Jejunogastric intussusception after totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a rare case report and review of the literature

Jejunogastric intussusception (JGI) is a rare complication of gastric surgery, with most cases occurring in the form of long-term complications following gastric surgeries. We present a case of JGI in a 74-year-old man who presented with progressive abdominal pain and distention, and was admitted to our hospital. The patient had undergone a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with a Billroth II gastrojejunostomy 9 days previously. Computed tomography and endoscopic findings revealed the presence of a small bowel loop within the gastric lumen, which we failed to reduce in size. We performed an emergency laparoscopic exploration and immediate reduction of the JGI. The efferent and afferent loops were then fixed to the mesentery and the stomach. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient remained asymptomatic during the 1-year follow-up period

Adipose Tissue Quantification Improves the Prognostic Value of GLIM Criteria in Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients

The present study investigated whether the risk of recurrence after curative surgery could be further stratified by combining the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and changes in subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral (VAT) adipose tissue mass after surgery in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). This study retrospectively analyzed 302 patients with AGC who underwent curative surgery. Based on the GLIM criteria, patients were classified into malnourished and non-malnourished groups. The cross-sectional areas of SAT and VAT were measured from preoperative and 6-month post-operative computed tomography (CT) images. Multivariate survival analyses demonstrated that GLIM-defined malnutrition (p = 0.008) and loss of VAT after surgery (p = 0.008) were independent risk factors for recurrence-free survival (RFS). Evaluation of the prognostic value of combining the two independent predictors showed that malnourished patients with a marked loss of VAT had the worst 5-year RFS rate of 35.2% (p < 0.001). Preoperative GLIM-defined malnutrition and a loss of VAT during the first 6 months after surgery were independent predictors for RFS in patients with AGC. Changes in the VAT area after surgery could further enhance the prognostic value of the GLIM criteria for predicting the risk of gastric cancer recurrence

Predicting the Recurrence of Gastric Cancer Using the Textural Features of Perigastric Adipose Tissue on [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT

This study aimed to assess the relationship between the histopathological and textural features of perigastric adipose tissue (AT) on 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and to evaluate the prognostic significance of perigastric AT textural features in predicting recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with gastric cancer. Sixty-nine patients with gastric cancer who underwent staging [18F]FDG PET/CT and subsequent curative surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Textural features of perigastric AT were extracted from PET images. On histopathological analysis, CD4, CD8, and CD163 cell infiltration and matrix metalloproteinase-11 and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in perigastric AT were graded. The degree of CD163 cell infiltration in perigastric AT was significantly correlated with the mean standardized uptake value (SUV), SUV histogram entropy, grey-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) energy, and GLCM entropy of perigastric AT. The degree of IL-6 expression in the perigastric AT was significantly correlated with the mean and median SUVs of perigastric AT. In multivariate survival analysis, GLCM entropy, GLCM dissimilarity, and GLCM homogeneity of perigastric AT were significant predictors of RFS. The textural features of perigastric AT on [18F]FDG PET/CT significantly correlated with inflammatory response in perigastric AT and were significant prognostic factors for predicting RFS in patients with gastric cancer

Relationship of FDG PET/CT Textural Features with the Tumor Microenvironment and Recurrence Risks in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancers

The relationship between 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) textural features and histopathological findings in gastric cancer has not been fully evaluated. We investigated the relationship between the textural features of primary tumors on FDG PET/CT with histopathological findings and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Fifty-six patients with AGC who underwent FDG PET/CT for staging work-ups were retrospectively enrolled. Conventional parameters and the first- and second-order textural features of AGC were extracted using PET textural analysis. Upon histopathological analysis, along with histopathological classification and staging, the degree of CD4, CD8, and CD163 cell infiltrations and expressions of interleukin-6 and matrix-metalloproteinase-11 (MMP-11) in the primary tumor were assessed. The histopathological classification, Lauren classification, lymph node metastasis, CD8 T lymphocyte and CD163 macrophage infiltrations, and MMP-11 expression were significantly associated with the textural features of AGC. The multivariate survival analysis showed that increased FDG uptake and intra-tumoral metabolic heterogeneity were significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrence after curative surgery. Textural features of AGC on FDG PET/CT showed significant correlations with the inflammatory response in the tumor microenvironment and histopathological features of AGC, and they showed significant prognostic values for predicting RFS

Clinical relevance of Lgr5 expression in colorectal cancer patients

Purpose Lgr5 is a well-known stem cell marker in colorectal cancer (CRC). This retrospective study evaluated the expressions of Lgr5 in CRC specimens, and examined whether these expressions were associated with survival outcomes. Methods We used immunohistochemistry to retrospectively examine expressions of Lgr5 in paraffin-embedded specimens from 337 patients with CRC between January 2009 and December 2013. All clinicopathologic data were collected by retrospective review based on medical records. The correlation between its expression and clinicopathological data as well as clinical outcomes of patients was analyzed. Results Low expression and high expression of Lgr5 in 337 patients were 175 (51.9%) and 162 (48.1%), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the association of Lgr5 expression with clinicopathologic factors (age, tumor location, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, perineural invasion, TNM stage, and differentiation). In the survival analysis, the high expression group of Lgr5 showed a better prognosis than the low expression group in disease-free survival (P=0.044). However, overall survival was not significantly different between the two groups (P=0.087). In multivariate analysis, we found that high expression of Lgr5 was independent prognostic factor for tumor relapse (hazard ratio, 0.601; 95% confidence interval, 0.388–0.929; P=0.022). Conclusion In present study, high expression of Lgr5 is an independent predictor of favorable prognosis in patients with CRC. So, further well designed, prospective, large scale studies are needed to examine the value of Lgr5 as a prognostic biomarker for CRC

