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Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) using radioisotopes is a standard method for assessing axillary lymph node status in patients with breast cancer. Although preoperative lymphoscintigraphy can estimate the number of sentinel lymph nodes (SNs), multiple radioactive SNs are often identified, even when lymphoscintigraphy reveals only one SN. Importantly, metastases are not always observed in the most radioactive SN (hottest SN). This study aimed to determine the significance of metastases in the second or less radioactive SNs when the hottest SN is negative., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 114 patients with breast cancer with positive SNs who underwent axillary lymph node dissection. The clinicopathological characteristics, SN radioactivity, and axillary lymph node status were evaluated., Results: Twenty-six patients exhibited metastasis in the second or less radioactive SNs without metastasis in the hottest SN. These patients had a lower risk of non-SN metastasis compared with those with metastasis to the hottest SN (P=0.03). Multivariate analysis identified metastasis in the hottest SN [hazard ratio (HR) 4.93, P=0.01] and the detection of ≥2 SNs by lymphoscintigraphy (HR 3.36, P=0.01) as independent predictors of non-SN metastasis. None of the patients with only one lymph node detected by lymphoscintigraphy and metastasis to the second or less SNs without metastasis to the hottest SN showed non-SN metastasis., Conclusions: Patients with metastasis in the second or less radioactive SNs, but not in the hottest SN, have a lower risk of non-SN metastasis than those with a positive hottest SN. Combining radioactivity with lymphoscintigraphic information can enhance the accuracy of non-SN status prediction., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://gs.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/gs-24-346/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Lung adenocarcinoma with parathyroid hormone (PTH)-related hypercalcemia is uncommon., Case Presentation: A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital due to anorexia and fatigue. Serum calcium (15.0 mg/dL) and carcinoembryonic antigen (361.7 ng/mL) were extremely high, and PTH-related protein (PTH-rP) also elevated (16.7 pmol/L). Systemic computed tomography revealed multiple enlarged lymph nodes and disseminated peritoneal nodules, with irregularly shaped nodules in the upper lobe in the left lung. Ultrasound-guided biopsy from the axillary lymph node revealed adenocarcinoma. Immunohistological staining showed the tumor cells to be positive for cytokeratin 7 and PTH-rP and negative for cytokeratin 20 and thyroid transcription factor-1. Although the primary origin remains undetermined despite detailed examinations, possible primary tumor was considered to be lung adenocarcinoma in the present case. The serum calcium level was reduced by denosumab, but the patient died 20 days after admission., Conclusion: The present case demonstrated the importance of considering oncological emergency, such as hypercalcemia and/or PTH-rP-producing hypercalcemia, in patients with adenocarcinoma., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Post-surgical bleeding is a major complication of mastectomy in patients with breast cancer. However, the risk factors for post-surgical bleeding have not been well studied. Although obesity or reduced skeletal muscle mass is an indicator of cancer surgery complications, its impact on post-surgical bleeding after mastectomy remains unknown., Methods: In total, 563 patients with breast cancer who underwent mastectomy were included in this study. We evaluated the preoperative body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle index (SMI), and SMI-to-BMI ratio and analyzed the association between these values and the incidence of post-surgical bleeding., Results: Post-surgical bleeding occurred in 33 (5.6%) patients. Mean BMI was significantly higher in the bleeding group (26.3 ± 4.7) than in the no-bleeding group (23.0 ± 4.1) (p < 0.001), whereas mean SMI was lower in the former group (45.0 ± 8.5) than in the latter group (48.0 ± 8.5) (p = 0.08). The bleeding group had significantly lower SMI-to-BMI ratio (1.71 ± 0.16) than the no-bleeding group (2.10 ± 0.23) (p < 0.001). Among these three parameters, SMI-to-BMI ratio had the highest area under the curve value in their receiver operating characteristic curves (0.73 for BMI, 0.59 for SMI, 0.92 for SMI-to-BMI ratio). Furthermore, on multivariate analysis, SMI-to-BMI ratio was an independent risk factor for post-surgical bleeding (hazard ratio, 38.4; 95% confidence interval, 13.9-136.2; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: SMI-to-BMI ratio is a superior predictive factor of post-surgical bleeding after mastectomy to either BMI or SMI alone., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Breast Cancer Society.)

