American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical stage as a selection criterion for sentinel lymph node biopsy in thin melanoma.

Background: A significant proportion of newly diagnosed melanomas are thin lesions (< or = 1.00 mm). Because tumor thickness correlates with the risk for nodal metastases, sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in this subset is controversial.

Response of combination platinum and gemcitabine chemotherapy for recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Objective: It has been postulated that gemcitabine inhibits DNA repair, and platinum resistance is due to increased DNA repair activity. The addition of gemcitabine to platinum-based agents may have synergistic tumoricidal activity.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of all patients with recurrent, persistent, or progressive fallopian tube or ovarian carcinoma treated with a platinum-based compound and gemcitabine from 2001 to present was performed.

The prognostic significance of margin width for extremity and trunk sarcoma.

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the significance of resection margin for soft tissue sarcoma (STS), we determined local recurrence-free interval (LRFI), distant metastases-free interval (DMFI), and overall survival (OS) for primary extremity and truncal STS with clear margins (> or =10 mm), close margins (1-9 mm), and positive margins (0 mm).

Methods: Patients were evaluated via review of charts and tumor specimens.

Results: Among 111 patients, tumors were predominantly high grade (86%), > or =5 cm (76%), and deep (81%).

Evaluation of urinary plasminogen activator, its receptor, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and von Willebrand factor in pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: Pancreatic cancer remains a devastating problem with the majority of patients succumbing to death from this disease. A hallmark of pancreatic cancer is the loss of basement membrane that may be attributed to the action of urinary plasminogen activator (uPA) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). These enzymes are also implicated in angiogenesis.

Effect of stereotactic core needle biopsy on pathologic measurement of tumor size of T1 invasive breast carcinomas presenting as mammographic masses.

Background: Stereotactic core needle biopsy (SCNB) may change the size of the tumor defined pathologically at excision. This may alter tumor stage and affect recommendations for adjuvant systemic therapy. This study evaluated the effect of SCNB on assessment of pathologic tumor size and staging for invasive breast carcinomas presenting as mammographic masses.