[Inflammation and Cancer Development in Pancreatic and Biliary Tract Cancer]

Association between gallstones and the risk of biliary tract cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are rare but highly fatal. Although the etiology of BTC is poorly understood, gallstones are proposed to be a major risk factor. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the associations between gallstone characteristics and BTC risk.

METHODS

We searched the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central databases and systematically reviewed cohort and case-control studies published before April 9, 2018. All the included studies reported appropriate risk estimates and confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between the presence, size, number, or duration of gallstones and the risk of BTC, including gallbladder cancer (GBC), extrahepatic bile duct cancer (EBDC), and ampulla of Vater cancer (AOVC). Summary odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% CIs were calculated using a random-effects model in the meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were conducted to inspect sources of potential heterogeneity, and the Egger test was performed to assess publication bias.

RESULTS

Seven cohort studies and 23 case-control studies in Asian, European, and American populations were included. The presence of gallstones was associated with an increased risk of BTC (OR, 4.38; 95% CI, 3.23 to 5.93; I2=91.2%), GBC (OR, 7.26; 95% CI, 4.33 to 12.18), EBDC (OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 2.24 to 4.50), and AOVC (OR, 3.28; 95% CI, 1.33 to 8.11). Gallstone size (>1 vs. <1 cm; OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.10 to 3.22) was significantly associated with the risk of GBC.

CONCLUSIONS

Gallstone characteristics, such as presence, size, and number, are associated with an increased risk of BTC. However, significantly high heterogeneity in the meta-analyses is a limitation of this study.

Features of chronic pancreatitis by endoscopic ultrasound influence the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of small pancreatic lesions

BACKGROUND AND AIM

In chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients, diagnosis of small pancreatic lesions by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is challenging. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether CP influences the diagnostic ability of EUS-FNA for pancreatic lesions ≤10 mm.

METHODS

One hundred and seventeen patients who underwent EUS-FNA for pancreatic lesions ≤10 mm in size were enrolled. Patients were classified into two groups based on features of CP observed by EUS (EUS-CP features) in accordance with the Rosemont classification. The CP group was defined as cases consistent with CP or suggestive of CP, and the non-CP group was defined as cases indeterminate for CP or normal. Factors influencing the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA and CP status in pancreatic tumors were also investigated.

RESULTS

Diagnostic ability of EUS-FNA (overall cases, non-CP vs CP) had sensitivity (80.4%, 96.7% vs 57.1%; P < 0.001), specificity (100%, 100% vs 100%; P > 0.05), and accuracy (91.5%, 98.6% vs 80.4%; P = 0.001). In multivariate analysis of factors influencing the accuracy of EUS-FNA, CP significantly lowered the accuracy (P = 0.048; odds ratio [OR] = 9.21). Among pancreatic cancer patients, the number of CP patients was significantly higher than the number of patients with benign lesions (P = 0.023). In multivariate analysis, lobularity without honeycombing was more frequently observed in cases of pancreatic cancer (P = 0.018; OR, 12.65).

CONCLUSION

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided FNA offers high accuracy for small pancreatic lesions ≤10 mm. However, in cases with CP, the diagnostic ability of EUS-FNA is significantly reduced.

Inflammation-based prognostic scores in patients with extrahepatic bile duct lesions treated by percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting combined with 125I seeds intracavitary irradiation

PURPOSE

This study aimed at investigating the efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) combined with ¹²⁵I seeds intracavitary irradiation in the treatment of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC) and to preliminarily explore the prognostic values of inflammation-based scores in these patients.

METHODS

A total of 113 clinically/pathologically diagnosed cases of EHC who received PTBS combined with ¹²⁵I seeds implantation were retrospectively analyzed. The postoperative changes of clinical symptoms and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total serum bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), and albumin (ALB) were observed. Preoperative clinical data were extracted to calculate inflammation-based scores, including systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic significance of inflammation-based scores.

RESULTS

After operation, clinical symptoms such as jaundice and fever significantly improved in all patients. At 1 month and 3 months postoperatively, serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP, TBIL, and DBIL significantly reduced, and ALB significantly increased, compared with preoperative values. The median survival time of the patients was 12 months and the 1-year survival rate was 56.8%. Univariate analysis revealed that factors related to overall survival were CA19-9, TBIL, ALB, SII, and NLR. Multivariate analysis further identified SII and NLR as independent prognostic models.

CONCLUSION

The combination of PTBS and ¹²⁵I seeds intracavitary irradiation is an effective palliative treatment for advanced EHC. Elevated SII and NLR can be used to predict poor survival.

Alkaline Phosphatase-To-Albumin Ratio as a Prognostic Indicator in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma after Curative Resection

Background: The prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains poor and the models for survival prediction in PDAC patients after curative resection are still limited. Preoperative alkaline phosphatase-to-albumin ratio (APAR), an original inflammation-based score, has been established to analyze the prognostic significance in PDAC. Therefore, in this study, we aim to formulate a valuable prognostic nomogram for PDAC following curative resection.

Methods: A total of 354 patients with PDAC undergoing curative resection were retrospectively enrolled in this study. The prognostic value of APAR was analyzed in primary cohort containing 220 randomly selected PDAC patients with curative resection and prognostic nomogram incorporating APAR into the American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) 8^th edition was established to obtain superior discriminatory abilities. The predictive performance of APAR was further validated in another independent cohort of 134 PDAC patients.

Results: Patients with higher serum APAR level were probable to sustain poorer overall survival (OS). Significant positive correlations were found between APAR and tumor site, and several serum biochemical indexes, such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), etc. The results of multivariate analysis showed, APAR was also identified as an independent prognostic indicator for OS in both primary and validation cohorts (P=0.004, P=0.038, respectively). Compared with the AJCC 8^th edition, the nomogram consisting of APAR, pathological differentiation and the TNM staging system of AJCC 8^th edition showed superior predictive accuracy for OS. All these results were further verified in the validation cohort.

Conclusions: APAR can be considered as a novel independent prognostic biomarker for PDAC following curative resection. One more accurate and advanced predictive model will be achieved via the incorporation of APAR into nomogram.