Background: Hypothyroidism is a major complication of hemithyroidectomy. Low remnant thyroid volume and high serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels are suggested as risk factors for post-hemithyroidectomy hypothyroidism. Reduced skeletal muscle mass is associated with a variety of postoperative complications. However, its impact on post-hemithyroidectomy hypothyroidism has not yet been studied. This study aimed to evaluate the association between skeletal muscle mass and the onset of post-hemithyroidectomy hypothyroidism and develop a predictive score using skeletal muscle mass in combination with previously reported risk factors., Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 226 consecutive patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy at Shinshu University Hospital between January 2011 and December 2020. The skeletal muscle area at the fourth thoracic vertebral level and maximal remnant thyroid area were quantified using preoperative computed tomography and standardized by dividing them by the square of the patient's height, designated as the skeletal muscle index (SMI) and remnant thyroid volume index (RTI). Subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as a postoperative elevated serum TSH level (>5 µU/mL) with a normal free thyroxine (FT4) level (≥0.9 ng/dL), overt hypothyroidism as a postoperative increase in serum TSH level (>5 µU/mL) and a decrease in serum FT4 level (<0.9 ng/dL), and symptomatic hypothyroidism as an elevated serum TSH level (>5 µU/mL) with hypothyroidism-related symptoms. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with the onset of hypothyroidism., Results: Patients with euthyroid status had significantly higher SMI and RTI than those who developed post-hemithyroidectomy hypothyroidism (SMI, euthyroid: 12.0±2.4 vs. subclinical hypothyroid: 10.2±1.7, P<0.001, euthyroid vs. overt or symptomatic hypothyroid: 10.1±1.7, P<0.001, RTI, euthyroid: 1.19±0.41 vs. subclinical hypothyroid: 0.92±0.35, P<0.001, euthyroid vs. overt or symptomatic hypothyroid: 0.84±0.30, P<0.001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that low SMI, low RTI [hazard ratio (HR): 3.35, P<0.001], and preoperative high serum TSH levels (HR: 2.54, P=0.003) were independent predictive factors for hypothyroidism. Patients who had low SMI, low RTI, and preoperative high serum TSH levels were more likely to develop hypothyroidism (68.8%) than those with either one (25.3%), two (47.8%), or none (15.2%) of these three factors., Conclusions: Preoperative evaluation of the SMI, RTI, and serum TSH levels may be useful in predicting the development of post-hemithyroidectomy hypothyroidism., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://qims.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/qims-23-53/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Diagnosis of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC) requires ≥ 50% of poorly differentiated components (PDC) in Japan. However, the optimal cutoff percentage of PDC for PDTC diagnosis remains controversial. Although high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) correlates with the aggressiveness of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), whether NLR is associated with the proportion of PDC in PTC remains unstudied., Materials and Methods: Patients with the pure PTC (n = 664), PTC with < 50% PDC (n = 19), or PTC with ≥ 50% PDC (n = 26) who underwent surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Twelve-year disease-specific survival and preoperative NLR were compared among these groups., Results: Twenty seven patients died from thyroid cancer. The PTC with ≥ 50% PDC group (80.7%) showed significantly worse 12-year disease-specific survival than the pure PTC group (97.2%) (P < 0.001); however, the < 50% PDC group (94.7%) did not (P = 0.91). The PTC with ≥ 50% PDC group had a significantly higher NLR than the pure PTC (P < 0.001) and the PTC with < 50% PDC groups (P < 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in the NLR between the pure PTC and the PTC with < 50% PDC groups (P = 0.48)., Conclusions: PTC with ≥ 50% PDC is more aggressive than either pure PTC or PTC with < 50% PDC, and NLR potentially reflects the PDC proportion. These results support the validity of 50% PDC as a cut-off for PDTC diagnosis and indicate the utility of NLR as a biomarker for PDC proportion., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Since reoperation for recurrent primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) increases the risk of complications, such as recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, it is vital to prevent recurrence as much as possible when performing the initial surgery. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed the PHPT cases at Shinshu University Hospital from 1986 to 2020 for changes in the characteristics of PHPT over time and features of the recurrent cases to establish treatment strategies to prevent a postoperative recurrence., Methods: Hereditary PHPT was diagnosed through endocrinological tests, systemic imaging, and/or genetic testing. Localization of swollen parathyroid glands was identified through neck ultrasonography (US), contrast-enhanced computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy., Results: Among the 536 patients with PHPT (374 women and 162 men) with a mean age of 56.9±13.6 years, 90 (16.8%) had hereditary PHPT, while the other 446 (83.2%) had sporadic PHPT. Overall, 314 (58.6%) patients were asymptomatic, whereas 132 (24.6%) had symptoms related to PHPT. Asymptomatic PHPT was significantly more prevalent after 2001 (81.8%) than before 2001 (51.2%) (P<0.01), although the number of PHPT cases increased during the last decade. Resection of an enlarged parathyroid gland alone was performed for sporadic PHPT, while focused parathyroidectomy was performed after 2001. Total parathyroidectomy (TPTx) with autotransplantation was performed in patients with hereditary PHPT. In addition, the intraoperative rapid pathological diagnosis of the resected gland throughout the period and intraoperative serum intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) measurement from 2014 were used. Overall, 11 patients with hereditary PHPT (2.1%) developed recurrence. A recurrent parathyroid gland was identified in 10 of 11 cases through 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy., Conclusions: Although the incidence of asymptomatic PHPT has been increasing recently, focused parathyroidectomy is considered an appropriate procedure for sporadic PHPT that has been carefully examined preoperatively. Therefore, in the future, it will be necessary to conduct genetic testing for sporadic PHPT cases as much as possible to accurately diagnose the disease type and decide on a treatment strategy.

