Microangiopathy is Common in Submucosal Vessels of the Colon in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus.

The pathophysiology behind gastrointestinal dysmotility in diabetes mellitus is unknown. Both esophageal dysmotility and gastroparesis have been shown to be associated with retinopathy, suggesting that microangiopathy is important in the common etiology. The aim of the present study was to examine whether patients with diabetes exhibit microangiopathy in the colon, and if present, to correlate microangiopathy with the clinical picture

SPARC: A Potential Prognostic and Therapeutic Target in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease that often lacks disease-specific symptoms in early stages. The malignancy is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in Western countries. In advanced stages, the overall 5-year survival is less than 1% to 2%. Most available treatments lack convincing cost-efficiency determinations and are generally not associated with relevant success rates. Targeting stromal components and stromal depletion is currently becoming an area of extensive research in pancreatic cancer. In this context, a glycoprotein, SPARC (secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine) appears to play a central role. Still, the role of SPARC in carcinogenesis is controversial because conflicting results have been reported, and the pathways involved in SPARC signaling are not well established. Nonetheless, SPARC is highly expressed in the tumor stroma, principally in peritumoral fibroblasts, and the overexpression of SPARC in this compartment is associated with poorer prognosis. Interestingly, it has been suggested that SPARC present in the tumor stroma could sequester albumin-bound paclitaxel, enhancing the delivery of paclitaxel into the tumor microenvironment. In the present review, we summarize the known associations between SPARC and pancreatic cancer. Moreover, present and future therapies comprising SPARC-targeting are discussed

Pattern of tumour growth of the primary colon cancer predicts long-term outcome after resection of liver metastases

Objective: To identify significant predictive factors for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) after liver resection for colon cancer metastases, with special focus on features of the primary colon cancer, such as lymph node ratio (LNR), vascular invasion, and perineural invasion. Methods: Patients operated for colonic cancer liver metastases between 2006 and 2014 were included. Details on patient characteristics, the primary colon cancer operation and metastatic disease were collected. Multivariate analysis was performed to select predictive variables for OS and DFS. Results: Median OS and DFS were 67 and 20 months, respectively. 1-, 3- and 5-year OS were 97, 76, and 52%. 1-, 3- and 5-year DFS were 65, 42, and 37%. Multivariate analysis showed LNR to be an independent predictive factor for DFS but not for OS. Other identified predictive factors were vascular and perineural invasion of the primary colon cancer, size of the largest metastasis and severe complications after liver surgery for OS, and perineural invasion, number of liver metastases and preoperative CEA-level for DFS. Traditional N-stage was also considered to be an independent predictive factor for DFS in a separate multivariate analysis. Conclusions: LNR and perineural invasion of the primary colon cancer can be used as a prognostic variable for DFS after a concomitant liver resection for colon cancer metastases. Vascular and perineural invasion of the primary colon cancer are predictive for OS

Histopathological investigation of colon liver metastases–which factors affect survival after surgery?

Introduction: Novel therapeutic options have improved prognosis for patients with colonic liver metastases (CLM) over the last decades. Despite this, the challenge to select and stratify patients for optimal treatment regimen persists. This study aimed to evaluate established and novel histopathological features and investigate the impact on overall survival (OS) and recurrence in patients undergoing surgery for CLM. Methods: Two hundred and sixty patients who underwent resection of CLM with curative intent 2006–2017 were included in the study. Clinicopathological characteristics were retrieved from patient medical records. The following histopathological parameters were investigated: vascular/lymphatic invasion, perineural invasion, tumor regression grade (TRG), tumor growth pattern, pseudocapsule and acellular mucin. Histopathological traits were correlated to OS. Results: Vascular and lymphatic invasion, as well as perineural invasion, significantly correlated with an adverse prognosis hazard ratio (HR) = 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–2.40 and HR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.20–2.51, respectively. Results retrieved from the study could not propose any novel explorative histopathological features (TRG, tumor growth pattern, pseudocapsule and acellular mucin) to be of significant value as comes correlation with patient OS. Discussion: Classical histopathological characteristics of previously reported influence on survival were confirmed, while more novel factors that has been proposed, like tumor growth pattern, tumor regression and grade and presence of a pseudocapsule, were not. Further studies are thus needed to identify better ways of understanding the impact of tumor microenvironment and tumor biology on patient outcome and not at least for stratification and improved treatment response

Analysis of MUC4 Expression in Human Pancreatic Cancer Xenografts in Immunodeficient Mice.

