Artificial intelligence in improving the outcome of surgical treatment in colorectal cancer

Background

A considerable number of recent research have used artificial intelligence (AI) in the area of colorectal cancer (CRC). Surgical treatment of CRC still remains the most important curative component. Artificial intelligence in CRC surgery is not nearly as advanced as it is in screening (colonoscopy), diagnosis and prognosis, especially due to the increased complexity and variability of structures and elements in all fields of view, as well as a general shortage of annotated video banks for utilization.

Methods

A literature search was made and relevant studies were included in the minireview.

Results

The intraoperative steps which, at this moment, can benefit from AI in CRC are: phase and action recognition, excision plane navigation, endoscopy control, real-time circulation analysis, knot tying, automatic optical biopsy and hyperspectral imaging. This minireview also analyses the current advances in robotic treatment of CRC as well as the present possibility of automated CRC robotic surgery.

Conclusions

The use of AI in CRC surgery is still at its beginnings. The development of AI models capable of reproducing a colorectal expert surgeon's skill, the creation of large and complex datasets and the standardization of surgical colorectal procedures will contribute to the widespread use of AI in CRC surgical treatment.

The role of computer-assisted systems for upper-endoscopy quality monitoring and assessment of gastric lesions

This article analyses the literature regarding the value of computer-assisted systems in esogastroduodenoscopy-quality monitoring and the assessment of gastric lesions. Current data show promising results in upper-endoscopy quality control and a satisfactory detection accuracy of gastric premalignant and malignant lesions, similar or even exceeding that of experienced endoscopists. Moreover, artificial systems enable the decision for the best treatment strategies in gastric-cancer patient care, namely endoscopic vs surgical resection according to tumor depth. In so doing, unnecessary surgical interventions would be avoided whilst providing a better quality of life and prognosis for these patients. All these performance data have been revealed by numerous studies using different artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in addition to white-light endoscopy or novel endoscopic techniques that are available in expert endoscopy centers. It is expected that ongoing clinical trials involving AI and the embedding of computer-assisted diagnosis systems into endoscopic devices will enable real-life implementation of AI endoscopic systems in the near future and at the same time will help to overcome the current limits of the computer-assisted systems leading to an improvement in performance. These benefits should lead to better diagnostic and treatment strategies for gastric-cancer patients. Furthermore, the incorporation of AI algorithms in endoscopic tools along with the development of large electronic databases containing endoscopic images might help in upper-endoscopy assistance and could be used for telemedicine purposes and second opinion for difficult cases.

Predictors of rebleeding and in-hospital mortality in patients with nonvariceal upper digestive bleeding

BACKGROUND

Nonvariceal upper digestive bleeding (NVUDB) represents a severe emergency condition and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite a decrease in the incidence due to the widespread use of potent therapy with proton pump inhibitors as well as the implementation of modern endoscopic techniques, the mortality rate associated with NVUDB is still high.

AIM

To identify the clinical, biological, and endoscopic parameters associated with a poor outcome in patients with NVUDB to allow the stratification of risk, which will lead to the implementation of the most accurate management.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study including patients who were admitted to the Gastroenterology Department of Clinical Emergency County Hospital Timisoara, Romania, with a diagnosis of NVUDB between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2016. All the data were collected from the patient’s records, including demographic data, medication history, hemodynamic status, paraclinical tests, and endoscopic features as well as the methods of hemostasis, rate of rebleeding, need for surgery and death; we also assessed the Rockall score of the patients, length of hospitalization and associated comorbidities. All these parameters were evaluated as potential risk factors associated with rebleeding and death in patients with NVUDB.

RESULTS

We included a batch of 1581 patients with NVUDB, including 523 (33%) females and 1058 (67%) males with a median age of 66 years. The main cause of NVUDB was peptic ulcer (73% of patients). More than one-third of the patients needed endoscopic treatment. Rebleeding rate was 7.72%; surgery due to failure of endoscopic hemostasis was needed in 3.22% of cases; the in-hospital mortality rate was 8.09%, and the bleeding-episode-related mortality rate was 2.97%. Although our predictive models for rebleeding and death had a low sensitivity, the specificity was very high, suggesting a better discriminative capacity for identifying patients with better outcomes. Our results showed that the Rockall score was associated with both rebleeding and death; comorbidities such as respiratory conditions, liver cirrhosis and sepsis increased significantly the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR of 3.29, 2.91 and 8.03).

