Introduction/Background: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) with pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (NCRT) are a privileged group because of the favorable progression of their disease. However, their follow-up patterns after surgery are similar to those of other groups with worse prognosis, with the consequent psychological and economic impact. Methods: This is a retrospective observational multicenter study with data obtained from the Spanish Rectal Cancer Project. Patients with LARC who underwent surgery with curative intent after NCRT and achieved pCR were selected. The last follow-up update was conducted in December 2021. A conditional survival model was used to analyze oncological outcomes during follow-up. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was analyzed for the entire cohort of patients and for those who survived at one, two, and three years. Results: A total of 815 patients from 32 hospitals were included. Their mean age was 65.1 years, and 36.1% of them were women. Of the 815 patients, 35 died or experienced recurrence (local or systemic) in the first postoperative year, and 780 were included in the conditional survival analysis one year after surgery. The probability of RFS at 5 years was 86.5% in the whole cohort and 89.4%, 92.9%, and 95.2% for survivors at one, two, and three years, respectively. The probability of recurrence in these same groups was 6.5%, 4.3%, 1.8%, and 0.6%. Conclusions: Follow-up of patients with LARC and pCR after NCRT followed by surgery could be adapted based on conditional survival data showing that the probability of RFS increases as patients remain recurrence-free, and recurrences more than 3 years after treatment are exceptional.

Objectives: Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality. Sarcopenia, characterized by reduced skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical performance, is associated with poorer outcomes in gastrointestinal cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia, including the Total Psoas Area Index (TPAI), and its association with tumor stage, postoperative complications, and survival in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted, including 79 patients who underwent surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma. Sarcopenia was assessed using a combination of CT-derived muscle mass (TPAI), muscle strength (dynamometry), and functional status (SARC-F). Patients were divided into sarcopenic (SG) and non-sarcopenic (NSG) groups. Clinical and survival data were compared between groups. Results: Sarcopenia was identified in 36.7% of patients. Early-stage disease (I–II) was less frequent in the SG (20.7%) compared to the NSG (44%), whereas stage IV tumors were more common in the SG (20.7% vs. 6%). Sarcopenic patients had a lower body mass index and underwent fewer laparoscopic procedures (44.8% vs. 68%, p = 0.03). Postoperative complications, such as pneumonia and ileus, were more frequent in the SG. Overall survival was significantly lower in the SG (17 vs. 21 months, respectively, p = 0.042), with a reduction in disease-free survival as well. Postoperative TPAI values remained lower in the SG. Conclusions: Sarcopenia, as defined by combined assessment including TPAI, was associated with advanced tumor stage, increased postoperative risk, and reduced survival in patients with gastric cancer. Preoperative assessment of muscle mass may help identify high-risk patients and optimize clinical management.

BackgroundCardiometabolic risk factors are common among liver transplant candidates, but their long-term impact remains uncertain. We evaluated whether a high pre-transplant cardiometabolic risk factor burden was associated with survival, vascular events, causes of death, and de novo malignancies after liver transplantation.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective single-center study of 682 adult liver transplant recipients between January 2002 and December 2022. High cardiometabolic risk factor burden was defined as the presence of at least 2 of the following before transplantation: treated diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 ). Overall survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier analysis and compared with the log-rank test.ResultsHigh cardiometabolic risk factor burden was present in 156 recipients (22.9%). Median overall survival was 114 months in the high-burden group and 181 months in the low-burden group (P = .29). Early mortality was similar between groups. Nonfatal vascular events during the first year occurred in 6.9% and 4.0%, respectively (P > .05). Between 3 and 10 years, vascular events were significantly more frequent in the high-burden group (13.6% vs 1.9%; P = .013). In the overall cohort, cardiovascular disease accounted for approximately 23% of deaths occurring beyond 5 years. De novo malignancy rates did not differ significantly between groups (9.4% vs 15.2%; P > .05).ConclusionsHigh pre-transplant cardiometabolic risk factor burden was not significantly associated with overall survival or de novo malignancies but identified recipients with greater long-term vascular morbidity. These findings support sustained cardiovascular risk monitoring and prevention after liver transplantation.

Background Although there are no consensus on how to define spinal involvement in axial psoriatic artritis (axPsA), our data suggest that the presence of spinal symptoms (defined as a combination of inflammatory back pain plus back stiffness) can be sufficient. However x-ray evaluation of sacroiliac joints may be normal at the first stage of the disease. Objectives To evaluate the negative predictive value of sacroiliac x-rays versus MRI to rule out the diagnosis of sacroiliitis in peripheral PsA. Methods Cross sectional descriptive and observational study of PsA patients classified according to CASPAR criteria. All patients had peripheral arthritis not spinal back pain and normal or grade I sacroiliac involvement determined by x-rays. All patients were evaluated according to current standard care. HLA-B27 was determined in all patients. Sacroiliac MRI was performed with either a Tesla 1.5 Gyroscan Intera (Philips MS) or Tesla 1.5 Signa-Excite with the following coronal sequences T1-TSE, T2-TGE and STIR with slices of 4mm of thickness, criteria for lesions were as ASAS proposal. The negative predictive value of x-rays versus MRI was determined as well as the 95% CI. Patients’ characteristics were compared according to MRI results, by means of Mann-Whitney U test, chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test. Results Sacroiliac MRI was performed in 59 patients from a total of 97 PsA patients with peripheral arthritis. There were not significant differences in both groups of patients. MRI patients had a medium age of 49,2±12,9 years, a time of evolution of the disease of 9,4±7,6 years. 96,4% patients had a normal sacroiliac x-rays, 2 had grade I unilateral and bilateral sacroiliitis respectively. HLA-B27 was negative in 93,2% (n=55) patients. 20,3% (n=12) showed active inflammatory lesions (1 with x-rays grade I bilateral). All patients were HLA-B27 negative. There were not significant clinical differences between MRI positive/negative patients, the exception was the occiput to wall distance (p=0,032). The negative predictive value of sacroiliac x-rays versus sacroiliac MRI was of 79,7% (95%IC: 68,5%–90,8%) Conclusions Conventional x-rays versus MRI for the evaluation of sacroiliitis had a negative predictive value of 79,7%. In this study the sacroiliac involvement in PsA does not depend on the presence of spinal pain, HLA-B27 or radiological sacroiliitis. Funded with a grant from: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, FIS PI080789 Disclosure of Interest None Declared