Understanding Potentially Preventable Mortality Following Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Surgery: Analysis of a National Audit of Surgical Mortality.

Introduction: At a national level, understanding preventable mortality after oesophago-gastric cancer surgery can direct quality-improvement efforts. Accordingly, utilizing the Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality (ANZASM), we aimed to: (1) determine the causes of death following oesophago-gastric cancer resections in Australia, (2) quantify the proportion of potentially preventable deaths, and (3) identify clinical management issues contributing to preventable mortality.

Methods: All in-hospital mortalities following oesophago-gastric cancer surgery from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020 were analysed using ANZASM data.

The association between quality care and outcomes for a real-world population of Australian patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Background: This study: (i) assessed compliance with a consensus set of quality indicators (QIs) in pancreatic cancer (PC); and (ii) evaluated the association between compliance with these QIs and survival.

Methods: Four years of data were collected for patients diagnosed with PC. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

The Prognosis and Natural History of In-Transit Melanoma Metastases at a High-Volume Centre.

Background: Patients with in-transit melanoma metastases (ITM) experience a diverse spectrum of clinical presentations and a highly variable disease course. There is no standardized treatment protocol for these patients due to the limited data comparing treatment modalities for ITM. This is the first study to describe the disease trajectory and natural history of a large cohort of patients with ITM.

The Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry (UGICR): a clinical quality registry to monitor and improve care in upper gastrointestinal cancers.

Purpose: The Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry (UGICR) was developed to monitor and improve the quality of care provided to patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers in Australia.

Participants: It supports four cancer modules: pancreatic, oesophagogastric, biliary and primary liver cancer. The pancreatic cancer (PC) module was the first module to be implemented, with others being established in a staged approach.

Negative Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Patients with Melanoma: The Patient's Perspective.

Background: The majority of patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for melanoma will have a negative SLN. The long-term sequelae of a negative result are important when discussing this staging investigation with patients. The objective of this study was to assess rates of lymphoedema and quality of life for these patients.

Melanoma in the very elderly, management in patients 85years of age and over.

Objectives: Melanoma treatment in the elderly can entail complex decision making. This study characterizes the presentation, management, and outcome of melanoma in the very elderly.

Method: Retrospective review of all patients in their 85th year or older presenting to a tertiary referral cancer centre between 2000 and 2012 with American Joint Committee on Cancer stages 0-II cutaneous melanoma.

Prospective evaluation of prognostic indicators for early recurrence of cutaneous melanoma.

The majority of melanomas are thin lesions with an excellent prognosis; however, significant tumor heterogeneity exists, and a small percentage of patients with early-stage disease may progress to metastatic recurrence. This study aimed to assess whether prognostic factors previously shown to be significant in predicting stage I and stage II melanoma recurrence were consistent in a large prospectively collected patient cohort, and to identify novel prognostic factors associated with early recurrence to inform follow-up protocols. There were 1029 patients with stage I and stage II melanoma included in the analysis, of whom 123 developed a recurrence during follow-up (median 2.

CD271 Expression on Patient Melanoma Cells Is Unstable and Unlinked to Tumorigenicity.

The stability of markers that identify cancer cells that propagate disease is important to the outcomes of targeted therapy strategies. In human melanoma, conflicting data exist as to whether hierarchical expression of CD271/p75/NGFR (nerve growth factor receptor) marks cells with enriched tumorigenicity, which would compel their specific targeting in therapy. To test whether these discrepancies relate to differences among groups in assay approaches, we undertook side-by-side testing of published methods of patient-derived melanoma xenografting (PDX), including comparisons of tissue digestion procedures or coinjected Matrigel formulations.

Outcomes following management of squamous cell carcinoma of the scalp: A retrospective series of 235 patients treated at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma of the scalp is a common clinical problem in an aging population. Despite its high incidence, little has been documented regarding treatment or outcomes.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed 235 cases treated with curative intent at Peter MaCallum Cancer Centre between 1998 and 2010.

Intralesional PV-10 for in-transit melanoma-A single-center experience.

Background And Objectives: Patients with in-transit melanoma metastasis have longer median survival than patients with distant metastatic disease. Furthermore, local disease control is an important endpoint for symptom management. The treatment of unresectable loco-regional recurrence or in-transit disease has been historically managed with a combination of treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, isolated limb infusion or perfusion as well as systemic therapies.

Excision margins and sentinel lymph node status as prognostic factors in thick melanoma of the head and neck: A retrospective analysis.

Background: Recommended margins for thick cutaneous melanoma (Breslow thickness >4 mm; T4) have decreased over recent decades. Optimal margins and the role of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in thick head and neck melanoma remain controversial.

Methods: A single-center review was conducted of patients treated between 2002 and 2012 assessing the impact of excision margins and sentinel lymph node status on locoregional recurrence and melanoma-specific survival (MSS).

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in T4 Melanoma: An Important Risk-Stratification Tool.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a sensitive test for detecting subclinical nodal metastatic disease in patients with melanoma without evidence of lymph node involvement. The prognostic significance of SLN positivity in patients with melanoma >4 mm thick (T4) is unclear. The survival curves in the current AJCC staging system suggest that the status of the SLN is not predictive of outcome for patients with T4 melanoma.

Post-operative survival following metastasectomy for patients receiving BRAF inhibitor therapy is associated with duration of pre-operative treatment and elective indication.

Introduction: Metastasectomy can provide durable disease control for selected patients with metastatic melanoma. Vemurafenib is a BRAF kinase inhibitor which has demonstrated significant improvement in disease-specific survival in patients with metastatic melanoma with a BRAF gene mutation. This study examined the efficacy and safety of metastasectomy during treatment with vemurafenib.

Poor functional performance following bidirectional dilatation of severe post radiation oesophageal stricture.

Conclusion: Bidirectional oesophageal dilatation for severe chemoradiation-induced oesophageal strictures is efficacious in improving luminal patency but ineffective in relieving functional dysphagia.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of bidirectional oesophageal dilatation in the severely strictured oesophagus induced by radiation therapy following the treatment of head and neck malignancies.

Methods: The study design was a case series in the setting of a tertiary cancer centre.

Current management of advanced melanoma: a transformed landscape.

The prognosis for patients with stage IV melanoma has historically been extremely poor and there have until recently been no effective treatment options. The last 3 years have seen a seismic shift in the management of these patients with the entry to the clinic of a number of novel agents with proven efficacy. These agents fall into two main classes: molecular-targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Bidirectional esophageal dilatation in pharyngoesophageal stenosis postradiotherapy.

Severely stenosed radiation-induced benign strictures around the level of cricopharyngeus post-radical chemoradiation for head and neck or upper esophageal cancers pose significant management problems. We report our technique of bidirectional assessment and dilatation of pharyngoesophageal strictures in patients with an in situ percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube. The upper gastrointestinal surgeon approached the area of stenosis in a retrograde manner through the PEG tube to guide the otolaryngeal surgeon who performed anterograde dilatation via a rigid laryngoscope.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein localization in breast cancers predict improved prognosis.

In a prospective study of 526 consecutive patients with operable breast cancer, the significance of positive parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) staining by immunohistology has been evaluated for a median of 10-year follow-up. Improved survival was observed for the 79% of tumors which stained positively for PTHrP [estimated univariate hazard ratio, 0.43; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.