The Predictive Role of Preoperative Malnutrition Assessment in Postoperative Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Surgery Due to Gastrointestinal Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

Malnutrition affects patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancers and contributes to poor postoperative outcomes, including increased complication rates, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality. Despite the availability of several malnutrition screening tools and prognostic scores, their effectiveness in predicting postoperative outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to compare the predictive accuracy of Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score for postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal, hepato-pancreato-biliary and upper gastrointestinal cancers.

A Rare Case of Retroperitoneal Schwannoma in an Adult Male.

Objective: This study aims to illustrate a rare case of retroperitoneal schwannoma by presenting the clinical, imaging, and histological parameters.

Case Report: A 36-year-old patient visited the outpatient clinic because of back pain experienced over the previous two months. There were no complaints regarding the nervous system or urinary system.

The Role of Chemerin in Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer.

: Chemerin, which is a multifunctional cytokine and adipokine, has been implicated in inflammatory and metabolic processes and might play a role in upper gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, particularly gastric and esophageal cancer. The aim of this review is to explore the role of chemerin in the pathophysiology of upper GI cancers, as well as its potential as a biomarker for early detection and as a therapeutic target. : A comprehensive review of recent studies about chemerin's biochemical properties and interaction with its receptors, as well as its effects on inflammatory responses, immune regulation, and metabolic processes, was conducted.

Inflammatory fibroid polyp of the esophagus: a systematic review.

Introduction: Esophageal inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) is a rare benign tumor of the gastrointestinal tract with limited available data on clinicopathologic features and treatment strategies.

Evidence Acquisition: A systematic review of the literature in PubMed/Medline and Scopus databases was performed for articles concerning esophageal IFP in adult population.

Evidence Synthesis: A total of 16 studies were identified, involving 16 patients with a Male-Female Ratio of 3:1 and mean age of 50.

Ibuprofen: The Hidden Culprit Behind Aseptic Meningitis.

Drug-induced aseptic meningitis represents a significant clinical entity characterized by an inflammatory response of the meninges triggered by specific pharmacological agents. This condition predominantly manifests as a delayed hypersensitivity reaction to a variety of drugs, most notably non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies. We report a case of aseptic meningitis in a 54-year-old male presenting with nausea and blurred vision two hours after taking ibuprofen.

Progastrin: An Overview of Its Crucial Role in the Tumorigenesis of Gastrointestinal Cancers.

Defining predictive biomarkers for targeted therapies and optimizing anti-tumor immune response is a main challenge in ongoing investigations. Progastrin has been studied as a potential biomarker for detecting and diagnosing various malignancies, and its secretion has been associated with cell proliferation in the gastrointestinal tract that may promote tumorigenesis. Progastrin is a precursor molecule of gastrin, synthesized as pre-progastrin, converted to progastrin after cleavage, and transformed into amidated gastrin via biosynthetic intermediates.

A Case of a Metastatic Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor: A Surgical Conundrum Wrapped in Functionality's Embrace.

This case study reports a rare case of a non-functioning metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) transforming into a functioning pNET. A 59-year-old male, previously treated with distal pancreatectomy, splenectomy, lymph node dissection, liver metastasectomy, and pharmacotherapy, presented with weakness, hypoglycemia, and daily episodes of watery diarrhea. A functioning neuroendocrine liver metastasis expressing insulin and gastrin was identified.

Rectus Abdominis Endometriosis Following Cesarean Section: A Case Report.

Endometriosis involves the growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity, with its manifestation in the rectus abdominis muscle being exceptionally rare and primarily observed in women with a history of abdominal surgeries. In this report, we present the case of a 42-year-old female with a medical history of two cesarean sections who presented with cyclical abdominal pain and a palpable mass in the right lower quadrant. An MRI scan of the pelvis revealed a lesion on the right lower quadrant of the abdominal wall, proximate to the previous Pfannenstiel incision.

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells of the pancreas: An individual participant data meta-analysis.

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells (UC-OGCs) of the pancreas is a rare neoplasm that accounts for less than 1% of all pancreatic malignancies. The aim of this study was to review the literature regarding UC-OGC, and to highlight its biological behavior, clinicopathologic characteristics, prognosis, and therapeutic options. A systematic review of the literature in PubMed/Medline and Scopus databases was performed (last search October 31st, 2023) for articles concerning pancreatic UC-OGC in the adult population.

Current aspects in the management of esophageal trauma: a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis.

Trauma-related esophageal injuries (TEIs) are a rare but highly lethal condition. The presentation of TEIs is very diverse depending on the location and mechanism of injury (blunt vs. penetrating), as well as the presence or absence of concurrent injuries.

Hepatic Small Vessel Neoplasm: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Hepatic small vessel neoplasm (HSVN) is a recently described vascular neoplasm of the liver. It demonstrates an infiltrative growth pattern and lacks cytologic atypia and mitotic activity. So far, no cases of metastasis or disease recurrence after excision have been reported in the literature.

Clinical and Oncological Impact of the Toll-like Receptor-3 and -4 in Esophageal and Gastro-esophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma.

Background/aim: Esophageal and gastro-esophageal junction cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality, with poor prognosis. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a significant role in the innate immune system; their increased expression has been associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to determine the association between TLR-3 and TLR-4 expression with clinical and oncological outcomes of patients that underwent esophagectomy for cancer.

Bacterial Translocation as a Source of Postoperative Fever After Revision of a Previous Duodenal Switch for Super-morbid Obesity: A Case Report.

Bacterial translocation is defined as the invasion of gut bacteria or bacterial products to the systemic circulation via permeation through the gastrointestinal mucosal wall. In this article, we present the case of a patient with postoperative fever of unknown origin which was attributed to bacterial translocation after revisional surgery due to malabsorptive complications after an initial duodenal switch for super-morbid obesity.

A Huge Asymptomatic Urachal Mucinous Cystic Carcinoma: A Case Report With Differential Diagnosis and Surgical Considerations.

Cystic mucinous neoplasms of urachal origin cover a wide spectrum of benign and malignant lesions arising from the remnants of the urachus. They display various degrees of tumor cell atypia and local invasion, with no reported cases of metastasis or recurrence after complete surgical resection. We present a 47-year-old man who referred to our Surgical Department due to an abdominal cystic mass incidentally found upon abdominal ultrasound.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Surgical Activities: A Single-Center Experience and Literature Review.

Aim The aim of this article is to investigate the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on our surgical department, which is situated in Athens, Greece, as well as to review published literature on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on surgical activities in our department.  Material and methods We retrospectively reviewed the surgical procedures that were performed in the surgical department of a tertiary University hospital in Athens, Greece, before and during the pandemic. Furthermore, we performed a literature review evaluating articles on surgical activity and COVID-19 published from the beginning of the pandemic up until the January of 2022 on the PubMed database.