS (p = 0.020 and p = 0.028, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Induction chemotherapy in addition to neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation is a promising treatment strategy for patients with LRRC with high pathologic response rates that translate into improved oncological outcomes, especially when an R0 resection has been achieved.

The impact of radiological retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy on survival after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for colorectal peritoneal metastases

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the impact of retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy (RPLP) on pre-operative CT scan on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) for peritoneal metastases (PM) of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND

In patients with PM enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes (RPLP) are usually considered extra-regional lymph node metastases and therefore these patients may be excluded from CRS-HIPEC. This is a clinical dilemma since it is often hard to obtain histology from these nodes.

METHODS

In this multicenter, retrospective study all consecutive patients with colorectal PM treated with CRS-HIPEC between 2004 and 2013 were included. The preoperative CT-scan was re-analyzed for the presence of RPLP based on the radiological appearance of enlarged lymph nodes. Outcomes were OS and DFS. Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox regression modeling were used to analyze the impact of RPLP on OS and DFS.

RESULTS

In 25 of 401 patients (6.1%) RPLP was observed on the preoperative CT-scan. Patient, tumor and surgical characteristics did not statistically significantly differ between groups with and without RPLP. After a median follow-up of 46 months, the one-, three- and five-year survival was 80%, 59%, 38% and 90%, 50%, 36% in the group with and without RPLP respectively. Median OS (47 vs. 35 months, logrank: p = 0.70) and median DFS (14 vs. 15 months, logrank: p = 0.81) did not statistically significantly differ between groups. In multivariable analysis, RPLP did not significantly influence survival.

CONCLUSION

Enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes on a pre-operative CT-scan should not automatically exclude patients from CRS-HIPEC.

Prognostic implications of MRI-detected lateral nodal disease and extramural vascular invasion in rectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Lateral nodal disease in rectal cancer remains a subject of debate and is treated differently in the East and the West. The predictive value of lateral lymph node and MRI-detected extramural vascular invasion (mrEMVI) features on oncological outcomes was assessed in this study.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, data on patients with cT3-4 rectal cancer within 8 cm from the anal verge were considered over a 5-year period (2009-2013). Lateral lymph node size, malignant features and mrEMVI features were evaluated and related to oncological outcomes.

RESULTS

In total, 192 patients were studied, of whom 30 (15·6 per cent) underwent short-course radiotherapy and 145 (75·5 per cent) received chemoradiotherapy. A lateral lymph node short-axis size of 10 mm or more was associated with a significantly higher 5-year lateral/presacral local recurrence rate of 37 per cent, compared with 7·7 per cent in nodes smaller than 10 mm (P = 0·041). Enlarged nodes did not result in a higher 5-year rate of distant metastasis (23 per cent versus 27·7 per cent in nodes smaller than 10 mm; P = 0·563). However, mrEMVI positivity was related to more metastatic disease (5-year rate 43 versus 26·3 per cent in the mrEMVI-negative group; P = 0·014), but not with increased lateral/presacral recurrence. mrEMVI occurred in 46·6 per cent of patients with nodes smaller than 10 mm, compared with 29 per cent in patients with nodes of 10 mm or larger (P = 0·267).

CONCLUSION

Although lateral nodal disease is more a local problem, mrEMVI mainly predicts distant recurrence. The results of this study showed an unacceptably high local recurrence rate in patients with a short axis of 10 mm or more, despite neoadjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy.

Predictive value of abdominal CT in evaluating internal herniation after bariatric laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Background

Internal herniation, a serious complication after bariatric surgery, is challenging to diagnose. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of abdominal CT in diagnosing internal herniation.

Methods

The study included consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery between 1 January 2011 and 1 January 2015 at a bariatric centre of excellence. To select patients suspected of having internal herniation, reports of abdominal CT and reoperations up to 1 January 2017 were screened. CT was presumed negative for internal herniation if no follow-up CT or reoperation was performed within 90 days after the initial CT, or no internal herniation was found during reoperation. The accuracy of abdominal CT in diagnosing internal herniation was calculated using two-way contingency tables.

Results

A total of 1475 patients were included (84·7 per cent women, mean age 46·5 years, median initial BMI 41·8 kg/m2). CT and/or reoperation was performed in 192 patients (13·0 per cent) in whom internal herniation was suspected. Internal herniation was proven laparoscopically in 37 of these patients. The incidence of internal herniation was 2·5 per cent. An analysis by complaint included a total of 265 episodes, for which 247 CT scans were undertaken. CT was not used to investigate 18 episodes, but internal herniation was encountered in one-third of these during reoperation. Combining the follow-up and intraoperative findings, the accuracy of CT for internal herniation had a sensitivity of 83·8 (95 per cent c.i. 67·3 to 93·2) per cent, a specificity of 87·1 (81·7 to 91·2) per cent, a positive predictive value of 53·4 (40·0 to 66·5) per cent and a negative predictive value of 96·8 (92·9 to 98·7) per cent.

