There is a critical interplay of genetic and environmental factors that foster the conversion of normal tissue to precursor, premalignant lesions, and eventually to frank malignancy. ...the molecular ...mechanisms affecting the malignant progression are only partially known. There is general consensus that most GC develop over a long period of time, presenting with an attractive opportunity for intervention and prevention if diagnosed early. Since GC are diverse in aetiology, the clinical management is also different. For what concern innovative cell-based research and bench to bedside projects, in this collection we included an interesting experiment from Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, China 17: Dr. Wang and co-authors studied the possibility to sensitize colorectal cancer cells towards 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent employed in most protocols against GI cancers. Even though preclinical data suggest that endogenous sex steroid hormones may be implicated in colorectal cancer (CRC) development however, findings from this meta-analysis do not support presence of associations between pre-diagnostic concentrations of testosterone, estradiol and SHBG with incident CRC risk in men and post-menopausal women.
During the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), surgery may be needed. Approximately 20% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) will require surgery, whereas up to 80% of Crohn's disease ...(CD) patients will undergo an operation during their lifetime. For UC patients requiring surgery, total proctocolectomy and ileoanal pouch anastomosis (IPAA) is the operation of choice as it provides a permanent cure and good quality of life. Nevertheless a permanent stoma is a good option in selected patients, especially the elderly. Minimally invasive surgery has replaced the conventional open approach in many specialized centres worldwide. Laparoscopic colectomy and restorative IPAA is rapidly becoming the standard of care in the treatment of UC requiring surgery, whilst laparoscopic ileo-cecal resection is already the new gold standard in the treatment of complicated CD of terminal ileum. Short term advantages of laparoscopic surgery includes faster recovery time and reduced requirement for analgesics. It is, however, in the long term that minimally invasive surgery has demonstrated its superiority over the open approach. A better cosmesis, a reduced number of incisional hernias and fewer adhesions are the long term advantages of laparoscopy in IBD surgery. A reduction in abdominal adhesions is of great benefit when a second operation is needed in CD and this influences positively the pregnancy rate in young women undergoing restorative IPAA. In developing the therapeutic plan for IBD patients it should be recognized that the surgical approach to the abdomen has changed and that surgical treatment of complicated IBD can be safely performed with a true minimally invasive approach with great patient satisfaction.
Background
Several procedures have been proposed to reduce the rates of recurrence in patients with right-sided colon cancer. Different procedures for a radical right colectomy (RRC), including ...extended D3 lymphadenectomy, complete mesocolic excision and central vascular ligation have been associated with survival benefits by some authors, but results are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the variability in definition and reporting of RRC, which might be responsible for significant differences in outcome evaluation.
Methods
PRISMA-compliant systematic literature review to identify the definitions of RRC. Primary aims were to identify surgical steps and different nomenclature for RRC. Secondary aims were description of heterogeneity and overlap among different RRC techniques.
Results
Ninety-nine articles satisfied inclusion criteria. Eight surgical steps were identified and recorded as specific to RRC: Central arterial ligation was described in 100% of the included studies; preservation of mesocolic integrity in 73% and dissection along the SMV plane in 67%. Other surgical steps were inconstantly reported. Six differently named techniques for RRC have been identified. There were 35 definitions for the 6 techniques and 40% of these were used to identify more than one technique.
Conclusions
The only universally adopted surgical step for RRC is central arterial ligation. There is great heterogeneity and consistent overlap among definitions of all RRC techniques.
This is likely to jeopardise the interpretation of the outcomes of studies on the topic. Consistent use of definitions and reporting of procedures are needed to obtain reliable conclusions in future trials. PROSPERO CRD42021241650.
Aim
Ambulatory laparoscopic colectomy (ALC), meaning discharge within 24 h of surgical colonic resection, has recently been proposed in a few, selected patients. This systematic review was performed ...with the aim of reviewing protocols for ALC and assessing feasibility, safety and outcomes after ALC.
Method
A PRISMA‐compliant systematic review and pooled analysis was performed searching all English studies published until October 2022 in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science (PROSPERO, CRD42022334463). Inclusion criteria were original articles including patients undergoing ALC, specifying at least one outcome of interest. Exclusion criteria were articles reporting a robotic‐assisted procedure; unable to retrieve patient data from articles; the same patient series included in different studies. Primary outcomes were success, overall complications and readmission rates. Secondary outcomes included mortality and specific complications such us surgical site infection, anastomotic leak, ileus, bleeding, rate of ALC acceptance, and unscheduled consultation and reoperation rate.
Results
Among 1087 studies imported for screening, 11 were included (1296 patients). The success rate was 47% with an overall morbidity of 14%. Readmission and reoperation rates were 5% and 1%, respectively. No mortality was recorded. Protocols of ALC differ significantly among published studies.
Conclusions
Overall, ALC appears to be safe and feasible in selected cases with an acceptable success rate and a low risk of readmission after hospital discharge. Future studies should evaluate patients' benefits and discharge criteria, as well as uniformity and standardization of eligibility criteria. This systematic review may help inform on ALC adoption in clinical practice.
