title: Endovascular versus open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm with concomitant malignancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The management of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and concurrent malignancy is controversial. This study retrospectively assessed the outcome of endovascular repair (EVAR) and open repair (OR) for the treatment of AAA in patients undergoing curative treatment for concomitant malignancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients who underwent surgery for a nonruptured infrarenal AAA of > or =5.5 cm and concomitant malignancy between 1997 and 2005 were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Identified were 25 patients (22 men; mean age, 70.3 years) with nonruptured infrarenal AAA of > or =5.5 cm (mean size, 6.4 cm) and concomitant malignancy amenable for curative treatment. EVAR was used to treat 11 patients, and 14 underwent OR. The EVAR patients had a smaller mean aneurysm size (5.9 cm vs 6.8 cm; P = .006) than the OR patients. The mean cumulative length of stay for all patients who received treatment for both AAA and cancer was 12.8 days (range, 4 to 26) for EVAR and 18.2 days (range, 9 to 42 days) for OR. In the EVAR group, no patients died perioperatively; in the OR group, three patients died perioperatively (21.4%; P = NS). Postoperative complications occurred in one patient in the EVAR group and in seven in the OR group for a morbidity rate, respectively, of 9.1% and 50% (P = .04). One late complication (9.1%) occurred in the EVAR group. The mean follow-up was 37.7 months (range, 16 to 60 months) in the EVAR group and 29.6 months (range, 11 to 55 months) in the OR group. At 1 and 2 years, survival rates were 100% and 90.9% in the EVAR group and 71.4% and 49% in the OR group (log-rank P = .103)
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With low morbidity and mortality, EVAR is a safe technique for the treatment of AAA in patients with concomitant malignancy and could be considered as an alternative to OR.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Vascular Surgery, Federico II University, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. massimo.porcellini@unina.it
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porcellini
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nastro
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bracale
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brearley
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giordano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality