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Annals of Epidemiology May 2017Malignant mesothelioma most commonly arises in the pleura and peritoneum but also occurs rarely at other anatomical sites with mesothelial tissue, namely, the... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Malignant mesothelioma most commonly arises in the pleura and peritoneum but also occurs rarely at other anatomical sites with mesothelial tissue, namely, the pericardium and tunica vaginalis testis (TVT). This review provides a better understanding of the epidemiology of mesothelioma of these extrapleural sites.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of the epidemiologic and clinical literature on pericardial mesothelioma and mesothelioma of the TVT. We also analyzed U.S. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry data to describe incidence patterns of these malignancies.
RESULTS
An etiologic role of asbestos exposure has been hypothesized for pericardial and TVT mesotheliomas, but no analytical case-control epidemiologic studies exist to test this relationship. A substantial proportion of cases with these malignancies report no known asbestos exposure. In large occupational cohorts with heavy asbestos exposures, no cases of pericardial or TVT mesothelioma have been reported. Trends in the incidence of these malignancies do not match those of pleural mesothelioma, which correspond to historical trends of commercial asbestos use. A male preponderance of pericardial mesothelioma is not evident.
CONCLUSIONS
In the absence of analytic epidemiologic studies, the etiologic role of environmental risk factors for mesothelioma of the pericardium and TVT remains elusive.
Topics: Asbestos; Female; Heart Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Mesothelioma; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Pericardium; Registries; Testicular Neoplasms; Testis; United States
PubMed: 28527639
DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2017.04.001 -
Respiration; International Review of... 2017The role of combinations of tumor markers such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigens (CA) 125, 15-3, and 19-9, and CYFRA 21-1 (a fragment of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
The role of combinations of tumor markers such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigens (CA) 125, 15-3, and 19-9, and CYFRA 21-1 (a fragment of cytokeratin 19) in diagnosing malignant pleural effusion (MPE) has not been clearly established.
OBJECTIVES
This meta-analysis was performed to establish the overall diagnostic accuracies of combinations of these pleural fluid tumor markers for MPE.
METHODS
The PubMed, Ovid, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane bibliographic databases were searched. Sensitivity, specificity, and other measures of the accuracy of combinations of pleural CEA, CA 125, CA 15-3, CA 19-9, and CYFRA 21-1 in the diagnosis of MPE were pooled after a systematic review of English-language studies.
RESULTS
Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. For pleural fluid tumor marker combinations including more than 3 studies, the summary estimates of the sensitivity/specificity for diagnosing MPE were as follows: CEA + CA 125, 0.65/0.98; CEA + CA 15-3, 0.64/0.98; CEA + CA 19-9, 0.58/0.98; CEA + CYFRA 21-1, 0.82/0.92; and CA 15-3 + CYFRA 21-1, 0.88/0.94.
CONCLUSIONS
In patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion, the combinations of positive pleural CEA + CA 15-3 and CEA + CA 19-9 are highly suspicious for pleural malignancy, but the sensitivity of these tests is poor. Therefore, their routine role in the diagnostic algorithm of these patients is questionable, and management decisions should depend on positive cytological or biopsy results from the pleura.
Topics: Antigens, Neoplasm; Biomarkers, Tumor; CA-125 Antigen; CA-19-9 Antigen; Carcinoembryonic Antigen; Humans; Keratin-19; Mucin-1; Pleural Effusion, Malignant; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 28427079
DOI: 10.1159/000468545 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Mar 2017Corticosteroids used in addition to antituberculous therapy have been reported to benefit people with tuberculous pleurisy. However, research findings are inconsistent... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Corticosteroids used in addition to antituberculous therapy have been reported to benefit people with tuberculous pleurisy. However, research findings are inconsistent and raise doubt as to whether such treatment is worthwhile. There is also concern regarding the potential adverse effects of corticosteroids, especially in HIV-positive people.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effects of adding corticosteroids to drug regimens for tuberculous pleural effusion.
