Purpose Adjuvant chemotherapy is typically considered for patients with stage II colon cancer characterized by poor prognostic features, including obstruction, perforation, emergent admission, T4 stage, resection of fewer than 12 lymph nodes, and poor histology. Despite frequent use, the survival advantage conferred on patients with stage II disease by chemotherapy is yet unproven. We sought to determine the overall survival benefit of chemotherapy among patients with stage II colon cancer having poor prognostic features. Patients and Methods A total of 43,032 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent colectomy for stage II and III primary colon adenocarcinoma diagnosed from 1992 to 2005 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) –Medicare database. χ2 and two-way analysis of variance were used to assess differences in patient- and disease-related characteristics. Five-year overall survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression with propensity score weighting. Results Of the 24,847 patients with stage II cancer, 75% had one or more poor prognostic features. Adjuvant chemotherapy was received by 20% of patients with stage II disease and 57% of patients with stage III disease. After adjustment, 5-year survival benefit from chemotherapy was observed only for patients with stage III disease (hazard ratio[HR], 0.64; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.67). No survival benefit was observed for patients with stage II cancer with no poor prognostic features (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.84 to 1.25) or stage II cancer with any poor prognostic features (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.13). Conclusion Among Medicare patients identified with stage II colon cancer, either with or without poor prognostic features, adjuvant chemotherapy did not substantially improve overall survival. This lack of benefit must be considered in treatment decisions for similar older adults with colon cancer.

Objectives-Early hospital readmission is a common and costly problem in the Medicare population. In 2009, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services began mandating hospital reporting of disease-specific readmission rates. We sought to determine the rate and predictors of readmission after colectomy for cancer, as well as the association between readmission and mortality.Methods-Medicare beneficiaries who underwent colectomy for stage I-III colon adenocarcinoma from 1992-2002 were identified from the SEER-Medicare database. Multivariate logistic regression identified predictors of early readmission and one-year mortality. Odds ratios were adjusted for multiple factors, including measures of comorbidity, socioeconomic status, and disease severity.Results-Of 42,348 patients who were discharged, 4,662 (11.0%) were readmitted within 30 days. The most common causes of rehospitalization were ileus/obstruction and infection. Significant predictors of readmission included male gender, comorbidity, emergent admission, prolonged hospital stay, blood transfusion, ostomy, and discharge to nursing home. Readmission was inversely associated with hospital procedure volume, but not surgeon volume. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, the predicted probability of one-year mortality was 16% for readmitted patients, compared to 7% for those not readmitted. This difference in mortality was significant for all stages of cancer.Conclusions-Early readmission after colectomy for cancer is common and due in part to modifiable factors. There is a remarkable association between readmission and one-year mortality. Early readmission is therefore an important quality-of-care indicator for colon cancer surgery. These findings may facilitate the development of targeted interventions that will decrease readmissions and improve patient outcomes.

Preoperative factors are associated with perioperative outcomes after PD. The prediction tool estimates the probability of early morbidity and mortality for patients undergoing PD. The tool may be used to provide information for patient counseling during the informed consent process and to identify high-risk patients for the purpose of tailoring perioperative care.

Carcinoid tumors are neuroendocrine malignancies that frequently metastasize and secrete hormones that cause debilitating symptoms in patients. In this study we report the effects of valproic acid (VPA), a drug long used for the treatment of epilepsy, on the growth and neuroendocrine phenotype of human carcinoid cancer cells. VPA treatment of gastrointestinal and pulmonary carcinoid cells resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of cancer cell growth. Western blot analysis revealed degradation of cyclin D1 and an increase in cyclin-dependent kinases p21 and p27 with VPA treatment. Flow cytometry confirmed that the mechanism of VPA-induced growth inhibition is G 1 phase cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, VPA suppressed expression of the neuroendocrine tumor marker chromogranin A. In addition to these effects, VPA also increased levels of full- Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

SSI is a common complication after open revascularization and is associated with a more than twofold increased risk of early graft loss and reoperation. Several patient and operation-related risk factors that predict postoperative SSI were identified, suggesting that targeted improvements in perioperative care may decrease complications and improve outcomes in this patient population.

Background Individuals ≥80 years of age represent an increasing proportion of colon cancer diagnoses. Selecting these patients for elective surgery is challenging due to diminished overall health, functional decline, and limited data to guide decisions. The objective was to identify overall health measures that are predictive of poor survival after elective surgery in these oldest-old colon cancer patients. Methods Medicare beneficiaries ≥80 years who underwent elective colectomy for stage I-III colon cancer from 1992-2005 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results(SEER)-Medicare database. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis determined 90-day and 1-year overall survival. Multivariable logistic regression assessed factors associated with short-term post-operative survival. Results Overall survival for the 12,979 oldest-old patients undergoing elective colectomy for colon cancer was 93.4% and 85.7%, at 90-days and 1-year. Older age, male gender, frailty, increased hospitalizations in prior year, and dementia were most strongly associated with decreased survival. In addition, AJCC stage III (versus stage I) disease and widowed (versus married) were highly associated with decreased survival at 1-year. Although only 4.4% of patients were considered frail, this had the strongest association with mortality, with an odds ratio of 8.4 (95% confidence interval 6.4-11.1). Discussion Although most oldest-old colon cancer patients do well after elective colectomy, a significant proportion (6.6%) dies by post-operative day 90 and frailty is the strongest predictor. The ability to identify frailty through billing claims is intriguing and suggests the potential to prospectively identify, through the electronic medical record, patients at highest risk of decreased survival.

No abstract

VPA activates Notch1 signaling in MTC cells and inhibits their growth by inducing apoptosis. As the safety of VPA in human beings is well established, a clinical trial using this drug to treat patients with advanced MTC could be initiated in the near future.