Conclusion

Abdominal CT is an important tool in diagnosing internal herniation, with a high specificity and a high negative predictive value.

Trends in surgery for screen-detected and interval breast cancers in a national screening programme

Background

This population-based study aimed to evaluate trends in surgical approach for screen-detected cancer versus interval breast cancer, and to determine the factors associated with positive resection margins.

Methods

Screening mammograms of women aged 50–75 years, who underwent biennial screening in a Dutch breast-screening region between 1997 and 2011, were included. Patient and tumour characteristics were compared between women who underwent mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for screen-detected or interval cancer, and women with a negative or positive resection margin after BCS.

Results

Some 417 013 consecutive screening mammograms were included. A total of 2224 screen-detected and 825 interval cancers were diagnosed. The BCS rate remained stable (mean 6·1 per 1000 screened women; P = 0·099), whereas mastectomy rates increased significantly during the study from 0·9 (1997–1998) to 1·9 (2009–2010) per 1000 screened women (P &lt; 0·001). The proportion of positive resection margins for invasive cancer was 19·6 and 7·6 per cent in 1997–1998 and 2009–2010 respectively (P &lt; 0·001), with significant variation between hospitals. Dense breasts, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, microcalcifications, architectural distortion, tumour size over 20 mm, axillary lymph node metastasis and treating hospital were independent risk factors for mastectomy. Interval cancer, image-guided tumour localization, microcalcifications, breast parenchyma asymmetry, tumour size greater than 20 mm, lobular tumour histology, low tumour grade, extensive invasive component and treating hospital were independent risk factors for positive resection margins.

Conclusion

Mastectomy rates doubled during a 14-year period of screening mammography and the proportion of positive resection margins decreased, with variation among hospitals. The latter observation stresses the importance of quality control programmes for hospitals treating women with breast cancer.

Re-attendance after false-positive screening mammography: a population-based study in the Netherlands

Background:

In the current study, mammography adherence of women who had experienced a false-positive referral is evaluated, with emphasis on the probability of receiving surveillance mammography outside the national screening programme.

Methods:

We included 424 703 consecutive screens and collected imaging, biopsy and surgery reports of 3463 women who experienced a false-positive referral. Adherence to screening, both in and outside the screening programme, was evaluated.

Results:

Two years after the false-positive referral, overall screening adherence was 94.6%, with 64.7% of women returning to the national screening programme, compared with 94.9% of women re-attending the screening programme after a negative screen (P<0.0001). Four years after the false-positive screen, the overall adherence had decreased to 85.2% (P<0.0001) with a similar proportion of the women re-attending the screening programme (64.4%) and a lower proportion (20.8%) having clinical surveillance mammography. Women who had experienced a false-positive screen at their first screening round were less likely to adhere to mammography than women with an abnormal finding at one of the following screening rounds (92.4% vs 95.5%, P<0.0001).

Conclusion:

Overall screening adherence after previous false-positive referral was comparable to the re-attendance rate of women with a negative screen at 2-year follow-up. Overall adherence decreased 4 years after previous false-positive referral from 94.6% to 85.2%, with a relatively high estimate of women who continue with clinical surveillance mammography (20.8%). Women with false-positive screens should be made aware of the importance to re-attend future screening rounds, as a way to improve the effectiveness of the screening programme.

Impact of transition from analog screening mammography to digital screening mammography on screening outcome in The Netherlands: a population-based study

BACKGROUND

Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) has replaced screen-film mammography (SFM) in most breast screening programs. We analyzed the impact of this replacement on the screening outcome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study population consisted of a consecutive series of 60 770 analog and 63 182 digital screens. During a 1-year follow-up, we collected breast imaging reports, biopsy results and surgical reports of all the referred women.

RESULTS

The referral rate and the cancer detection rate at FFDM were, respectively, 3.0% and 6,6‰, compared with 1.5% (P < 0.001) and 4.9‰ (P < 0.001) at SFM. Positive predictive values of referral and percutaneous biopsies were lower at FFDM, respectively, 21.9% versus 31.6% (P < 0.001) and 42.9% versus 62.8% (P < 0.001). Per 1000 screened women, there was a significant increase with FFDM versus SFM in the detection rate of low- and intermediate-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (+0.7), invasive T1a-c cancers (+0.9), invasive ductal cancers (+0.9), low-grade (+1.1), node-negative invasive cancers (+1.2), estrogen-receptor or progesterone-receptor-positive invasive cancers (respectively, +0.9 and +1.1) and Her2/Neu-negative (+0.8) invasive cancers. Mastectomy rates were stable at 1.1 per 1,000 screens.

CONCLUSIONS

FFDM significantly increased the referral rate and cancer detection rate, at the expense of a lower positive predictive value of referral and biopsy. Extra tumors detected at FFDM were mostly low-intermediate grade DCIS and smaller invasive tumors, of more favorable tumor characteristics. Mastectomy rates were not increased in the FFDM population, while increased over-diagnosis cannot be excluded.