Hepatology

Composite hepatocellular and hemangiosarcomatous tumor: The prognosis is determined by the sarcomatous component

Nowadays, mixed liver tumors are more frequently diagnosed due to better imaging, advanced immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining techniques and better knowledge of hepatic tumorigenesis [1-3]. Such tumors represent a mosaic of components with distinct histogenesis and carcinogenic pathways. As their occurrence in the liver is very rare, their behavior and natural history are difficult to determine, and their management remains empirical.

Inflammatory markers as prognostic factors of survival in patients affected by hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transarterial chemoembolization

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a good choice for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment when surgery and liver transplantation are not feasible. Few studies reported the value of prognostic factors influencing survival after chemoembolization. In this study, we evaluated whether preoperative inflammatory factors such as neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio affected our patient survival when affected by hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods. We retrospectively evaluated a total of 72 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma that underwent TACE.

Pancreatectomy combined with multivisceral resection for pancreatic malignancies. Is it justified? Results of a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Multivisceral resections combined with pancreatectomy have been proposed in selected patients with tumor invasion into adjacent organs, in order to allow complete tumor resection. Some authors have also reported multivisceral resection combined with metastasectomy in very selected cases. The utility of this practice is debated. The aim of the review is to compare the postoperative results and survival of pancreatectomies combined with multivisceral resections with those of standard pancreatectomies.

Cost of detecting gastric neoplasia by surveillance endoscopy in atrophic gastritis in Italy: a low risk country

Background: Atrophic gastritis (AG) is at increased risk of gastric neoplasia, thus surveillance gastroscopy
has been proposed.
Aims: To assess cost of detecting gastric neoplasias by surveillance endoscopy according to identified risk
factors in Italy.
Methods: Post-hoc analysis of a cohort study including 200 AG-patients from Italy followed up for a mean
of 7.5 (4–23.4) years was done. Considered risk factors were: age >50 years, extensive atrophy, pernicious

Hepatitis C virus direct-acting antivirals therapy impacts on extracellular vesicles microRNAs content and on their immunomodulating properties

BACKGROUND & AIMS:
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is known to cause major alterations in the cross-talk between hepatic and immune cells thus contributing to the liver disease pathogenesis. Extracellular vesicles have been proved to act as major players in cell-cell communication, and their cargo changes in relation to pathophysiological states. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic HCV infection and direct-acting antivirals (DAA) on exosome-delivered microRNAs and on their ability to modulate the innate immune response.
METHODS:

Improving the accuracy of pancreatic cancer clinical staging by exploitation of nanoparticle-blood interactions: A pilot study

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) early diagnosis is crucial and new, cheap and user-friendly techniques for biomarker identification are needed. “Protein corona” (PC) is emerging a new bio-interface potentially useful in tumor early diagnosis. In a previous investigation, we showed that relevant differences between the protein patterns of PCs formed on lipid NPs after exposure to PDAC and non-cancer plasma samples exist. To extend that research, We performed this pilot study to investigate the effect of PDAC tumor size and distant metastases on PC composition.

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