Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells Promoting Tumor Invasion and Metastasis: Existing Theories

It is a commonly held belief that infiltration of immune cells into tumor tissues and direct physical contact between tumor cells and infiltrated immune cells is associated with physical destructions of the tumor cells, reduction of the tumor burden, and improved clinical prognosis. An increasing number of studies, however, have suggested that aberrant infiltration of immune cells into tumor or normal tissues may promote tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis. Neither the primary reason for these contradictory observations, nor the mechanism for the reported diverse impact of tumor-infiltrating immune cells has been elucidated, making it difficult to judge the clinical implications of infiltration of immune cells within tumor tissues. This mini-review presents several existing hypotheses and models that favor the promoting impact of tumor-infiltrating immune cells on tumor invasion and metastasis, and also analyzes their strength and weakness

Evidence-based Guidelines for Precision Risk Stratification-Based Screening (PRSBS) for Colorectal Cancer: Lessons learned from the US Armed Forces: Consensus and Future Directions

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States (U.S.), with estimates of 143,460 new cases and 51,690 deaths for the year 2012. Numerous organizations have published guidelines for CRC screening; however, these numerical estimates of incidence and disease-specific mortality have remained stable from years prior. Technological, genetic profiling, molecular and surgical advances in our modern era should allow us to improve risk stratification of patients with CRC and identify those who may benefit from preventive measures, early aggressive treatment, alternative treatment strategies, and/or frequent surveillance for the early detection of disease recurrence. To better negotiate future economic constraints and enhance patient outcomes, ultimately, we propose to apply the principals of personalized and precise cancer care to risk-stratify patients for CRC screening (Precision Risk Stratification-Based Screening, PRSBS). We believe that genetic, molecular, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities impact oncological outcomes in general, those related to CRC, in particular. This document highlights evidence-based screening recommendations and risk stratification methods in response to our CRC working group private-public consensus meeting held in March 2012. Our aim was to address how we could improve CRC risk stratification-based screening, and to provide a vision for the future to achieving superior survival rates for patients diagnosed with CRC

Outcomes of elective liver surgery worldwide: a global, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

Background: The outcomes of liver surgery worldwide remain unknown. The true population-based outcomes are likely different to those vastly reported that reflect the activity of highly specialized academic centers. The aim of this study was to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting from centers across the globe. The geographic distribution of liver surgery activity and complexity was also evaluated to further understand variations in outcomes. Methods: LiverGroup.org was an international, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study following the Global Surgery Collaborative Snapshot Research approach with a 3-month prospective, consecutive patient enrollment within January–December 2019. Each patient was followed up for 90 days postoperatively. All patients undergoing liver surgery at their respective centers were eligible for study inclusion. Basic demographics, patient and operation characteristics were collected. Morbidity was recorded according to the Clavien–Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications. Country-based and hospital-based data were collected, including the Human Development Index (HDI). (NCT03768141). Results: A total of 2159 patients were included from six continents. Surgery was performed for cancer in 1785 (83%) patients. Of all patients, 912 (42%) experienced a postoperative complication of any severity, while the major complication rate was 16% (341/2159). The overall 90-day mortality rate after liver surgery was 3.8% (82/2,159). The overall failure to rescue rate was 11% (82/ 722) ranging from 5 to 35% among the higher and lower HDI groups, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first to our knowledge global surgery study specifically designed and conducted for specialized liver surgery. The authors identified failure to rescue as a significant potentially modifiable factor for mortality after liver surgery, mostly related to lower Human Development Index countries. Members of the LiverGroup.org network could now work together to develop quality improvement collaboratives

Significance of posterior acoustic enhancement ultrasonographic findings in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction. On ultrasound, hepatocellular carcinoma presents with nodular or multinodular lesions of different size and echostructure, sometimes with a surrounding halo, and lateral acoustic shadows or posterior acoustic enhancement. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of posterior acoustic enhancement in hepatocellular carcinoma. Material and Methods. This retrospective study included 120 patients with pathologically verified hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone ultrasound examination (using real time ultrasounds from different manufacturers, with 3.5 and 5 MHz probes). Ultrasound imaging focused on the size and appearance of the focal lesions, i. e. echostructure and presence or absence of posterior acoustic enhancement as areas of increased echogenicity behind the lesion. Results. Posterior acoustic enhancement was observed in 47.3% of all nodular hepatocellular carcinomas, whereas this ultrasound phenomenon was statistically significantly more common in the group of tumors from 3 to 5 cm in size. In the group of multinodular tumors, posterior acoustic enhancement was found in 70% of cases. Conclusion. The presence of posterior acoustic enhancement in the detection of focal hepatic lesions may be a significant finding in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, especially in patients at risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (cirrhosis and chronic liver disease), as well as in monitoring interval growth in size of focal lesions using this ultrasound phenomenon.</jats:p

The role of duodenogastric reflux in formation of precarcinogenic gastric lesions: An experimental study

Introduction. Duodenogastric reflux, commonly encountered as an aftermath of gastroenteroanastomosis, with or without gastric resection (Billroth I, Billroth II), vagotomy and pyloroplastic surgery, is known to cause inflammatory-dystrophic-metaplastic lesions of gastric mucosa. Our objective was to determine the effects of surgery-induced duodenogastric reflux on the development of precarcinogenic lesions or carcinoma in correlation with the reflux duration. Material and Methods. The experiment was performed on three groups of Wistar rats with 1) Billroth II-induced reflux surgery, 2) resection of the Roux-en-Y type reconstruction, and 3) control group with no resection. The aim of the experiment was to study the effects of duodenogastric reflux on the rat gastric mucosa in correlation with two different types of gastroenteroanastomosis 8, 16 and 24 weeks after the surgery. Results. In Billroth II group, hyperplastic changes were observed as early as in week 16. Statistically significant results were recorded in week 24, with 6.7% of metaplastic alterations, including dysplasia of all three degrees, dominantly severe dysplasia in 66.67%, early carcinoma in 20% and gastric carcinoma in 6.67%. In the Roux-en-Y group, gastric mucosa remained predominantly normal (60%), with somewhat increased frequency of gastritis and dysplasia in week 24. In the control group, the finding of normal gastric mucosa was constant. Conclusion. The experiment confirms that direct contact of duodenal juice with gastric mucosa associated with Billroth II resection causes precarcinogenic lesions. Development of adenocarcinoma caused solely by duodenogastric reflux, excluding a carcinogenic agent is possible 20 weeks after the experiment - earlier than suggested by previous researchers.</jats:p