Genetic alteration of SLCO1B3 defines constitutional indocyanine green excretory defect in patients who underwent hepatectomy.

Aim: Constitutional indocyanine green (ICG) excretory defects must be distinguished when assessing liver function. The absence of OATP1B3 expression due to homogenous alterations in the SLCO1B3 gene has been recently reported to induce ICG excretory defects; however, its association with the clinical examinations and the clinical implications of heterogeneous SLCO1B3 gene alteration remain unclear.

Methods: OATP1B3 expression was evaluated in 49 patients who underwent hepatectomy after evaluation of the ICG retention rate at 15 min (ICGR15) and technetium-99 m-galactosyl serum albumin (99mTc-GSA) hepatic scintigraphy.

Grade 3 Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Refractory to Chemotherapy Successfully Treated with Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy Leading to Conversion Surgery.

A 59-year-old woman was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (P-NET; Grade 3, Ki67: 25%) with multiple liver and lymph node metastases and started chemotherapy with streptozosin (500 mg/m/day) in combination with lanreotide acetate (120 mg). After six courses of (daily) streptozosin, the patient had progressive disease, as assessed by computed tomography (CT), and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) was started as second-line treatment. As PRRT was remarkably successful and the tumor shrank, surgery was performed to resect the primary pancreatic tumor, liver metastases, and lymph node metastases.

Impact of biliary drainage method before pancreaticoduodenectomy on short- and long-term outcomes in patients with periampullary carcinoma and obstructive jaundice: A multicenter retrospective analysis.

Background: The optima preoperative biliary drainage before pancreaticoduodenectomy in patients with biliary tract and pancreatic cancer remains controversial.

Methods: A total of 898 patients who underwent preoperative biliary drainage via endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage, endoscopic transnasal biliary drainage, or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage before pancreaticoduodenectomy for biliary tract and pancreatic cancer were included. Perioperative and long-term outcomes were analyzed.

A Multicenter Phase 2 Trial Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Preoperative Lenvatinib Therapy for Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (LENS-HCC Trial).

Introduction: The phase III REFLECT trial demonstrated that lenvatinib was superior to sorafenib in terms of progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression, and objective response rate (ORR) for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study assessed the efficacy and safety of preoperative lenvatinib therapy for patients with oncologically or technically unresectable HCC.

Methods: In this multicenter single-arm phase II trial, patients with advanced HCC and factors suggestive of a poor prognosis (macroscopic vascular invasion, extrahepatic metastasis, or multinodular tumors) were enrolled.

Is Repeat Resection for Recurrent Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Warranted? Outcomes of an International Analysis.

Background: Recurrence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) after liver resection (LR) remains high, and optimal therapy for recurrent ICC is challenging. Herein, we assess the outcomes of patients undergoing repeat resection for recurrent ICC in a large, international multicenter cohort.

Patients And Methods: Outcomes of adults from six large hepatobiliary centers in North America, Europe, and Asia with recurrent ICC following primary LR between 2001 and 2015 were analyzed.

The Effect of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors in Patients Undergoing Pancreatic Cancer Resection.

Objectives: The local renin-angiotensin system promotes angiogenesis and proliferation via vascular endothelial growth factor or epidermal growth factor receptor expression. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of angiotensin system inhibitors (ASIs) on long-term outcomes in patients undergoing surgical resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: A single institutional retrospective analysis was performed using the medical records of patients who underwent pancreatic resection with curative intent for PDAC between January 2005 and December 2018.

Metallic Stents for Hepatic Venous Outflow Obstruction After Living-Donor Liver Transplantation and their Therapeutic Effects.

Background: Living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is established as a standard therapy for end-stage liver disease; however, vessel reconstruction is more demanding due to the short length and small size of the available structures compared with deceased-donor whole liver transplantation. Interventional radiology (IR) has become the first-line treatment for vascular complications after LDLT. Hepatic venous outflow obstruction (HVOO) is a life-threatening complication after LDLT.

A Novel Pathogenic Gene Variant Identified in a Family With Multiple Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a hereditary endocrine tumor syndrome caused by pathogenic variants in the gene, and most patients with this syndrome initially develop primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Here, we report the case of a family wherein a germline variant was detected and multiple pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) were observed at the initial evaluation. A 40-year-old woman presented with a complaint of abdominal discomfort, and a close examination revealed multiple pancreatic tumors.

Gastric cancer simultaneously complicated with extrahepatic bile duct metastasis and portal vein tumor thrombus: a case report.

Background: Gastric cancer metastatic to the extrahepatic bile duct or accompanied by portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is rare. To our knowledge, there have been no cases complicated with both of these factors.

Case Presentation: A 72-year-old man presented with icterus and melena.

Increased expression of TNFRSF14 and LIGHT in biliary epithelial cells of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Background And Aims: There is a lack of biliary epithelial molecular markers for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). We analyzed candidates from disease susceptibility genes identified in recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

Methods: Expression levels of GWAS genes were analyzed in archival liver tissues of patients with PSC and controls.

Exosomes secreted by ST3GAL5 cancer cells promote peritoneal dissemination by establishing a premetastatic microenvironment.

