The 7th edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual represents a dramatic shift in the way that cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is staged, in that it is first attempt to incorporate evidence-based medicine into the staging guidelines for cSCC. In our opinion, the changes made to the seventh edition represent a significant improvement over previous editions and will ultimately lead to improved patient stratification, more accurate prognostic data, and a better framework to guide clinical decision making. However, there are a number of issues within the latest guidelines that require clarification or are impractical for clinical practice. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the key changes to the 6th edition staging manual as they pertain to cSCC, to point out impractical component of the 7th edition and/or aspects that require further clarification, and to make recommendations that address any current shortcomings to improve subsequent editions. Specific focus will be given to the inclusion of separate guidelines for cSCC and Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), the incorporation of high-risk factors as modifiers of T stage, the addition of new guidelines for advanced T stage, and the changes in stratification of lymph node status. This paper is modified from a more comprehensive treatment of the staging of nonmelanoma skin cancer by Warner and Cockerell entitled “The new 7th edition American joint committee on cancer staging of cutaneous nonmelanoma skin cancer: a critical review,” in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology (paper accepted, pending publication).
Neither the individual components of the R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry scoring system nor the total nephrometry score predicted the realized functional loss, as assessed by the estimated glomerular filtration rate in patients with a solitary kidney treated with nephron sparing surgery. However, nephron sparing surgery was quite efficacious for preserving renal function since only a durable 11.6% decrease was noted in the estimated glomerular filtration rate.
Penile cancer is an uncommon disease in the industrialized world that most frequently presents at low stage and is cured with treatment of local and regional surgery. In cases of advanced cancer, the use of more aggressive surgical techniques and the addition of adjuvant therapy may be warranted. So far, few agents have been found that improve survival with metastatic disease and thus aggressive primary treatment is required. This review discusses diagnosis, staging, and therapy for high risk penile cancer.
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2A (MEN-2a) is a rare disease associated with tumors of endocrine organs. Presentation most commonly is with medullary thyroid cancer and infrequently with other complaints. Pituitary adenoma has been seen coincidentally with this disease very rarely. Presented is a case of coincident MEN-2a with a symptomatic pituitary adenoma and an asymptomatic pheochromocytoma. A brief review is also provided.
Surgical resection represents the best curative option for patients who present with isolated retroperitoneal lymph node recurrence of renal cell carcinoma. Durable postoperative progression-free survival is attainable in many patients regardless of histology or clinical TNM stage. In addition, our cohort showed a lower renal cell carcinoma related mortality rate than in previous series of local metastasis. As such, all patients free of precluding comorbidities should be considered candidates for complete surgical resection performed by an experienced genitourinary surgeon.
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