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Background: The impact of locoregional radiotherapy (RT) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and mastectomy in breast cancer patients is currently unclear. Several publications have suggested that patients with a favorable response to NACT might not benefit from RT after mastectomy., Methods: A retrospective analysis of three prospective randomized NACT trials was performed. Information on the use of RT was available for 817 breast cancer patients with non-inflammatory breast cancer who underwent mastectomy after NACT within the GeparTrio, GeparQuattro, and GeparQuinto-trials. RT was administered to 676 of these patients (82.7%)., Results: The 5-year cumulative incidence of locoregional recurrence (LRR) was 15.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 9.0-22.8%) in patients treated without RT and 11.3% in patients treated with RT (95% CI 8.7-14.3%). In the multivariate analysis, RT was associated with a lower risk of LRR (hazard ratio 0.51, 95% CI 0.27-1.0; p = 0.05). This effect was shown especially in patients with cT3/4 tumors, as well as in patients who were cN+ before neoadjuvant therapy, including those who converted to ypN0 after neoadjuvant therapy. In the bivariate analysis, disease-free survival was significantly worse in patients who received RT, however this was not confirmed in the multivariate analysis., Conclusions: Our results suggest that RT reduces the LRR rates in breast cancer patients who receive a mastectomy after NACT without an improvement in DFS. Prospective randomized controlled trials such as the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-51/RTOG 1304 trial will analyze whether RT has any benefit in patients who have a favorable response after NACT.

Background: Sarcopenia was reported as a prognostic factor in cancer patients. Using computed tomography (CT), we analyzed the impact of sarcopenia on overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) after primary debulking surgery (PDS)., Methods: Preoperative CT scans of consecutive EOC patients (n = 323) were retrospectively assessed for skeletal muscle index (SMI) and muscle attenuation (MA; Hounsfield units [HU]). The optimal cut-off point for MA (32 HU) was calculated using the Martingale residuals method, and previously reported cut-offs for SMI were used. Logistic regression was used to determine univariate and multivariate factors associated with OS., Results: Sarcopenia defined as SMI < 38.5, < 39, and 41 cm 2 /m 2 was detected in 29.4, 33.7, and 47.1% of patients, respectively; however, none of these SMI cut-off levels were associated with OS. MA < 32 HU was present in 21.1% (68/323) of the total cohort. Significant differences between patients with MA < 32 and ≥ 32 HU were detected for median age (67 vs. 57 years), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) > 0 (13.2 vs. 3.1%), comorbidity (age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index [ACCI] ≥ 4; 36.8 vs. 13.3%), median body mass index (BMI; 27 vs. 24 kg/m 2 ), International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, histology (high-grade serous 95.6 vs. 84.7%), and complete resection (38.2 vs. 68.2%). MA < 32 HU remained a significant prognostic factor for OS in multivariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio 1.79, p = 0.003). Median OS in patients with MA < 32 HU versus MA ≥ 32 HU was 28 versus 56 months (p < 0.001). Furthermore, MA < 32 HU was significantly associated with OS in the prognostically poor population of patients with residual tumor (p = 0.015)., Conclusions: Low MA was significantly associated with poor survival, especially in patients with residual tumor after PDS. MA assessment could be used for risk stratification after PDS.

Purpose: Tumor stage and distinct histological subtypes in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) show different prognostic outcome. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the frequency of lymph node (LN) metastases in patients with different tumor stages and histological subtypes undergoing systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy is coincidentally divergent., Methods: Patients with EOC treated with upfront staging or debulking surgery between January 2000 and December 2016 were included. Systematic lymphadenectomy was performed in all consecutive patients with optimal debulking and without medical contraindications., Results: Seven hundred sixty-two patients including 27.2% with early-stage EOC were included. The median number of removed LNs was 69, and metastases to LNs were found in 54.7%. No LN metastases were found in patients with low-grade endometrioid carcinoma, independently of tumor stage. LN metastases in early-stage low-grade serous (N = 5), mucinous (N = 31), and clear cell (N = 28) EOC were found in one (20%), zero, and one (3.6%) patient, respectively. LN metastases were detected in more than 10% of patients with all other histological subtypes. On multivariate analyses, overall survival was significantly impaired in patients with LN metastases, as compared with patients without LN metastases (p = 0.001)., Conclusions: The risk of LN metastases in patients with EOC is dependent on stage and histological subtype. Patients with incidental finding of early mucinous or low-grade endometrioid EOC are at very low risk of retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. Reoperation for lymph node staging only should be discussed individually with caution.