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed that the Rockall score, need for endoscopic therapy, necessity of transfusion and sepsis were risk factors for rebleeding. Moreover, an increased Rockall score and the presence of comorbidities were predictive factors for in-hospital mortality.

Malignant hepatic vascular tumors in adults: Characteristics, diagnostic difficulties and current management

Malignant vascular tumors of the liver include rare primary hepatic mesenchymal tumors developed in the background of a normal liver parenchyma. Most of them are detected incidentally by the increased use of performing imaging techniques. Their diagnosis is challenging, involving clinical and imaging criteria, with final confirmation by histology and immunohistochemistry. Surgery represents the mainstay of treatment. Liver transplantation (LT) has improved substantially the prognosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE), with 5-year patient survival rates of up to 81%, based on the European Liver Intestine Transplantation Association-European Liver Transplant Registry study. Unfortunately, the results of surgery and LT are dismal in cases of hepatic angiosarcoma (HAS). Due to the disappointing results of very short survival periods of approximately 6-7 mo after LT, because of tumor recurrence and rapid progression of the disease, HAS is considered an absolute contraindication to LT. Recurrences after surgical resection are high in cases of HEHE and invariably present in cases of HAS. The discovery of reliable prognostic markers and the elaboration of prognostic scores following LT are needed to provide the best therapeutic choice for each patient. Studies on a few patients have demonstrated the stabilization of the disease in a proportion of patients with hepatic vascular tumors using novel targeted antiangiogenic agents, cytokines or immunotherapy. These new approaches, alone or in combination with other therapeutic modalities, such as surgery and classical chemotherapy, need further investigation to assess their role in prolonging patient survival. Personalized therapeutic algorithms according to the histopathological features, behavior, molecular biology and genetics of the tumors should be elaborated in the near future for the management of patients diagnosed with primary malignant vascular tumors of the liver.

Prognostic significance of tumor immune microenvironment and immunotherapy: Novel insights and future perspectives in gastric cancer

Despite a decrease in gastric cancer incidence, the development of novel biologic agents and combined therapeutic strategies, the prognosis of gastric cancer remains poor. Recently, the introduction of modern immunotherapy, especially using immune checkpoint inhibitors, led to an improved prognosis in many cancers. The use of immunotherapy was also associated with manageable adverse event profiles and promising results in the treatment of patients with gastric cancer, especially in heavily pretreated patients. These data have led to an accelerated approval of some checkpoint inhibitors in this setting. Understanding the complex relationship between the host immune microenvironment and tumor and the immune escape phenomenon leading to cancer occurrence and progression will subsequently lead to the identification of prognostic immune markers. Furthermore, this understanding will result in the discovery of both new mechanisms for blocking tumor immunosuppressive signals and pathways to stimulate the local immune response by targeting and modulating different subsets of immune cells. Due to the molecular heterogeneity of gastric cancers associated with different clinico-biologic parameters, immune markers expression and prognosis, novel immunotherapy algorithms should be personalized and addressed to selected subsets of gastric tumors, which have been proven to elicit the best clinical responses. Future perspectives in the treatment of gastric cancer include tailored dual immunotherapies or a combination of immunotherapy with other targeted agents with synergistic antitumor effects.

New advances in targeted gastric cancer treatment

Despite a decrease in incidence over past decades, gastric cancer remains a major global health problem. In the more recent period, survival has shown only minor improvement, despite significant advances in diagnostic techniques, surgical and chemotherapeutic approaches, the development of novel therapeutic agents and treatment by multidisciplinary teams. Because multiple genetic mutations, epigenetic alterations, and aberrant molecular signalling pathways are involved in the development of gastric cancers, recent research has attempted to determine the molecular heterogeneity responsible for the processes of carcinogenesis, spread and metastasis. Currently, some novel agents targeting a part of these dysfunctional molecular signalling pathways have already been integrated into the standard treatment of gastric cancer, whereas others remain in phases of investigation within clinical trials. It is essential to identify the unique molecular patterns of tumours and specific biomarkers to develop treatments targeted to the individual tumour behaviour. This review analyses the global impact of gastric cancer, as well as the role of Helicobacter pylori infection and the efficacy of bacterial eradication in preventing gastric cancer development. Furthermore, the paper discusses the currently available targeted treatments and future directions of research using promising novel classes of molecular agents for advanced tumours.