Interobserver variability of histopathological prognostic parameters in cutaneous malignant melanoma: impact on patient management.

Clinical management of primary cutaneous melanomas is based on histopathological staging of the tumour. The aim of this study was to investigate, in a non-selected population in clinical practice, the agreement rate between general pathologists and pathologists experienced in melanoma in terms of the evaluation of histopathological prognostic parameters in cutaneous malignant melanomas, and to what extent the putative variability affected clinical management. A total of 234 cases of invasive cutaneous malignant melanoma were included in the study from the Stockholm-Gotland Healthcare Region in Sweden.

Incidence of fractures causing hospitalisation in prostate cancer patients: results from the population-based PCBaSe Sweden.

Background: Prostate cancer patients have an increased risk of fractures as a consequence of skeletal metastases and osteoporosis induced by endocrine treatment. Data on incidence of fractures and risks in subgroups of men with prostate cancer are sparse. Our aim with this study is to report the risk of fractures among men with prostate cancer in a nationwide population-based study.

2-cm versus 4-cm surgical excision margins for primary cutaneous melanoma thicker than 2 mm: a randomised, multicentre trial.

Background: Optimum surgical resection margins for patients with clinical stage IIA-C cutaneous melanoma thicker than 2 mm are controversial. The aim of the study was to test whether survival was different for a wide local excision margin of 2 cm compared with a 4-cm excision margin.

Methods: We undertook a randomised controlled trial in nine European centres.

Prognosis of patients with breast cancer: causes of death and effects of time since diagnosis, age, and tumor characteristics.

Purpose: The proportion of women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer in developed countries is increasing. Because breast cancer-specific deaths decrease with time since diagnosis, it is important to assess the burden of other causes of death in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods: Different causes of death within 10 years from diagnosis were assessed in 12,850 women younger than 75 years of age with stage 1 to 3 breast cancer diagnosed in Stockholm and Gotland regions 1990 to 2006.

Metastatic potential in renal cell carcinomas ≤7 cm: Swedish Kidney Cancer Quality Register data.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents 2-3% of all malignancies and accounts for approximately 90% of all kidney malignancies. An increasing proportion of RCCs are discovered incidentally, and the average tumor diameter at diagnosis has decreased over the last few decades. Small RCCs have often been regarded by many as relatively harmless.

Age-specific trends of survival in metastatic breast cancer: 26 years longitudinal data from a population-based cancer registry in Stockholm, Sweden.

Treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has evolved during the last decades but it is largely unknown whether this has led to improved survival in the general MBC population. Based on the regional, population-based breast cancer registry, we identified 5,463 patients diagnosed with MBC in Stockholm County during 1979-2004. Patients were divided into five cohorts based on the year of first MBC diagnosis and observed and relative survival were compared across the cohorts after adjustment for potential confounders.

Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy in Swedish women at high risk of breast cancer: a national survey.

Background/objective: This study attempted a national inventory of all bilateral prophylactic mastectomies performed in Sweden between 1995 and 2005 in high-risk women without a previous breast malignancy. The primary aim was to investigate the breast cancer incidence after surgery. Secondary aims were to describe the preoperative risk assessment, operation techniques, complications, histopathological findings, and regional differences.

ProMIS™ can serve as a da Vinci® simulator--a construct validity study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate if the ProMIS™ simulator could serve as a training platform for the da Vinci® surgical system and if this constellation could prove construct validity.

Materials And Methods: The da Vinci system was connected to the ProMIS simulator, which registered objective data concerning how the surgeon performed in the box environment related to time, path, and smoothness. Five experienced robotic surgeons passed four different surgical tasks with progressive difficulty.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 and downstream p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase are possible candidate markers of intrinsic resistance to adjuvant endocrine treatment in steroid receptor positive breast cancer.

A cross talk between tyrosine kinase receptors and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is proposed as involved in endocrine resistance. We wanted to investigate intratumoral levels of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and p38 MAPK in relation to relapse-free (RFS) and breast cancer corrected survival (BCCS) after adjuvant endocrine treatment, mainly tamoxifen for 2 or 5 years. We also wanted to investigate these markers in relation to early and late recurrences.

Esophageal stricture after radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer: experience of a single institution over 2 treatment periods.

Background: Risk factors for development of a stricture of the upper esophagus after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer are poorly defined.

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study of patients diagnosed and treated for esophageal stricture after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Results: The incidence of esophageal stricture after external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) was 3.

Paget's disease of the nipple in a population based cohort.

Background: Paget's disease of the nipple is a rare form of breast cancer characterised by the presence of intraepidermal tumour cells. It is often associated with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and/or invasive cancer in the breast parenchyma. We have studied the presentation and symptoms of Paget's disease, local control and breast cancer corrected survival following breast conserving surgery or mastectomy.

Activated ERK1/2 and phosphorylated oestrogen receptor alpha are associated with improved breast cancer survival in women treated with tamoxifen.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of activated (phosphorylated) ERK1/2, oestrogen receptor alpha phosphorylated at S118 (ERalphaS118), and HER2 in primary breast cancer, and to make correlations with the outcome of tamoxifen therapy. We performed immunohistochemical analysis to determine the expression of HER2, ERalphaS118, and activated ERK1/2 in tumours obtained from 279 women with primary breast cancer. HER2 status was also estimated by fluorescence in situ hybridisation.

When does my treatment start?--The continuum of care for patients with head and neck cancer.

Background And Purpose: The clinical workup of patients with head and neck (H&N) cancer is often time-consuming. The overall time involved is obviously important to the treatment results, since delays in time can increase the risk for clinical upstaging resulting in a worse outcome. Although for ethical considerations, time delay is impossible to study in randomised trials.