SEARCH METHODS
In April 2016, we searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register, CENTRAL (the Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS, Current Controlled Trials, and the reference lists of articles identified by the literature search.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that compared any corticosteroid with no treatment, placebo, or other active treatment (both groups should have received the same antituberculous drug regimen) in people diagnosed with tuberculous pleurisy.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently screened the search results, extracted data from the included trials, and assessed trial methodological quality using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool. We analysed the data using risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We applied the fixed-effect model in the absence of statistically significant heterogeneity.
MAIN RESULTS
Six trials with 590 participants met the inclusion criteria, which were conducted in Asia (three trials), Africa (two trials), and Europe (one trial). Two trials were in HIV-negative people, one trial was in HIV-positive people, and three trials did not report HIV status.Corticosteroids may reduce the time to resolution of pleural effusion. Risk of residual pleural effusion on chest X-ray was reduced by 45% at eight weeks (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.78; 237 participants, 2 trials, low certainty evidence), and 65% at 24 weeks (RR 0.35, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.66; 237 participants, 2 trials, low certainty evidence).Compared with control, corticosteroids may reduce the risk of having pleural changes (such as pleural thickening or pleural adhesions), on chest X-ray at the end of follow-up by almost one third (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.92; 393 participants, 5 trials,low certainty evidence), which translates to an absolute risk reduction of 16%.One trial reported deaths in people that were HIV-positive, with no obvious difference between the groups; the trial authors' analysis suggests that the deaths observed in this trial were related to HIV disease rather than pleural TB (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.31; 197 participants, 1 trial).We found limited data on long-term functional respiratory impairment on 187 people in two trials, which reported that average percentage predicted forced vital capacity was similar in the group receiving prednisolone and in the control group (very low certainty evidence).The risk of adverse events that led to discontinuation of the trial drug was higher in people with pleural TB receiving corticosteroids (RR 2.78, 95% CI 1.11 to 6.94; 587 participants, 6 trials, low certainty evidence). The trial in HIV-positive people reported on six different HIV-related infections, with no obvious differences. However, cases of Kaposi's sarcoma were only seen in the corticosteroid group (with 6/99 cases in the steroid group compared to 0/98 in the control group) (very low certainty evidence).
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Long-term respiratory function is potentially the most important outcome for assessing the effects of adjunctive treatments for people with pleural TB. However, the information on the impact of pleural TB on long-term respiratory function is unknown and could be eclipsed by other risk factors, such as concurrent pulmonary TB, smoking, and HIV. This probably needs to be quantified to help decide whether further trials of corticosteroids for pleural TB would be worthwhile.
Topics: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Antitubercular Agents; HIV Seronegativity; HIV Seropositivity; Humans; Pleura; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Tuberculosis, Pleural; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary
PubMed: 28290161
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001876.pub3 -
Pleura and Peritoneum Dec 2016Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is increasingly used to prevent or treat peritoneal metastases (PM) in... (Review)
Review
Randomized controlled trials evaluating cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in prevention and therapy of peritoneal metastasis: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND
Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is increasingly used to prevent or treat peritoneal metastases (PM) in selected indications. The objective of this article was to review published, recruiting or planned randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating CRS and HIPEC versus standard of care. Comparator was systemic chemotherapy and/or CRS alone.
CONTENT
Systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches for published RCT using PubMed (from 1980 to November 2016) and for ongoing RCT in the United States and European clinical databases (until November 2016). Current update on ongoing trials from the 10th PSOGI meeting in November 2016 in Washington DC. Fourteen RCTs on CRS and HIPEC were excluded for various reasons.
SUMMARY
Thirty-eight trials designed for randomizing 7,303 patients were identified: 11 in colorectal cancer (6 for prevention of PM, n=1,107 patients; 5 for therapy, n=781), 10 in ovarian cancer (5 in frontline therapy, n=438 patients; 5 for treating recurrence, n=1,062) and 17 in gastric cancer (14 for prevention of PM, n=3,659 patients; 3 for therapy, n=256). Results of 9 RCTs have been published: 1 in colorectal cancer (105 patients), 1 in ovarian cancer (130 patients) and 7 in gastric cancer (together 669 patients). Five RCTs have completed recruitment and follow-up is ongoing. There is a clear trend in recent trial design from therapeutic to preventive indications.
