Pythagoras

Der Philosoph Jamblich entwirft mit seiner Vita Pythagorica eine neuplatonische Heilslehre, die auch als Konkurrenz zu dem in seiner Zeit bereits sehr stark gewordenen Christentum gedacht war. Die Beleuchtung dieser Rivalität ist eines der Themen des vorliegenden Bandes, der so auch neue Einblicke in das spätantike "Ringen" zwischen christlichen und nichtchristlichen Erlösungsvorstellungen gibt

Outcomes of Liver Resections after Liver Transplantation at a High-Volume Hepatobiliary Center

Although more than one million liver transplantations have been carried out worldwide, the literature on liver resections in transplanted livers is scarce. We herein report a total number of fourteen patients, who underwent liver resection after liver transplantation (LT) between September 2004 and 2017. Hepatocellular carcinomas and biliary tree pathologies were the predominant indications for liver resection (n = 5 each); other indications were abscesses (n = 2), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (n = 1) and one benign tumor. Liver resection was performed at a median of 120 months (interquartile range (IQR): 56.5-199.25) after LT with a preoperative Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score of 11 (IQR: 6.75-21). Severe complications greater than Clavien-Dindo Grade III occurred in 5 out of 14 patients (36%). We compared liver resection patients, who had a treatment option of retransplantation (ReLT), with actual ReLTs (excluding early graft failure or rejection, n = 44). Bearing in mind that late ReLT was carried out at a median of 117 months after first transplantation and a median of MELD of 32 (IQR: 17.5-37); three-year survival following liver resection after LT was similar to late ReLT (50.0% vs. 59.1%; p = 0.733). Compared to ReLT, liver resection after LT is a rare surgical procedure with significantly shorter hospital (mean 25, IQR: 8.75-49; p = 0.034) and ICU stays (mean 2, IQR: 1-8; p < 0.001), acceptable complications and survival rates

Polymorphisms in Cyclooxygenase-2

AbstractPurpose: Recently, an objective response rate of 12% was reported in a phase II study of cetuximab in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) refractory to fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin-, and irinotecan-based chemotherapy (IMC-0144). In this large molecular correlates study, we tested whether K-ras mutation status and polymorphisms in genes involved in the EGFR-signaling pathway were associated with clinical outcome in IMC-0144.Experimental Design: We analyzed all available tissue samples from 130 of 346 mCRC patients enrolled in the IMC-0144 phase II clinical trial of cetuximab. Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues, and K-ras mutation status and the genotypes were analyzed using PCR-RFLP, direct DNA-sequencing, and 5′-end [γ-33P] ATP–labeled PCR-protocols.Results: The PFS of patients with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) −765 G&gt;C [C/C; risk ratio (RR), 0.31; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.12-0.84; P = 0.032], COX-2 +8473 T&gt;C (C/C; RR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.40-1.13; P = 0.003), EGF +61 A&gt;G (G/G; RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.34-0.95; P = 0.042), and EGFR +497 G&gt;A (A/G; RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.56-1.20; P = 0.017) genotypes was significantly longer compared with those with other genotypes. In addition, patients whose tumors did not have K-ras mutations showed better RR, PFS, and overall survival than patients with K-ras mutations. In multivariable analysis, COX-2 +8473 T&gt;C (adjusted P = 0.013) and EGFR +497 G&gt;A (adjusted P = 0.010) remained significantly associated with progression-free survival, independent of skin rash toxicity, K-ras mutation status, and Eastern Cooperative Group performance status.Conclusions: Polymorphisms in COX-2 and EGFR may be useful independent molecular markers to predict clinical outcome in patients with mCRC treated with single-agent cetuximab, independent of skin rash toxicity, K-ras mutation, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status

Liver Phenotypes of European Adults Heterozygous or Homozygous for Pi∗Z Variant of AAT (Pi∗MZ vs Pi∗ZZ genotype) and Noncarriers

Homozygosity for the Pi∗Z variant of the gene that encodes the alpha-1 antitrypsin peptide (AAT), called the Pi∗ZZ genotype, causes a liver and lung disease called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Heterozygosity (the Pi∗MZ genotype) is a risk factor for cirrhosis in individuals with liver disease. Up to 4% of Europeans have the Pi∗MZ genotype; we compared features of adults with and without Pi∗MZ genotype among persons without preexisting liver disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The ALPPS risk score: Avoiding futile use of ALPPS

OBJECTIVES To create a prediction model identifying futile outcome in ALPPS (Associating Liver Partition and Portal vein ligation for Staged hepatectomy) before stage 1 and stage 2 surgery. BACKGROUND ALPPS is a 2-stage hepatectomy, which incorporates parenchymal transection at stage 1 enabling resection of extensive liver tumors. One of the major criticisms of ALPPS is the associated high mortality rate up to 20%. METHODS Using the International ALPPS Registry, a risk analysis for futile outcome (defined as 90-day or in-hospital mortality) was performed. Futility was modeled using multivariate regression analysis and a futility risk score formula was computed on the basis of the relative size of logistic model regression coefficients. RESULTS Among 528 ALPPS patients from 38 centers, a futile outcome was observed in 47 patients (9%). The pre-stage 1 model included age 67 years or older [odds ratio (OR) = 5.7], and tumor entity (OR = 3.8 for biliary tumors) as independent predictors of futility from multivariate analysis. For the pre-stage 1 model scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were associated with futile risk of 2.7%, 4.9%, 8.6%, 15%, 24%, and 37%. The pre-stage 2 model included major complications (grade ≥ 3b) after stage 1 (OR = 3.4), serum bilirubin (OR = 4.4), serum creatinine (OR = 5.4), and cumulative pre-stage 1 risk score (OR = 1.9). The model predicted futility risk of 5%, 10%, 20%, and 50% for patients with scores of 3.9, 4.7, 5.5, and 6.9, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Both models have an excellent prediction to assess the individual risk of futile outcome after ALPPS surgery and can be used to avoid futile use of ALPPS