Background: We evaluated the prognostic impact of the age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (ACCI) on both postoperative morbidity and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) treated at a tertiary gynecologic cancer center., Patients and Methods: Exploratory analysis of our prospectively documented tumor registry was performed. Data of all consecutive patients with stage IIIB-IV ovarian cancer who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery (PDS) from January 2000 to June 2016 were analyzed. Patients were divided into three groups, based on their ACCI: low (0-1), intermediate (2-3), and high (≥4), and postoperative surgical complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC). The Fisher's exact test, log-rank test, and Cox regression models were used to investigate the predictive value of the ACCI on postoperative complications and OS., Results: Overall, 793 consecutive patients were identified; 328 (41.4%) patients were categorized as low ACCI, 342 (43.1%) as intermediate ACCI, and 123 (15.5%) as high ACCI. A high ACCI was significantly associated with severe postoperative complications (CDC 3-5; odds ratio 3.27, 95% confidence interval 1.97-5.43, p < 0.001). Median OS for patients with a low, intermediate, or high ACCI was 50, 40, and 23 months, respectively (p < 0.001), and the ACCI remained a significant prognostic factor for OS in multivariate analysis (p = 0.001). The same impact was observed in a sensitivity analysis including only those patients with complete tumor resection., Conclusion: The ACCI is associated with perioperative morbidity in patients undergoing PDS for EOC, and also has a prognostic impact on OS. The potential role of the ACCI as a selection criteria for different therapy strategies is currently under investigation in the ongoing, prospective, multicenter AGO-OVAR 19 trial.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence, morbidity, and prognostic impact of port-site metastasis (PSM) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) undergoing laparoscopy before subsequent primary debulking surgery (PDS)., Methods: All consecutive patients treated between 2000 and 2014, who had a laparoscopy followed by PDS, were extracted from our prospectively maintained database. All patients with histological examination of port-sites were included in this unicentric exploratory analysis., Results: A total of 250 (25.5 %) of 982 patients with EOC underwent laparoscopy before PDS. Port-site resection was performed in those 214 (85.6 %) patients in whom a complete or almost complete resection with residuals ≤1 cm was achieved. Median interval between laparoscopy and PDS was 25 days. PSM was detected in 100 of 214 patients (46.7 %). Risk factors for PSM were higher tumor stage (odds ratio [OR] 13.5, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.9-62.0, p = 0.04), positive lymph node status (OR 3.0, 95 % CI 1.3-6.7, p = 0.009), and ascites >500 mL (OR 3.9, 95 % CI 1.5-10.0, p = 0.005). Wound healing disorders and postoperative morbidity were significantly higher in patients with PSM (Clavien-Dindo Classification grade 3-5: 41.0 vs. 14.9 %, p < 0.001). However, multivariate Cox-regression models did not identify PSM as independent prognostic factor., Conclusions: The prevalence of PSM after laparoscopy in EOC patients is considerably high. PSM had no impact on survival; however, PSM were associated with more postoperative complications and a higher surgical treatment burden. This should be balanced with the expected benefit when laparoscopy is considered for the management of EOC.

Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) has become a well-established treatment method for patients with breast cancer, not only for those with large tumors, but also for patients with early high-risk cancers. In earlier times, the clinical advantage of NST was seen in improvement of tumor shrinkage for better operability, conversion of mastectomy candidates to breast conservation, and optimization of cosmetic results. Over the decades, therapy regimens were optimized, resulting in significantly higher response rates. Rates for breast conservation and for conversion from mastectomy to breast conservation, especially for patients with advanced breast cancers, rose significantly for patients undergoing NST. A multidisciplinary approach with close and accurate diagnostic assessment of the breast, axillary tumor, or both during NST and individual-response-guided surgery is mandatory. To reduce unnecessary surgery and prevent mastectomies, more conclusive prediction models and minimally invasive methods for selection of patients with pathologic complete remission after NST are needed. Furthermore, prospective studies demonstrate that sentinel node biopsy for patients with initial clinically node-positive axillary nodes converting to clinically node-negative axillary nodes is oncologically safe and offers less morbidity, avoiding complete axillary node dissection. Initial concerns regarding surgical complications and morbidity due to potential immune frailty of patients with NST were not observed.

Background: The impact of tumor focality on type of surgery, local recurrence rate, and survival after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for breast cancer is not fully understood. This study aimed to compare local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) according to focality stratified by type of surgery and pathologic complete response (pCR), with a focus on breast conservation., Methods: Participants (n = 6,134) in the GeparTrio, GeparQuattro, and GeparQuinto trials with operable or locally advanced tumors receiving NACT were classified as having unifocal (1 lesion), multifocal (≥ 2 lesions in 1 quadrant), or multicentric (≥ 1 lesion in ≥ 2 quadrants) disease. The study investigated LRFS, DFS, and OS according to focality stratified by type of surgery and pathologic complete response., Results: The patients were classified as having unifocal (n = 4,733, 77.1 %), multifocal (n = 820, 13.4 %), or multicentric (n = 581, 9.5 %) tumors. The respective pCR rates were 19.4, 16.5, and 14.4 %. Breast conservation was performed for 71.6, 58.5, and 30 % of these patients, respectively (P < 0.001). The LRFS rate was 92.9 % for the unifocal, 95.1 % for the multifocal, and 90.4 % for the multicentric tumors (P = 0.002). The patients with multicentric tumors but not the patients with multifocal tumors had worse DFS (P < 0.001) and OS (P = 0.009) than the patients with unifocal tumors. However, LRFS, DFS, and OS were not inferior for the patients with multicentric or multifocal tumors if pCR was achieved or breast conservation was performed after NACT., Conclusion: Breast conservation is feasible for clinically multifocal or multicentric breast cancer patients who undergo NACT without worsening LRFS if tumor-free margins can be attained or if patients achieve a pCR.