Immunoregulatory and antitumor effects of interferon-γ

IFN-y was one of the first cytokines produced by recombinant DNA technology. After the production of recombinant DNA derived mouse and human IFN-y, recombinant DNA derived rat IFN-y became available. With this species-specific cytokine it has become possible to study biological effects of IFN-y in rats. Compared to the mouse model, the rat model is more suitable to study activities of IFN-y in tumor and organ transplantation experiments, since these experiments are technically far less demand

Surgical learning curve in kidney transplantation: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: To assess the impact of the learning curve of kidney transplantation on operative and postoperative complications. Methods: A literature search was systematically conducted to evaluate the significance of the learning curve on complications in kidney transplantation. Meta-analyses of the effect of the learning curve on warm ischemic time, total operating time (TOT), vascular and urological complications, postoperative bleeding, lymphocele and infection. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and 2762 patients were included in the present meta-analyses. Surgeons at the beginning of the learning curve were found to have longer TOT (mean difference 41.77 (95% CI: 4.48–79.06; P = .03) and more urological complications (risk ratio 3.93; 95% CI: 1.87–8.25; P < .01). No differences were seen in warm ischemic time, postoperative bleeding, lymphocele, and vascular complications. Conclusion: Surgeons at the beginning of their learning curve have a longer TOT and more urological complications, without an effect on postoperative bleeding, lymphocele, infection and vascular complications. For interpretation of the outcomes, the quality and sample size of the evidence should be taken into consideratio

Tumour growth stimulation after partial hepatectomy can be reduced by treatment with tumour necrosis factor α

This study investigated whether partial hepatectomy enhances the growth of experimental liver metastases of colonic carcinoma in rats and whether treatment with recombinant human tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α can reduce this increased growth. Resection of 35 or 70 per cent of the liver was performed in inbred WAG rats, with sham-operated controls (five to eight animals per group). Immediately after surgery 5·105 CC531 colonic tumour cells were injected into the portal vein. After 28 days the animals were killed and the number of liver metastases counted. A 35 per cent hepatectomy induced a significant increase in the median number of liver metastases (28 versus 3 in controls), whereas a 70 per cent resection provoked excessive growth, consistently leading to more than 100 liver metastases and a significantly increased wet liver weight in all animals. TNF-α was given intravenously to rats following 70 per cent hepatectomy or sham operation in a dose of 160 μg/kg three times per week. This had only a marginal effect on tumour development in sham-operated rats but was very effective following partial hepatectomy (median 45 liver metastases). These observations confirm previous findings that surgical metastasectomy may act as a ‘double-edged sword’ by provoking outgrowth of dormant tumour cells and suggest that adjuvant treatment with TNF-α may be of benefit in patients undergoing resection of metastases

Management and outcome of hepatocellular adenoma with massive bleeding at presentation

AIM To evaluate outcome of acute management and risk of rebleeding in patients with massive hemorrhage due to hepatocellular adenoma (HCA). METHODS This retrospective cohort study included all consecutive patients who presented to our hospital with massive hemorrhage (grade II or III) due to ruptured HCA and were admitted for observation and/or intervention between 1999-2016. The diagnosis of HCA was based on radiological findings from contrastenhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or pathological findings from biopsy or resection of the HCA. Hemorrhage was diagnosed based on findings from computed tomography or MRI. Medical records were reviewed for demographic features, clinical presentation, tumor features, initial and subsequent management, short- and long-term complications and patient and lesion follow-up. RESULTS All patients were female (n = 23). Treatment in the acute phase consisted of embolization (n = 9, 39.1%), conservative therapy (n = 13, 56.5%), and other intervention (

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Current perspectives

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common malignancy arising from the liver. ICC makes up about 10% of all cholangiocarcinomas. It arises from the peripheral bile ducts within the liver parenchyma, proximal to the secondary biliary radicals. Histologically, the majority of ICCs are adenocarcinomas. Only a minority of patients (15%) present with resectable disease, with a median survival of less than 3 years. Multidisciplinary management of ICC is complicated by large differences in disease course for individual patients both across and within tumor stages. Risk models and nomograms have been developed to more accurately predict survival of individual patients based on clinical parameters. Predictive risk factors are necessary to improve patient selection for systemic treatments. Molecular differences between tumors, such as in the epidermal growth factor receptor status, are promising, but their clinical applicability should be validated. For patients with locally advanced disease, several treatment strategies are being evaluated. Both hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with floxuridine and yttrium-90 embolization aim to downstage locally advanced ICC. Selected patients have resectable disease after downstaging, and other patients might benefit because of postponing widespread dissemination and biliary obstruction

Right posterior segment graft for living donor liver transplantation: A systematic review

The clinical significance of the right posterior segment (RPS) graft in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is unknown because of its limited use and technical concerns. This study aimed to review published studies investigating outcomes of RPS grafts. The systematic literature search was conducted to retrieve data from Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Google Scholar. Among the 388 articles, six retrospective studies from Asian countries were included. The overall incidences of major and minor complications after RPS graft procurement were 5.6% and 34.6%, respectively and no donor deaths were reported. RPS graft recipients had the following postoperative complications: overall mortality rate, 14.5%; bile leakage, 8.7%, biliary stenosis, 18.8%, hepatic artery thrombosis, 8.7%, and liver re-transplantation, 2.9%. The RPS graft can be considered as an option for a living liver graft respecting donor safety under strict selection criteria and surgical strategy. The precise evaluation and understanding of anatomical variations and volumetric a

Obese living kidney donors: a comparison of hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic versus laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the difference in outcome between hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic and laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy in obese donors, and the impact of donor body mass index on outcome. Methods: Out of 1108 living donors who underwent hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic or laparoscopic donor nephrectomy between 2010 and 2018, 205 were identified having body mass index ≥ 30. These donors were included in this retrospective study, analyzing postoperative outcomes and remnant renal function. Results: Out of 205 donors, 137 (66.8%) underwent hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy and 68 donors (33.2%) underwent laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Postoperative outcome did not show any significant differences between the hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy group and the laparoscopic donor nephrectomy group in terms of major c