Does intraoperative frozen section really predict significant positive surgical margins after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy?A retrospective study

We investigated the relationship between positive surgical margin(PSM)-related factors and biochemical recurrence(BCR)and the ability of intraoperative frozen sections to predict significant PSM in patients with prostate cancer.The study included 271 patients who underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy with bilateral nerve sparing and maximal urethral preservation.Intraoperative frozen sections of the periurethra,dorsal vein,and bladder neck were analyzed.The ability of PSM-related factors to predict BCR and significant PSM was assessed by logistic regression.Of 271 patients,108(39.9%)had PSM and 163(60.1%)had negative margins.Pathologic Gleason score^8(18.9%vs 7.5%,P=0.015)and T stage≥T3a(51.9%vs 24.6%,P<0.001)were significantly more frequent in the PSM group.Multivariate analysis showed that Gleason pattern≥4(vs<4;hazard ratio:4.386;P=0.0004)was the only significant predictor of BCR in the PSM cohort.Periurethral frozen sections had a sensitivity of 83.3%and a specificity of 84.2%in detecting PSM with Gleason pattern≥4.Multivariate analysis showed that membranous urethra length(odds ratio[OR]:0.79,P=0.0376)and extracapsular extension of the apex(OR:4.58,P=0.0226)on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)and positive periurethral tissue(OR:17.85,P<0.0001)were associated with PSM of the apex.PSM with Gleason pattern≥4 is significantly predictive of BCR.Intraoperative frozen sections of periurethral tissue can independently predict PSM,whereas sections of the bladder neck and dorsal vein could not.Pathologic examination of these samples may help predict significant PSM in patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy with preservation of functional outcomes.

Therapeutic DC vaccination with IL-2 as a consolidation therapy for ovarian cancer patients： a phase Ⅰ/Ⅱ trial

While ovarian cancer （OvCa） responds well to surgery and conventional chemotherapy, a high recurrence rate of advanced OvCa is observed. In this phase Ⅰ/Ⅱ study, 10 OvCa patients with minimal residual disease were treated with autologous dendritic cells （DCs） and IL-2 to evaluate the safety and feasibility of this therapeutic strategy and to characterize the antigen-specific immune alterations induced through this treatment. Approximately 4 months after initial debulking and chemotherapy, patients received two subcutaneous doses of autologous monocyte-derived DCs pulsed with autologous tumor lysate and keyhole limpet hemocyanin （KLH） at 4-week intervals. After each DC inoculation, low-dose （200 mlU） IL-2 was introduced for 14 consecutive days as an immune adjuvant. The vaccination was well tolerated. In three out of 10 patients, the inclusion status after the initial therapy showed the maintenance of complete remission （CR） after DC vaccination for 83, 80.9 and 38.2 months without disease relapse. One patient with stable disease （SD） experienced the complete disappearance of tumor after DC vaccination, and this status was maintained for 50.8 months until tumor recurrence. In two patients with partial response （PR） was not responding to DC vaccination and their disease recurred. In the three patients with disease free long-term survival, significant immune alterations were observed, including increased natural killer （NK） activity, IFN-γ-secreting T cells, immune-stimulatory cytokine secretion and reduced immune-suppressive factor secretion after DC vaccination. Thus, in patients with NED status and increased overall survival, DC vaccination induced tumor-related immunity, potentially associated with long-term clinical responses against OvCa.