Publications by authors named "Nick O'Rourke"
Introduction: Stage of pancreatic carcinoma at diagnosis is a strong prognostic indicator of morbidity and mortality, yet is poorly notified to population-based cancer registries ("cancer registries"). Registry-derived stage (RD-Stage) provides a method for cancer registries to use available data sources to compile and record stage in a consistent way. This project describes the development and validation of rules to capture RD-Stage (pancreatic carcinoma) and applies the rules to data currently captured in each Australian cancer registry.
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- Scientists wanted to create a clear definition for what "Textbook Outcome in Liver Surgery" (TOLS) means, which shows the best possible results after liver surgery.
- They used a method called the Delphi process, where expert liver surgeons answered surveys, and they agreed on the definition only if 80% of them agreed on it.
- The final definition includes things like no serious incidents during surgery, no major problems after surgery, and a good recovery without re-hospitalization.
Background: While combination therapy with nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine (nab-gem) is effective in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), its efficacy as perioperative chemotherapy is unknown. The primary objective of this multicenter, prospective, single-arm, phase II study was to determine whether neoadjuvant therapy with nab-gem was associated with higher complete resection rates (R0) in resectable PDAC, while the secondary objectives were to determine the utility of radiological assessment of response to preoperative chemotherapy and the safety and efficacy of nab-gem as perioperative therapy.
Methods: Patients were recruited from eight Australian sites, and 42 patients with radiologically defined resectable PDAC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2 were enrolled.
Background: The role of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET/CT) scanning in operable pancreas cancer is unclear. We, therefore, wanted to investigate the impact of PET/CT on management, by incorporating it into routine work-up.
Methods: This was a single-institution prospective study.
Laparoscopic and open techniques are both recognized treatment options for ventral hernias. We conducted a prospective randomized trial of both methods, to assess hernia recurrence, postoperative recovery and complications. Fifty-eight patients with ventral hernias were enrolled into the trial between August 2003 and December 2005.
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