OUTLOOK
The number of published RCT evaluating CRS and HIPEC in prevention or therapy of PM is relatively small. There is some evidence that CRS and HIPEC improve survival in recurrent colorectal origin, evidence in ovarian and gastric cancer remains debated. A large number of studies is ongoing that might deliver additional evidence. Trial design and interpretation of results remain difficult because of multiple methodological challenges.
PubMed: 30911621
DOI: 10.1515/pp-2016-0027 -
BMJ Case Reports Oct 2016Solitary fibrous tumours (SFTs) are relatively rare tumours that were originally thought to arise from the pleura but have thereafter been demonstrated as occurring... (Review)
Review
Solitary fibrous tumours (SFTs) are relatively rare tumours that were originally thought to arise from the pleura but have thereafter been demonstrated as occurring anywhere in the body. These tumours are generally considered benign but have frequently been noted for recurrence and local invasion. Furthermore, their indolence is controversial due to increasing evidence implicating the existence of a spectrum that includes hemangiopericytoma (HPC). Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been well characterised in the treatment of benign, malignant and vascular conditions, and it appears to be a reasonable option as adjuvant or recurrent treatment for intracranial SFTs. We present in this case the first complete description of an SFT of the orbit treated by SRS as well as a systematic review of available English literature for intracranial SFTs treated by SRS. We report effective local tumour control in our case and conclude that SRS is a reasonable treatment option for recurrent SFT.
Topics: Adult; Eye; Eye Neoplasms; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Radiosurgery; Recurrence; Sarcoma; Solitary Fibrous Tumors; Visual Acuity
PubMed: 27758816
DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2016-217114 -
Journal of Bronchology & Interventional... Jul 2017Intrapleural foreign body is an uncommon condition, usually encountered in the setting of thoracic trauma, but can rarely complicate diagnostic procedures such as... (Review)
Review
Intrapleural foreign body is an uncommon condition, usually encountered in the setting of thoracic trauma, but can rarely complicate diagnostic procedures such as thoracentesis. The management involves urgent identification and removal of the foreign body. Although surgical extraction using thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery under general anesthesia constitutes the primary management strategy, intrapleural foreign body can also be removed using medical thoracoscopy. Herein, we report the successful removal of 2 intrapleural foreign bodies using a rigid thoracoscope under local anesthesia and conscious sedation. We also performed a systematic review of the literature describing the use of medical thoracoscopy in the retrieval of an intrapleural foreign body.
Topics: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Foreign Bodies; Humans; Male; Pleura; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted
PubMed: 27367852
DOI: 10.1097/LBR.0000000000000275 -
Pleura and Peritoneum Jun 2016: The current treatment of choice for peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer is systemic chemotherapy. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic... (Review)
Review
: The current treatment of choice for peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer is systemic chemotherapy. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a new aggressive form of loco-regional treatment that is currently being used in pseudomyxoma peritoneii, peritoneal mesothelioma and peritoneal carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer. It is still under investigation for its use in gastric cancer. : The literature between 1970 and 2016 was surveyed systematically through a review of published studies on the treatment outcomes of CRS and HIPEC for peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer. : Seventeen studies were included in this review. The median survival for all patients ranged from 6.6 to 15.8 months. The 5-years overall survival ranged from 6 to 31%. For patients with complete cytoreduction, the median survival was 11.2 to 43.4 months and the 5-years overall survival was 13 % to 23%. Important prognostic factors were found to be a low peritoneal carcarcinomatosis index (PCI) score and the completeness of cytoreduction. : The current evidence suggests that CRS and HIPEC has a role to play in the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer. Long term survival has been shown for a select group of patients. However, further studies are needed to validate these results.
