A cohort study evaluating the role of surgery for lung metastases from colorectal cancer.

Background/aim: Surgery may be curative in some patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We analyzed the role of lung metastatectomy in this population.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, cases were defined as mCRC patients with lung metastases (LM's) who underwent metastatectomy.

Successful use of Trastuzumab with anthracycline-based chemotherapy followed by trastuzumab maintenance in patients with advanced HER2-positive gastric cancer.

Background: There is no standard chemotherapy regimen that is universally accepted for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Trastuzumab added to chemotherapy improves survival in patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her2/neu)-overexpressing gastric cancer. Data are lacking for the combination of trastuzumab with other chemotherapy regimens, apart from the cisplatin/fluorouracil backbone used in the pivotal TOGA trial.

Intestinal obstruction: trends in imaging utilization and their influence in its rising hospital bill.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate trends in the utilization of different imaging modalities and review how imaging utilization practices affect hospital charges for patients with intestinal obstruction. All patients discharged with a primary diagnosis of intestinal obstruction during 6 fiscal years (1999-2004) were retrospectively studied. We obtained data on patients' demographics, procedures, outcomes, imaging services utilization, and hospital and imaging charges from our institution's transition system (a clinical and financial decision support software system).

Imaging utilization in the management of appendicitis and its impact on hospital charges.

The objective of this study is to assess the trends in imaging utilization in adults with diagnosis of appendicitis and the role that imaging plays in the escalating appendicitis hospital charges. Data on demographics, imaging utilization, and charges of all patients discharged after a diagnosis of appendicitis during 6 years (1999-2004) were obtained from the integrated database of a large hospital. The number of discharges from 1999 to 2004 in the institution steadily decreased.