Targeting the Wnt Pathway and Cancer Stem Cells with Anti-progastrin Humanized Antibodies as a Potential Treatment for K-RAS-Mutated Colorectal Cancer.

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer suffer from disease relapse mainly due to cancer stem cells (CSC). Interestingly, they have an increased level of blood progastrin, a tumor-promoting peptide essential for the self-renewal of colon CSCs, which is also a direct β-catenin/TCF4 target gene. In this study, we aimed to develop a novel targeted therapy to neutralize secreted progastrin to inhibit Wnt signaling, CSCs, and reduce relapses.

Robotic versus laparoscopic rectal resection for sphincter-saving surgery: pathological and short-term outcomes in a single-center analysis of 130 consecutive patients.

Background: Minimally invasive sphincter-saving rectal resection represents a challenging procedure. Robotic surgery for rectal cancer has several advantages over conventional surgery in performing precise dissection and was proved to be safe and effective in previous studies. However, comparison between laparoscopic and robotic rectal resection has drawn contradictory results.

CDH1 germline mutations and the hereditary diffuse gastric and lobular breast cancer syndrome: a multicentre study.

Introduction: CDH1 predisposes primarily to diffuse gastric cancer (DGC). Multiple DGC cases in a family, DGC at a young age in an individual or the combination of DGC andlobular breast cancer (LBC) in an individual or a family define the hereditary DGC syndrome (HDGC), and testing for germline CDH1 mutations is warranted in HDGC.

Methods And Results: We report all index cases from Ile-de-France in which a germline CDH1 mutation has been identified.

Death during laparoscopy: can 1 gas push out another? Danger of argon electrocoagulation.

We report the death of a young man during a laparoscopic partial splenectomy performed with an argon plasma coagulator to remove a benign cyst. The report analyzes the very particular mechanism of a gas embolism, which caused death here. This analysis leads us to recommend a close attention on the use of argon coagulators during laparoscopy.

[Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer].

Some diffuse type gastric cancers are of hereditary origin. Their histological characteristics are poor cell differentiation and the presence of signet-ring cells. The cause is a mutation of the CDH1 gene which is responsible for abnormal E-cadherin.

Long-term survival with consolidation intraperitoneal chemotherapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer with pathological complete remission.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcome after consolidation intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy in patients with a negative second-look laparotomy (SLL) following first-line intravenous chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer.

Methods: This study included patients with FIGO stage III-IV ovarian cancer who entered into four prospective trials (1984-1995) including intravenous chemotherapy based on cisplatin (six cycles) and anthracycline, early debulking surgery after three cycles of chemotherapy in the case of initial residual disease >2 cm, SLL, and IP consolidation chemotherapy. Among 218 patients, 68 with biopsy-negative SLL received every 4 weeks three consolidation cycles of IP chemotherapy (mitoxantrone, cisplatin, etoposide) via a totally implantable port.

Results of definitive irradiation in a series of 305 epidermoid carcinomas of the anal canal.

Purpose: To evaluate our data concerning the prognostic factors for locoregional control, survival, late complications, and sphincter conservation in a series of epidermoid cancers of the anal canal without clinical evidence of metastasis.

Methods And Materials: Between June 1972 and January 1997, 305 patients were treated with curative-intent radiotherapy (RT). The T stage according to the 1987 International Union Against Cancer classification was T1 in 26, T2 in 141, T3 in 104, and T4 in 34.

[Radiofrequency ablation of an unresectable abdominal tumor].

Remnant malignant tissue is left behind after conventional surgery for an unresectable intraperitoneal malignant tumor. Standard radiotherapy or chemotherapy rarely enables good tumor control. We report the case of a 74-year-old man who developed a local recurrence of a sigmoid tumor located 5 to 6 cm from the anus.