Background Surgery is becoming more practical and effective than conservative treatment in improving the poor outcomes of patients with breast cancer liver metastasis (BCLM). However, there is no generally acknowledged set of standards for identifying BCLM candidates who will benefit from surgery. Methods Between January 2011 and September 2018, 67 female BCLM patients who underwent partial hepatectomy were selected for analysis in the present study. Prognostic factors after hepatectomy were determined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of overall survival (OS) and intrahepatic recurrence-free survival (IHRFS). Results The 1-, 3-and 5-year OS of patients treated with surgery was 93.5%, 73.7% and 32.2%, respectively, with a median survival time of 57.59 months. The Pringle manoeuvre [hazard radio (HR) = 0.117, 95% CI0.015-0.942, p = 0.044] and an increased interval between breast surgery and BCLM diagnosis (HR0.178, 95% CI 0.037-0.869, p = 0.033) independently predicted improved overall survival for BCLM patients. The 1-, 2-and 3-year IHRFS of patients who underwent surgery was 62.8, 32.6% and 10.9%, respectively, with a median intrahepatic recurrence-free survival time of 13.47 months. Moderately differentiated tumours (HR 0.259, 95% CI 0.078-0.857, p = 0.027) and the development of liver metastasis more than 2 years after breast surgery (HR 0.270, 95% CI 0.108-0.675, p = 0.005) might be predictors of increased IHRFS. Conclusions An interval of more than 2 years between breast cancer surgery and liver metastasis seems to be an indication of liver surgery in BCLM patients. The Pringle manoeuvre and moderately differentiated tumours are potential predictors associated with OS and IHRFS, respectively, as benefits from liver resection. Studies with increased sample sizes are warranted to validate our results.

APN metastasis is an important prognostic factor in node-positive rectal cancer, which provides additional survival-related prognostic classification irrespective of N stage. As the APN is usually outside the radiation field, in the era of multidisciplinary treatment its assessment should be incorporated into prognostic evaluation of rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND:Telomere-related genes play an important role in carcinogenesis and progression of prostate cancer (PCa). It is not fully understood whether genetic variations in telomere-related genes are associated with development and progression in PCa patients. METHODS: Six potentially functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of three key telomere-related genes were evaluated in 1015 PCa cases and 1052 cancer-free controls, to test their associations with risk of PCa. Among 426 PCa patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP), the prognostic significance of the studied SNPs on biochemical recurrence (BCR) was also assessed using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model. The relative telomere lengths (RTLs) were measured in peripheral blood leukocytes using real-time PCR in the RP patients. RESULTS: TEP1 rs1760904 AG/AA genotypes were significantly associated with a decreased risk of PCa (odds ratio (OR): 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64-0.93, P = 0.005) compared with the GG genotype. By using median RTL as a cutoff level, RP patients with TEP1 rs1760904 AG/AA genotypes tended to have a longer RTL than those with the GG genotype (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.04-2.30, P = 0.031). A significant interaction between TEP1 rs1713418 and age in modifying PCa risk was observed (P = 0.005). After adjustment for clinicopathologic risk factors, the presence of heterozygotes or rare homozygotes of TEP1 rs1760904 and TNKS2 rs1539042 were associated with BCR in the RP cohorts (hazard ratio: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.36-0.79, P = 0.002 and hazard ratio: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.07-2.48, P = 0.017, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that genetic variations in the TEP1 gene may be biomarkers for risk of PCa and BCR after RP.