Mucin 4 (MUC4) is a cell surface glycoprotein that is overexpressed in most pancreatic tumors. The aim of the present study was to characterize MUC4 expression in experimental pancreatic cancer in order to clarify the correlation between MUC4 and pancreatic cancer histology in vivo

The prognostic role of cancer stem cell markers for long-term outcome after resection of colonic liver metastases

Background/Aim: To assess the expression of cancer stem cell (CSC) markers CD44, CD133 and CD24 in colon cancer liver metastases and analyse their predictive value for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) after liver resection. Materials and Methods: Patients operated on for colon cancer liver metastases were included. CSC marker expression was determined through immunohistochemistry analysis. OS and DFS were compared between marker-positive and marker-negative patients. Multivariate analysis was performed to select predictive variables for OS and DFS. Results: CD133-positive patients had a worse DFS than CD133-negative patients, with a median DFS of 12 and 25 months (p=0.051). Multivariate analysis selected CD133 expression as a significant predictor for DFS. CD44 and CD24 were not found to predict OS or DFS. Conclusion: CD133 expression in colonic liver metastases is a negative prognostic factor for DFS after liver resection. In the future, CD133 could be used as a biomarker for risk stratification, and possibly for developing novel targeted therapy

Multifocal intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas with total pancreatectomy: report of a case and review of literature.

Intraductal neoplasms of the pancreas are classified as intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasms (ITPNs) and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMNs) in the current WHO classification. ITPN is a rare tumor and there are only a few cases of ITPN reported in the literature. We present the case of an otherwise healthy 42-year-old male, who presented with upper abdominal pain. He was subsequently diagnosed with multifocal ITPN and underwent total pancreatectomy. The pathological report showed invasive growth. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient received 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine-capecitabine. The patient is still alive 19 months after the procedure with no signs of recurrence. Literature review revealed only 30 individual cases of ITPN in the pancreas including our reported case. Mean age was 61 years (16 males/14 females; ratio 1.14:1). Mean tumor size was 3 cm. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for CK-7 in 100% of the patients, CK-19 in 95% and for MUC-1 in 88%. Trypsin was negative in all cases. β-catenin was negative in 94% and MUC-2 was negative in 96% of the cases. BRAF, KRAS, TP53 and PIK3CA mutations were infrequently seen. Invasive growth was present in 54% of the cases. Tumor size and Ki-67 index showed a statistically significant association with invasive growth. Survival rate could not be determined, due to short follow-up, and further research is needed to establish prognostic factors for disease recurrence and survival

The role of SPARC expression in pancreatic cancer progression and patient survival.

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a matricellular glycoprotein that has been implicated in tumor-stroma interactions in pancreatic cancer. Here we evaluated the expression of SPARC during the progression of pancreatic cancer and its correlation with survival following curative intent surgery

Galectin 4 is a biomarker for early recurrence and death after surgical resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Background: Galectins are a group of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are involved in neoplastic development and progression. In a previous mass spectrometry-based study, we identified galectin 4 as a down-regulated protein in short-term survivors of pancreatic cancer. This study was performed to validate the prognostic value of galectin 4 in a larger cohort of pancreatic cancer patients undergoing surgical resection. Methods: Galectin 4 expression was evaluated by tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry in 140 patients with surgically resected pancreatic cancer. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards modeling were used to explore the association between galectin 4 and survival. Results: Galectin 4 staining expression was positive in 111 cases (79.3%). The expression of galectin 4 was significantly associated with tumor size (p =.008) and differentiation (p =.001). Galectin 4 expression was significantly correlated with disease recurrence within 1 year of surgery (adjusted HR 0.485, p =.027). There was also a significant association between galectin 4 and overall survival at 1 year (adjusted HR 0.482, p =.047) and at 3 years (adjusted HR 0.550, p =.025). Conclusion: Galectin 4 expression is a novel biomarker for early recurrence and mortality after surgical resection for pancreatic cancer

Expression of fibroblast activation protein and the clinicopathological relevance in distal cholangiocarcinoma

Objectives: The current survival of patients with distal cholangiocarcinoma (dCCA) is poor. There is a need to develop new prognostic and predictive biomarkers to improve the survival of patients. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) expression has been associated with survival in several solid malignancies. The goal of this study was to evaluate the expression pattern and prognostic significance of FAP in dCCA. Materials and methods: FAP expression was examined in 57 resected dCCA specimens and 28 paired lymph node metastasis specimens, as well as 10 benign bile ducts using immunohistochemistry. FAP expression was scored in the epithelial and stromal component of the dCCA specimens. The association between FAP expression and prognosis was evaluated using univariable and multivariable statistical modeling. Results: FAP expression was absent in the benign controls. FAP expression was evident in the epithelial 43 (75%) and stromal compartment 34 (60%) of dCCA. There was no association between epithelial or stromal FAP expression and clinicopathological factors. Epithelial FAP expression (HR 0.4 95% CI 0.20–0.78; p=.007) but not stromal FAP expression was significantly associated with better survival in univariable and multivariable analysis. Conclusions: FAP overexpression is evident in dCCA. There was a positive association between epithelial FAP expression and better survival which merits further evaluation