Comparison of the eighth version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer manual to the seventh version for colorectal cancer: A retrospective review of our data

AIM To analyze the survival trends in colorectal cancer(CRC) based on the different classifications recommended by the seventh and eighth editions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system(AJCC-7^(th) and AJCC-8^(th)).METHODS The database from our institution was queried to identify patients with pathologically confirmed stage 0-Ⅳ CRC diagnosed between 2006 and 2012. Data from 2080 cases were collected and 1090 cases were evaluated through standardized inclusion and exclusion criteria. CRC was staged by AJCC-7^(th) and then restaged by AJCC-8^(th). Five-year disease-free survival(DFS) and overall survival(OS) were compared. SPSS 21.0 software was used for all data. DFS and OS were compared and analyzed by Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank test.RESULTS Linear regression and automatic linear regression showed lymph node positive functional equations by tumornode-metastasis staging from AJCC-7^(th) and tumornode-metastasis staging from AJCC-8^(th). Neurological invasion, venous infiltration, lymphatic infiltration, and tumor deposition put forward stricter requirements for pathological examination in AJCC-8^(th) compared to AJCC-7^(th). After re-analyzing our cohort with AJCC-8^(th),the percentage of stage ⅣB cases decreased from 2.8% to 0.8%. As a result 2% of the cases were classified under the new ⅣC staging. DFS and OS was significantly shorter(P = 0.012) in stage ⅣC patients compared to stage ⅣB patients.CONCLUSION The addition of stage ⅣC in AJCC-8^(th) has shown that peritoneal metastasis has a worse prognosis than distant organ metastasis in our institution's CRC cohort. Additional datasets should be analyzed to confirm these findings.

Evolution mechanism of crystallographic orientation in grain continuator bars of a Ni-based single-crystal superalloy prepared by Bridgman technology during directional solidification

Single-crystal rods with different diameters and deviation angles with respect to the solidification direction were produced by Bridgman rapid solidification method at withdrawal rates of 3 and 6 mm·min^(-1) and used as grain continuators.The crystallographic orientation of the rods,which cross-sections were perpendicular to the solidification direction at different solidification heights,was measured by electron backscattered diffraction,while the corresponding microstructures were observed by optical microscopy.The mushy zone morphology and the distribution of the temperature gradient were simulated by the finite element analysis software ProCAST.The experimental results indicate that the crystallographic orientation of the single-crystal rods corresponds to the statistical average value of all the dendrite orientations in cross-section.The crystallographic orientation of the primary and secondary dendrites of each single-crystal rod at different cross-sections fluctuates irregularly within a small range(less than 4°).The crystallographic orientation of the dendrite in each single-crystal rod is not exactly consistent with each other and is affected by their branching mode of dendrites in the solidification space.In addition,the simulation results show that the mushy zone shapes and the temperature gradient of single-crystal rods change with the increase of solidification height during the solidification process.Finally,the evolution mechanism of the crystallographic orientations and the corresponding influence factors were analyzed and discussed.