Neoangiogenesis. Assessment in Esophageal Adenocarcinomas

Echoendoscopy in Preoperative Evaluation of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Gastroesophageal Junction: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Esophageal adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction constitute a global health problem, the incidence of which has increased in recent decades. It has a poor prognosis and a low 5-year survival rate. Its treatment is based on preoperative clinical staging, in which echoendoscopy plays an essential role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current accuracy of echoendoscopy in the staging of esophageal and esophogogastric junction adenocarcinomas. A systematic review was performed in PubMed, Embase and Portal BVS using the search terms Esophageal Neoplasm, Esophagus Neoplasms, Esophagus Cancers, Esophageal Cancers, EUS, EUS-FNA, Endoscopic Ultrasonography, Echo Endoscopy, Endosonographies and Endoscopic Ultrasound, with subsequent meta-analysis of the data found. The accuracy of tumor (T) staging was 65.55%. For T1, sensitivity was 64.7%, and specificity 89.1%, with an accuracy of 89.6%. For T2, sensitivity and specificity were 35.7% and 89.2%, respectively, with an accuracy of 87.1%. For T3, sensitivity and specificity were 82.5% and 83%, respectively, with an accuracy of 87%. For T4, sensitivity and specificity were 38.6% and 94%, respectively, with an accuracy of 66.4%. For node (N) staging, sensitivity was 77.3% and specificity 67.4%, with an accuracy of 77.9%. Echoendoscopy exhibits suboptimal accuracy in preoperative staging of esophageal adenocarcinoma and esophagogastric junction.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents in neurofibromatosis type 1 (Review)

Gadolinium (symbol Gd) is the chemical element with atomic number 64 and is aductile rare-earth metal, and +3 is its most frequent oxidation state. Gadolinium has an ionic radius of 0.99 Å and is nearly identical to the one of Ca²⁺. Gd³⁺ and Ca²⁺ can become toxic to biological systems if complete. It slowly reacts with atmospheric oxygen to form a black coating and in nature it is usually found only in an oxidized form. Gadolinium usually has impurities similar to those of other rare-earth metals, when separated, because of their similar chemical properties. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) or von Recklinghausen's disease is an autosomal dominant disorder of tissues of ectodermal origin, accounting for over 90% of neurofibromatosis cases. Diagnosis is primarily clinical and the central nervous system is commonly involved. The screening of the brain with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is utilised to evaluate the patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 and as an aid in the diagnosis of asymptomatic patients when clinical criteria are not met.

Acute surgical abdomen during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical and therapeutic challenges

The present study investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical presentation and therapeutic management of acute surgical abdomen. A retrospective study of emergency hospitalizations with a diagnosis of acute surgical abdomen between April and July 2020 vs. a similar period in 2019 was performed. The observation sheets and the operating protocols were analyzed. Between April and July 2020, 50 cases of acute surgical abdomen were hospitalized and treated, compared to 43 cases in the same period last year. The main types of pathology in both groups included: Occlusions (60%, respectively 44.2% in 2019) and peritonitis (32%, respectively 41.8% in 2019). There was an increased rate of patients with colorectal cancers neglected therapeutically or uninvestigated, who presented during the pandemic period with emergencies for complications such as occlusion or tumor perforation (32 vs. 6.97%, P=0.0039). One case, with gastric perforation, was COVID-positive, with no pulmonary symptoms at admission. The number of postoperative infectious complications was lower during the pandemic (2 vs. 13.95%, P=0.0461). As the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be still far from ending, we should learn to adapt our surgical protocols to the new evidence. Oncological patients are a vulnerable group, who were neglected in the first months of the pandemic. SARS-Cov-2 infection may be a cause of abdominal pain and should be taken into account in different diagnoses of acute abdomen in surgical wards. Correct wearing of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and respecting strict rules of asepsis and antisepsis are required for preventing in-hospital transmission of infection.

Overexpression of Survivin-1, TAG-72 and HERC5 in patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma in the Black Sea coast geographical area

Epidemiological data regarding hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) report unsatisfactory morbimortality rates despite the global efforts to decrease the incidence and prolong patient survival. Current guidelines lack diagnostic biomarkers to better characterize patients with HCC. We aimed to validate the overexpression of Survivin-1, tumor-associated glyocoprotein 72 (Tag-72), and HECT and RLD domain containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 5 (HERC5) as tissue biomarkers for HCC characterization in patients from our geographical area and to standardize a local biomarker panel to be introduced in the current management guideline. Thirty samples of histologically confirmed HCC were compared to an equal number of samples of benign tumors in terms of Survivin-1, TAG-72, and HERC5 overexpression. Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Chi-square test were used to find differences between the two studied groups and to compare the categorical variables. The discriminative power of Survivin-1, Tag-72, and HERC5 overexpression was assessed using ROC curves. The multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that Survivin, Tag-72, and HERC5 were significantly overexpressed in older male patients, with α-fetoprotein (AFP) >200 ng/dl, low serum albumin, as well as in patients with imaging features of portal thrombosis and ascites. The diagnostic performance of Survivin-1, Tag-72 and HERC5 tissue biomarkers for HCC characterization was superior to that of the gold-standard AFP. Our study results validate the overexpression of Survivin-1, Tag-72, and HERC5 as tissue biomarkers for HCC characterization in patients from our geographical region and could be standardized in the current HCC management guideline.

Reducing upper digestive bleeding risk in patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants and concomitant infection with

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) such as apixaban or dabigatran are excellent options in preventing embolic cardiovascular events. Observational studies have shown that gastrointestinal bleeding risks produced by DOACs could be lowered when correcting some host co-factors i.e. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection. The upper digestive bleeding (UDB) rates in patients with DOAC indication and the usefulness of anti-HP therapy addition were compared. An observational retrospective study was conducted of medical records of 260 patients treated with DOACs, 130 of whom were concomitantly treated for HP infection in accordance with Maastricht V/Florence consensus. The severity of bleeding, the complexity of endoscopic treatment required to stop the bleeding, the re-bleeding rates, the surgical treatment indication and the overall mortality rates were compared between the groups. The risk of UDB was higher in HP-untreated patients in both types of DOACs used (respectively 2.08, 2.02). HP-untreated Forrest Ia/Ib/IIa and IIb DOACs patients had more severe bleedings compared with same class of HP-treated patients (P=0.007/0.005; 0.009/0.006; 0.048/0.005, 0.044/0.049, respectively). Endoscopic treatments such as adrenaline injections combined with metallic clip attachments were more frequently mandatory in HP-untreated DOACs patients for classes Ia/b and IIa (respectively, P=0.000/0.001, P=0.003/0.003). The re-bleeding rates were higher in HP-untreated patients with concomitant DOACs (OR 82.5; 95% CI 30.1-121.7; P=0.005). A history of peptic ulcer or UDB was associated with a 2.9-fold higher risk of UDB in HP-untreated compared with HP-treated patients, slightly increased for dabigatran compared with apixaban (RR 3.06, 2.72, P<0.5, respectively). Surgical intervention and the UDB-related mortality rates were higher in HP-untreated patients (P=0.041/0.044, P=0.007, respectively). HP-eradication treatment and bacterial clearance improve the safety profile of DOACs treatment, especially in fragile patients, in whom the UDB rates can be lowered, and the overall outcome can be enhanced by this combined approach.