PubMed: 30911610
DOI: 10.1515/pp-2016-0010 -
Medicine May 2016Calcifying fibrous tumor (CFT) is a benign lesion characterized by its specific histological findings and is found as solitary or multiple lesions in several locations... (Review)
Review
Calcifying fibrous tumor (CFT) is a benign lesion characterized by its specific histological findings and is found as solitary or multiple lesions in several locations of the human body. The aim of the present systematic review is to give a detailed account of all reported cases of CFT in the literature and to analyze the available data, to completely characterize the entity from epidemiological, medical, and surgical aspects.A bibliographic research was performed from 1988 until 2015. A database with the patients' characteristics was made, including sex, age, location of the tumor, symptoms, symptoms duration, size of the tumor, diagnostic methods, treatment, metastasis, and follow-up.A total of 104 articles were identified, reporting 157 cases of CFT. Mean age of patients was 33.58 years and the ratio between men and women was 1:1.27. The most common locations of CFT were stomach (18%), small intestine (8.7%), pleura (9.9%), mesentery (5%), and peritoneum (6.8%). Mean diameter of the tumor was estimated 4.6 cm. The correlations proceeded showed that as age increases, size decreases (P = 0.001) and that the tumor is larger in females (P = 0.027). Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the larger tumors appear in the neck and adrenal gland (P = 0.001). The percentage of asymptomatic patients was 30.57%. Computed tomography and biopsy were the most common tests for the diagnosis of CFT. Open surgical procedure was performed in the majority of cases. The median hospitalization was 6.06 days and the mean follow-up period was 29.97 months. Recurrences were mentioned in 10 of 96 patients with available data. No deaths owing to CFT were mentioned in the literature.CFT should be included in the differential diagnosis of enlarging mass revealed by clinical or imaging examination either incidentally or after specific acute or chronic symptomatology.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Calcinosis; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms, Fibrous Tissue; Sex Factors; Tumor Burden; Young Adult
PubMed: 27196478
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000003690 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... May 2016Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common problem for people with cancer as a result of malignant infiltration of the pleura. It is usually associated with... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common problem for people with cancer as a result of malignant infiltration of the pleura. It is usually associated with considerable breathlessness. A number of treatment options are available to manage the uncontrolled accumulation of pleural fluid including administration of a pleurodesis agent (either via a chest tube or at thoracoscopy) or indwelling pleural catheter insertion.
OBJECTIVES
To ascertain the optimal management strategy for adults with malignant pleural effusion in terms of pleurodesis success. Additionally, to quantify differences in patient-reported outcomes and adverse effects between management strategies.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE; EBSCO CINAHL; SCI-EXPANDED and SSCI (ISI Web of Science) to April 2015.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials of intrapleural interventions for adults with symptomatic MPE in the review.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently extracted data on study design, study characteristics, outcome measures, potential effect modifiers and risk of bias.The primary outcome measure was pleurodesis failure rate. Secondary outcome measures were adverse effects and complications, patient-reported control of breathlessness, quality of life, cost, mortality, duration of inpatient stay and patient acceptability.We performed network meta-analysis with random effects to analyse the primary outcome data and those secondary outcomes with enough data. We also performed pair-wise random-effects meta-analyses of direct comparison data. If interventions were not deemed jointly randomisable, or insufficient data were available, we reported the results by narrative synthesis. We performed sensitivity analyses to explore heterogeneity and to evaluate only those pleurodesis agents administered via a chest tube at the bedside.
