Prospective multicenter registration study of colorectal cancer: significant variations in radicality and oncosurgical quality-Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Protocol SAKK 40/00.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate in a multicenter cohort study the radicality of colorectal cancer resections, to assess the oncosurgical quality of colorectal specimens, and to compare the performance between centers.

Methods: One German and nine Swiss hospitals agreed to prospectively register all patients with primary colorectal cancer resected between September 2001 and June 2005. The median number of eligible patients with one primary tumor included per center was 95 (range 12-204).

Adenocarcinomas of the upper third of the rectum and the rectosigmoid junction seem to have similar prognosis as colon cancers even without radiotherapy, SAKK 40/87.

Purpose: To investigate the prognosis of adenocarcinomas of the upper third of the rectum and the rectosigmoid-junction without radiotherapy.

Methods: Patients from a multicenter randomized controlled trial from 1987-1993 on adjuvant chemotherapy for R0-resected colorectal cancers with stage I-III disease were retrospectively allocated: cancers of the lower two-thirds of the rectum (11 cm or less from anal-verge, Group A, n = 205), of the upper-third of the rectum and rectosigmoid-junction (>11-20 cm from anal-verge, Group B, n = 142), and of the colon (>20 cm from anal-verge, Group C, n = 378). The total mesorectal excision (TME) technique had not been introduced yet.

Malignant solitary fibrous tumor involving the liver.

Solitary fibrous tumors are predominantly benign and are most commonly found in the thoracic cavity and pleura; while reports exist in the literature of malignant solitary fibrous tumors and those located in extrathoracic organs, these cases are considered extremely rare. Herein, a case is reported of a malignant solitary fibrous tumor involving the liver that was diagnosed and treated in a 62-year-old woman. The patient presented with complaints of upper abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss.

Factors influencing the success of in vivo sentinel lymph node procedure in colon cancer patients: Swiss prospective, multicenter study sentinel lymph node procedure in colon cancer.

Background: The sentinel lymph node (SLN) procedure has the potential to provide relevant improvement in nodal staging in colon cancer patients. However, there remains room for improvement for SLN identification and sensitivity. Therefore, the objective of the present investigation was to analyze factors influencing the success of the SLN procedure in colon cancer patients.

Resident work hour restrictions do not improve patient safety in surgery: a critical appraisal based on 7 years of experience in Switzerland.

In 2005 the Swiss government implemented new work-hour limitations for all residency programs in Switzerland, including a 50-hour weekly limit. The reduction in the working hours of doctors in training implicate an increase in their rest time and suggest an amelioration of doctors' clinical performance and consequently in patients' outcomes and safety - which was not detectable in a preliminary study at a large referral center in Switzerland. It remains elusive why work-hour restrictions did not improve patient safety.