Background: The skeletal muscle index (SMI), which is calculated as the ratio of skeletal muscle area at the third lumbar vertebral level divided by height squared, has been considered a prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer. However, the prognostic impact of changes in SMI during treatment remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of SMI changes in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC)., Methods: We reviewed patients with breast cancer who underwent NAC and subsequent surgery for breast cancer between 2010 and 2017. The rate of SMI change during NAC was calculated, and the association between SMI changes and prognosis was retrospectively analyzed., Results: In total, 141 patients were evaluated. 48 (34.0%), 53 (37.6%), and 40 (28.4%) patients exhibited increased (≥ 3%), maintained (- 3% <, < 3%), and decreased (- 3% ≥) SMI during NAC, respectively. The decreased SMI group showed significantly poorer disease-free survival than the maintained and increased SMI groups (hazard ratio [HR] 8.29, p <  0.001 for the decreased vs. increased SMI groups; HR 3.49, p <  0.001 for the decreased vs. maintained SMI groups). Moreover, decreased SMI was an independent risk factor for disease-free survival in multivariate analysis (HR 3.68, p <  0.01)., Conclusions: Skeletal muscle loss during NAC predicts poor prognosis. Our results underscore the importance of monitoring and maintaining skeletal muscle mass during NAC., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Distant metastasis from papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is rare. Here we report a case of PTMC with multiple lung metastases., Case Presentation: A 64-year-old man presented to our hospital with abdominal pain. Computed tomography incidentally revealed multiple lung nodules. The lung tumor was histologically diagnosed as metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) by core needle biopsy via thoracoscopy. The patient was referred to our department for further examination. Neck ultrasonography revealed a 0.9 cm hypoechoic nodule in the right lobe of the thyroid gland, which was diagnosed as PTC by fine-needle aspiration cytology. Subsequently, total thyroidectomy was performed, followed by radioiodine therapy. Iodine-131 (131-I) scintigraphy showed a strong accumulation in the lung metastasis. The patient presented no evidence of progression of lung metastasis for 25 months after the operation., Conclusions: Lymph node metastasis or extraglandular extension has been reported in the few published cases of metastatic PTMC, including the present case, and the average age of these cases was 58.8 ± 12.0 years. Although active surveillance without surgical resection is expected to become a standard of care for PTMC, this case indicates that a subset of PTMC patients with risk factors may develop distant metastases. Hence, careful preoperative screening is required to avoid complications associated with completion thyroidectomy.

The tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) sorafenib, lenvatinib, vandetanib, and cabozantinib are currently used for thyroid cancer treatment; however, the differences in their clinical efficacy and toxicity remain unclear. This meta-analysis assessed the efficacy and toxicity of these four TKIs based on 34 studies. The pooled incidence of partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), TKI-related adverse events (AEs), and pooled median progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Complete response to TKIs was extremely rare (0.3%). The highest PR rate and longest PFS were observed for lenvatinib in differentiated thyroid cancer (69%, 95% CI: 57-81 and 19 months, 95% CI: 9-29, respectively) and vandetanib in medullary thyroid cancer (40%, 95% CI: 25-56 and 31 months, 95% CI: 19-43, respectively). Although the discontinuation rate due to AEs was similar for each TKI, there was a difference in the most frequently observed AE for each TKI (hand-foot syndrome for sorafenib, hypertension and proteinuria for lenvatinib, and QTc prolongation for vandetanib). The identified differences in the TKI efficacy and AE profiles may provide a better understanding of thyroid cancer treatment. Although TKIs are promising agents for thyroid cancer treatment, they are unlikely to lead to a cure. Thus, even in the TKI era, a multimodal treatment including surgery, radioiodine therapy, external beam radiotherapy, and TKIs is required to optimize patient chances of improved survival.

A 61-year-old woman presented with metastatic breast cancer in her right lung 4 years and 11 months after the operation for her right breast cancer(HER2 enriched type). Chemotherapy(pertuzumab plus trastuzumab plus docetaxel)were ad- ministered. On day 2 of cycle 2, pegfilgrastim was administered because her neutrophils decreased to 54 cells/mL on day 8 of cycle 1. On day 9 of cycle 2, she developed left neck and chest pain. Moreover, she developed a fever of 39°C on day 14 and visited our hospital. Her WBC and CRP increased to 18,300 cells/mL and 25.48mg/dL, respectively. Computed tomography revealed an increased CT value of the panniculus, around the aorta and left pleural effusion. Ultrasonography of the neck showed a marginal hypoechoic area around the left carotid artery, which corresponded with the pain. Arteritis induced by PFG was suspected. The neck pain and fever almost completely improved 19 days later, and cycle 3 was performed 28 days after cycle 2. To our knowledge, the present case is the second report of arteritis that was suspected to be associated with PFG.