A higher frequency of mucinous and signet-ring cell colonic adenocarcinoma has been reported in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The primary aim was to investigate the frequency of mucinous and ...signet-ring cell colorectal adenocarcinoma in patients with IBD (Cases) versus age-matched non-IBD Controls. The secondary aims were to compare the characteristics of these two histotypes of colorectal cancer (CRC) in IBD patients vs. Controls and to search for specific risk factors in IBD. In a case-control study, all IBD patients with CRC diagnosed from 2000 to 2022 were enrolled and matched for age (1:2) with non-IBD Controls with CRC. The study population included 120 CRC patients (40 IBD, 80 Controls). In IBD, CRC included standard adenocarcinoma in 23 (57.5%) patients mucinous/signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma in 17 (42.5%) patients. The proportion of mucinous/signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma was higher in IBD than in Controls (17 42.5% vs. 18 22.5%;
= 0.03). In rectal CRC, the proportion of mucinous/signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma was higher than standard adenocarcinoma in IBD (8 47.1% vs. 4 17.4%;
= 0.04) but not in Controls (4 22.2% vs. 20 32.2%;
= 0.59). In rectal CRC, the proportion of these two histotypes was higher in Cases than in Controls (8/12 66.6% vs. 4/24 16.6%;
= 0.008), with no risk factors identified in IBD. CRC was more frequently represented by mucinous/signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma in IBD than in age-matched non-IBD Controls. In IBD, these two CRC histotypes were more frequent in the rectum.
Stoma prolapse is a common complication associated with ostomy creation, causing leakage, obstruction, and sometimes incarceration. Sometimes ileostomy prolapse cannot be treated with resection and ...alternative methods must be applied. We propose a new surgical revisional technique for ileostomy prolapse.
Under general anesthesia, the prolapsed stoma is dissected and freed from the fascia and skin. The bowel is everted to create a nipple of 2-3 cm and subsequently fixed with a 3-row linear stapler, creating a "Phillips ileostomy." The ileostomy is then sutured to the skin with 3-0 full thickness stitches.
In our center, 3 patients were treated in a day surgery setting, and no complication occurred. One patient reported a prolapse recurrence after 6 months and was successfully treated with the same technique with no recurrence at 1 year.
The 3-row stapler fixation of prolapsed ileostomy is simple to perform, preserves the bowel, and can be performed in the day surgery setting.
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of fatty deposits in the inner walls of vessels. These plaques restrict blood flow and lead to complications such ...as heart attack or stroke. The development of atherosclerosis is influenced by a variety of factors, including age, genetics, lifestyle, and underlying health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Atherosclerotic plaques in stable form are characterized by slow growth, which leads to luminal stenosis, with low embolic potential or in unstable form, which contributes to high risk for thrombotic and embolic complications with rapid clinical onset. In this complex scenario of atherosclerosis, macrophages participate in the whole process, including the initiation, growth and eventually rupture and wound healing stages of artery plaque formation. Macrophages in plaques exhibit high heterogeneity and plasticity, which affect the evolving plaque microenvironment, e.g., leading to excessive lipid accumulation, cytokine hyperactivation, hypoxia, apoptosis and necroptosis. The metabolic and functional transitions of plaque macrophages in response to plaque microenvironmental factors not only influence ongoing and imminent inflammatory responses within the lesions but also directly dictate atherosclerotic progression or regression. In this review, we discuss the origin of macrophages within plaques, their phenotypic diversity, metabolic shifts, and fate and the roles they play in the dynamic progression of atherosclerosis. It also describes how macrophages interact with other plaque cells, particularly T cells. Ultimately, targeting pathways involved in macrophage polarization may lead to innovative and promising approaches for precision medicine. Further insights into the landscape and biological features of macrophages within atherosclerotic plaques may offer valuable information for optimizing future clinical treatment for atherosclerosis by targeting macrophages.
Cancer genomes have been explored from the early 2000s through massive exome sequencing efforts, leading to the publication of The Cancer Genome Atlas in 2013. Sequencing techniques have been ...developed alongside this project and have allowed scientists to bypass the limitation of costs for whole‐genome sequencing (WGS) of single specimens by developing more accurate and extensive cancer sequencing projects, such as deep sequencing of whole genomes and transcriptomic analysis. The Pan‐Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes recently published WGS data from more than 2600 human cancers together with almost 1200 related transcriptomes. The application of WGS on a large database allowed, for the first time in history, a global analysis of features such as molecular signatures, large structural variations and noncoding regions of the genome, as well as the evaluation of RNA alterations in the absence of underlying DNA mutations. The vast amount of data generated still needs to be thoroughly deciphered, and the advent of machine‐learning approaches will be the next step towards the generation of personalized approaches for cancer medicine. The present manuscript wants to give a broad perspective on some of the biological evidence derived from the largest sequencing attempts on human cancers so far, discussing advantages and limitations of this approach and its power in the era of machine learning.
Since the publication of The Cancer Genome Atlas data in 2013, the advances in the sequencing techniques allowed us to study cancer through whole‐genome sequencing and multiomics approaches. The vast amount of data generated still needs to be thoroughly deciphered, and the advent of machine learning approaches will be the next step towards personalized approaches for cancer medicine.
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