MAIN RESULTS
Of the 1888 records identified, 62 randomised trials, including a total of 3428 patients, were eligible for inclusion. All studies were at high or uncertain risk of bias for at least one domain.Network meta-analysis evaluating the rate of pleurodesis failure, suggested talc poudrage to be a highly effective method (ranked second of 16 (95% credible interval (Cr-I) 1 to 5)) and provided evidence that it resulted in fewer pleurodesis failures than eight other methods. The estimated ranks of other commonly used agents were: talc slurry (fourth; 95% Cr-I 2 to 8), mepacrine (fourth; 95% Cr-I 1 to 10), iodine (fifth; 95% Cr-I 1 to 12), bleomycin (eighth; 95% Cr-I 5 to 11) and doxycyline (tenth; 95% Cr-I 4 to 15). The estimates were imprecise as evidenced by the wide credible intervals and both high statistical and clinical heterogeneity.Most of the secondary outcomes, including adverse events, were inconsistently reported by the included studies and the methods used to describe them varied widely. Hence the majority of the secondary outcomes were reported descriptively in this review. We obtained sufficient data to perform network meta-analysis for the most commonly reported adverse events: pain, fever and mortality. The fever network was imprecise and showed substantial heterogeneity, but suggested placebo caused the least fever (ranked first of 11 (95% Cr-I 1 to 7)) and mepacrine and Corynebacterium parvum (C. parvum) appeared to be associated with the most fever (ranked tenth (95% Cr-I 6 to 11) and eleventh (95% Cr-I 7 to 11) respectively). No differences between interventions were revealed by the network meta-analysis of the pain data. The only potential difference in mortality identified in the mortality network was that those receiving tetracycline appeared to have a longer survival than those receiving mitoxantrone (OR 0.16 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.03 to 0.72)). Indwelling pleural catheters were examined in two randomised studies, both of which reported improved breathlessness when compared to talc slurry pleurodesis, despite lower pleurodesis success rates.The risk of bias in a number of the included studies was substantial, for example the vast majority of studies were unblinded, and the methods used for sequence generation and allocation concealment were often unclear. Overall, however, the risk of bias for all studies was moderate. We have not reported the GRADE quality of evidence for the outcomes, as the role of GRADE is not well established in the context of Network Meta-analysis (NMA).
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Based on the available evidence, talc poudrage is a more effective pleurodesis method in MPE than a number of other frequently used methods, including tetracycline and bleomycin. However further data are required to definitively confirm whether it is more effective than certain other commonly used interventions such as talc slurry and doxycycline, particularly in view of the high statistical and clinical heterogeneity within the network and the high risk of bias of many of the included studies. Based on the strength of the evidence from both direct and indirect comparisons of randomised data of sclerosants administered at the bedside, there is no evidence to suggest large differences between the other highly effective methods (talc slurry, mepacrine, iodine and C. parvum). However, local availability, global experience of these agents and their adverse events, which may not be identified in randomised trials, must also be considered when selecting a sclerosant. Further research is required to delineate the roles of different treatments according to patient characteristics (e.g. according to their prognosis or presence of trapped lung) and to explore patient-centred outcomes, such as breathlessness and quality of life, in more detail. Careful consideration to minimise the risk of bias and standardise outcome measures is essential for future trial design.
Topics: Adult; Bleomycin; Doxycycline; Fever; Humans; Iodine; Pleural Effusion, Malignant; Pleurodesis; Quinacrine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Talc; Treatment Failure
PubMed: 27155783
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010529.pub2 -
Pleura and Peritoneum Mar 2016: Adult and juvenile granulosa cell tumors of the ovary are rare functional sex-cord-stromal ovarian neoplasms characterized by low malignant potential and late relapse.... (Review)
Review
: Adult and juvenile granulosa cell tumors of the ovary are rare functional sex-cord-stromal ovarian neoplasms characterized by low malignant potential and late relapse. Evidence-based management options for primary and recurrent juvenile (JGCT) and adult (AGCT) granulosa cell tumors are limited and treatment options have not been standardized. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) may be an option to treat these women effectively. : Systematic literature review using PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. : No reports of HIPEC among women with a first diagnosis of AGCT were identified. We identified 5 reports on the safety and therapeutic efficacy of CRS and HIPEC in 19 patients with recurrent AGCT and one patient with JGCT. The pooled rate of complete cytoreduction was 95 % (18/19) with 16 % (3/19) severe morbidity and no procedure-related mortality. The median time of follow-up was 30 (range, 3 to 72) months, during which 6/19 (31 %) patients experienced a recurrence and two patients (10 %) died of the disease. : CRS and HIPEC are a safe and potentially effective treatment option for selected women with recurrent AGCT limited to the abdomen.
PubMed: 30911605
DOI: 10.1515/pp-2016-0002