The purpose of this study is to review the current literature concerning the indication of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), its extent and complications in prostate cancer (PCa) staging, the available tools, and the future perspectives to assess the risk of lymph node invasion (LNI).

To explore the association of c-erbB-2 protein expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) after surgery.

Amrubicin monotherapy can be an effective treatment option for patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We conducted this retrospective study to investigate the prognostic factors in patients with recurrent SCLC receiving amrubicin monotherapy.

Bone flare reaction as a sign of response to antineoplastic treatment has been redefined, including the onset of new osteoblastic lesions. If misunderstood as skeletal progression, this finding could lead to erroneous therapy discontinuation, changing the disease clinical course. We aim to describe this clinical phenomenon in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene-activating mutations treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

To evaluate the survival and treatment outcomes of patients with nonendometrioid endometrium carcinoma after postoperative radiotherapy.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone tumor and has low cure rates. Our study aimed to evaluate the roles of mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK7) in cell proliferation, migration and invasion using the SOSP-M human OS cell line as an in vitro model.

Women with breast cancer are at increased risk of developing skin cancer. Little is known about how tamoxifen affects this risk. We aimed to investigate whether tamoxifen treatment following breast cancer is associated with skin cancer.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene amplification/overexpression is a major therapeutic target in breast cancer, and has been introduced as a predictive biomarker to identify patients who may benefit from therapy with anti-HER2 agents. HER2 somatic mutations have been reported, and these may influence the effect of HER2-targeted drugs.

To evaluate interobserver agreement in full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) in terms of both lesion detection and characterization, and to evaluate the cancer detection rate of standard two-view FFDM compared to various combinations of DBT.

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) is a distinct histopathological variant of breast carcinoma and frequently develops lymph node metastases. CD44 is a family of transmembrane glycoprotein receptors with multiple variant isoforms (CD44v), which have tissue-specific expression. Previous studies have demonstrated a loss or gain of CD44v and CD44 standard form (CD44s) expression in breast carcinomas. In this study, we analyzed the immunoprofiles of CD44s, CD44v6, and CD44v9 in IMPC and compared them with those in a concurrent invasive carcinoma of no special type (ICNST) component, thus clarifying the significance of CD44 expression in IMPC.

Emerging evidence has shown activation of the complement system in cancer tissues and anaphylatoxin C5a release from C5 by cancer cells, suggesting C5a as a component in the cancer microenvironment. We revealed aberrant expression of C5a receptor (C5aR) in various human cancers and C5a-elicited enhancement of C5aR-expressing cancer cell invasion.

A Japanese prospective multi-institutional feasibility study on accelerated partial breast irradiation using interstitial brachytherapy was performed. The first clinical results were reported with a median follow-up of 26 months.

Most studies analyzing prognostic factors for late relapse have been performed in postmenopausal women who received tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors as adjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is an advantageous treatment option, providing a complete cure and good cosmetic results. We tested whether NSM is a surgically and oncologically safe technique.

Preprocedural spinal ultrasound appears to decrease the failure rate and complications of neuraxial anesthesia compared to the conventional landmark technique. It is especially beneficial in difficult cases where conventional palpation technique may fail. We recently encountered a parturient with multiple lumbar and cervical spinal metastatic lesions presenting for cesarean section in the third trimester. We used spinal ultrasound to define the appropriate intervertebral space and measure the distance to the ligamentum flavum-dura mater complex. This greatly helped in administering a safe spinal anesthetic and avoiding general anesthesia which might have been hazardous in this patient.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has attracted more attention both clinically and experimentally because of its high-risk biological characteristics and lacking of effective treatment method. The tumour characteristics, patterns of recurrence and metastasis, therapy methods and prognosis in younger TNBC patients have been widely formulated, but the relevant data of the elderly people are lacking. We conducted this retrospective study to compare and analyse the above-related characteristics between the younger and elderly patients with TNBC to estimate the relevance for the elderly TNBC patients. A total of 1489 female patients with primary breast cancer were diagnosed and treated at the department of General Surgery, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, China, from January 2004 to December 2008. In the 1489 patients, 302 patients (20.28%) with TNBC histopathologically confirmed were retrospectively analysed. The 302 TNBC patients were divided into two groups: the younger (<60 years) group and the elderly (≥60 years) group. The relevant characteristics of the two groups were compared. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in common clinical data of the patients, clinicopathological features of tumour and the features of local recurrences and metastases of tumour, and the 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival were all significantly higher in the elderly group than those in the younger group, although the elderly group patients accepted significantly less radiotherapy and chemotherapy than the younger group patients. The elderly and younger TNBC patients may belong to different subtypes of TNBC and we probably could take a more conservative and cautious attitude in choosing the post-operative adjuvant treatment for the elderly patients with TNBC.