Peritoneal dissemination of cancer affects patient survival. The behavior of peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs) and immune cells influences the establishment of a microenvironment that promotes cancer cell metastasis in the peritoneum. Here, we investigated the roles of lactosylceramide alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase (ST3G5; also known as ST3GAL5 and GM3 synthase) in the exosome-mediated premetastatic niche in peritoneal milky spots (MSs).

Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy for real-time evaluation of colorectal liver metastasis in resected surgical specimens.

Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) enables real-time examination of tissue structure. This study investigated pCLE with or without fluorescein sodium for the intraoperative diagnosis of colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) and detection of surgical margins. Thirty-four specimens of CLM and adjacent noncancerous tissue were obtained from 21 patients and examined by pCLE between May 2017 and March 2018.

Conditional recurrence analysis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Changes in recurrence rate and survival after recurrence resection by disease-free interval.

Aim: The prognosis of patients with resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is still unsatisfactory, with a high recurrence rate. We aimed to evaluate risks of recurrence changing over time and the survival benefit of resection for recurrent ICC.

Methods: This study included patients who underwent hepatectomy for ICC during 1995-2020.

Lenvatinib recruits cytotoxic GZMK+CD8 T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Lenvatinib was expected to enhance the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for unresectable HCC; however, their combination therapy failed to show the synergy in the phase III clinical trial.

Methods: To elucidate lenvatinib-induced molecular modulation, we performed bulk RNA-sequencing and digital spatial profiling of 5 surgically resected human HCC specimens after lenvatinib treatment and 10 matched controls without any preceding therapy.

Findings: Besides its direct antitumor effects, lenvatinib recruited cytotoxic GZMK+CD8 T cells in intratumor stroma by CXCL9 from tumor-associated macrophages, suggesting that lenvatinib-treated HCC is in the so-called excluded condition that can diminish ICI efficacy.

Clinical Outcomes of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms With Dilatation of the Main Pancreatic Duct.

Background & Aims: Dilatation of the main pancreatic duct (MPD) has been a surgical indication for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs). Few studies have investigated long-term outcomes of IPMNs with MPD dilatation.

Methods: Among 3610 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cysts between 1994 and 2021, we identified 2829 IPMN patients, including 282 patients with MPD ≥5 mm, and examined short-term (≤6 months) and long-term risks of pancreatic carcinoma.

Posthepatectomy but not prehepatectomy chemotherapy was associated with a longer time to recurrence in patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases: Inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis.

Background: Patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases (CLM) are treated with surgery alone, surgery and posthepatectomy chemotherapy, or prehepatectomy chemotherapy and surgery. The optimal approach in terms of survival is unclear. We compared survival in the three treatment groups using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis.

Transient loss of consciousness immediately after total pancreatectomy for pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma: a case report.

Background: Total pancreatectomy (TP) is often selected for treatment of various pancreatic diseases. However, the resultant lack of autoregulation of glycometabolism necessitates careful postoperative management.

Case Presentation: A 77-year-old man who had undergone right nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma 11 years previously presented with multiple histologically diagnosed pancreatic metastases.

New Diagnostic Modality Combining Mass Spectrometry and Machine Learning for the Discrimination of Malignant Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms.

Background: An intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a pancreatic tumor with malignant potential. Although we anticipate a sensitive method to diagnose the malignant conversion of IPMN, an effective strategy has not yet been established. The combination of probe electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (PESI-MS) and machine learning provides a promising solution for this purpose.

Safety and usefulness of fluorescence imaging using methylene blue as a fluorophore in a Japanese population with hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases: A phase I study.

Background: Methylene blue (MB) has been used to treat methemoglobinemia. Recently, a fluorescence imaging technique using MB as a fluorophore was used in several region but still not in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery; thus, information on the safety of intraoperative fluorescence imaging using MB in a healthy Japanese population is lacking. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of MB fluorescence imaging in patients undergoing hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and the safety of intraoperative administration of MB in patients without methemoglobinemia.

Automated liver tumor detection in abdominal ultrasonography with a modified faster region-based convolutional neural networks (Faster R-CNN) architecture.

Background: Although diagnostic ultrasound can non-invasively capture the image of abdominal viscera, diagnosis of the continuous ultrasound liver images to detect a liver tumor effectively and to determine whether the detected is benign or malignant is nontrivial. In order to minimize the gaps in diagnostic accuracy depending on doctor's proficiency, we built an automated system to support the ultrasonography of liver tumors by employing deep learning technologies.

Methods: We constructed a neural network model for the automated detection of tumor tissues and blood vessels from the sequential liver ultrasound images.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate lyase facilitates cancer progression through converting sphingolipids to glycerophospholipids.

Background: In addition to potent agonist properties for sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptors, intracellularly, S1P is an intermediate in metabolic conversion pathway from sphingolipids to glycerolysophospholipids (glyceroLPLs). We hypothesized that this S1P metabolism and its products might possess some novel roles in the pathogenesis of cancer, where S1P lyase (SPL) is a key enzyme.

Methods: The mRNA levels of sphingolipid-related and other cancer-related factors were measured in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), colorectal cancer, and esophageal cancer patients' tumours and in their adjacent non-tumour tissues.