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) ligand 1 and PD-1 ligand 2 expressions and their clinical relevance in colorectal cancer

Purpose Programmed death-1 and its ligands (PD-L1 and PD-L2) can induce T-cell apoptosis in many solid tumors, although there is limited information regarding their roles in colorectal cancer. Methods We used immunohistochemistry to retrospectively examine expressions of PD-L1 and PD-L2 in paraffin-embedded specimens from 104 patients with colorectal cancer. Results Among the 104 included patients, 31 patients (29.8%) had positive PD-L1 expression and 73 patients (70.2%) had negative PD-L1 expression. Positive PD-L2 expression was observed in 83 patients (79.8%) and negative PD-L2 expression was observed in 21 patients (20.2%). Positive PD-L1 expression group showed higher overall survival rate (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) than negative PD-L1 expression group. However, the overall survival and DFS were not significantly different between positive and negative PD-L2 expressions group. The multivariate analyses revealed that short OS was independently associated with positive PD-L1 expression (hazard ratio [HR], 2.781; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.284–6.026; P=0.01), regional lymph node status (HR, 2.611; 95% CI, 1.258–5.418; P=0.01), and distant metastasis (HR, 4.279; 95% CI, 1.449–12.638; P=0.009). In addition, short DFS was independently associated with positive PD-L1 expression (HR, 2.846; 95% CI, 1.393–5.815; P=0.004) and regional lymph node status (HR, 2.310; 95% CI, 1.122–4.758; P=0.023). Conclusion Although prospective multi-center studies are needed to validate our findings, we found that PD-L1 expression predicted OS and DFS among patients with colorectal cancer

Adjuvant Immunotherapy With Autologous Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background & AimsNo adjuvant therapy has been shown to extend the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving curative treatment. We investigated whether injections of activated cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells (CD3+/CD56+ and CD3+/CD56- T cells and CD3-/CD56+ natural killer cells) prolongs recurrence-free survival of patients after curative therapy for HCC.MethodsWe performed a multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial of the efficacy and safety of adjuvant immunotherapy with activated CIK cells (created by incubation of patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear cells with interleukin 2 and an antibody against CD3). The study included 230 patients with HCC treated by surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation, or percutaneous ethanol injection at university-affiliated hospitals in Korea. Patients were assigned randomly to receive immunotherapy (injection of 6.4 × 109 autologous CIK cells, 16 times during 60 weeks) or no adjuvant therapy (controls). The primary end point was recurrence-free survival; secondary end points included overall survival, cancer-specific survival, and safety.ResultsThe median time of recurrence-free survival was 44.0 months in the immunotherapy group and 30.0 months in the control group (hazard ratio with immunotherapy, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43–0.94; P = .010 by 1-sided log-rank test). Hazard ratios also were lower in the immunotherapy than in the control group for all-cause death (0.21; 95% CI, 0.06–0.75; P = .008) and cancer-related death (0.19; 95% CI, 0.04–0.87; P = .02). A significantly higher proportion of patients in the immunotherapy group than in the control group had an adverse event (62% vs 41%; P = .002), but the proportion of patients with serious adverse events did not differ significantly between groups (7.8% vs 3.5%; P = .15).ConclusionsIn patients who underwent curative treatment for HCC, adjuvant immunotherapy with activated CIK cells increased recurrence-free and overall survival. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00699816

DataSheet_1_Systematic review and meta-analysis of cardiac neurosis for development of clinical practice guidelines of Korean medicine.docx

BackgroundThe development of clinical practice guidelines in traditional medicine requires evidence that sufficiently reflects the medical field. Cardiac neurosis is a disease that occurs because of problems in the autonomic nervous system and is characterized by symptoms of the circulatory system that are representative of autonomic dysfunction. In traditional medicine, the heart is considered to be involved in mental health problems, and cardiac neurosis is accompanied by a variety of mental symptoms. Furthermore, there is a categorized diagnosis for cardiac neurosis, and active empirical research is being conducted in China.ObjectiveThis study aimed to systematically review and quantitatively synthesize the effects of Korean medicine treatments in patients with cardiac neurosis to develop evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of autonomic dysfunction.MethodsNine databases were searched for articles published before September 13, 2022. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the RoB tool. The primary outcomes were somatization, depression, anxiety, and effectiveness rate. The secondary outcome was the rate of adverse effects.ResultsBased on a systematic literature review, 151 randomized controlled trials were selected and analyzed. For patients with cardiac neurosis, herbal medicine, combined treatment of herbal medicine and Western medicine, combined treatment of herbal medicine and acupuncture, acupuncture, and combined treatment of acupuncture and Western medicine showed better overall effects than Western medicine alone. Furthermore, the combined treatment of herbal medicine and psychotherapy and that of herbal medicine, psychotherapy, and Western medicine showed an overall better effect than the combined treatment of Western medicine and psychotherapy.ConclusionA meta-analysis of articles revealed the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatments and verified the effectiveness of a Korean medicine treatment alone, Korean medicine combined treatment, and combined treatment of Korean medicine and Western medicine on cardiac neurosis. Limitations included the inability to verify the cause of high heterogeneity between studies and the poor quality of the included studies. Nevertheless, this systematic review and meta-analysis of cardiac neurosis showed that the disease concept of traditional medicine can also be organized based on the latest research. Future research related to traditional diseases such as these should be conducted.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022347992, identifier CRD42022347992.</p