Preoperative Identification and Outcomes of Vascular Variants on Surgery for Chronic Pancreatitis.

Introduction: Surgeries for chronic pancreatitis are tailored based on disease process and either include parenchymal-preserving surgeries or total pancreatectomy with or without islet cell autotransplantation. It is critical to account for vascular variants as injuries to these are associated with short- and long-term morbidity and mortality. There is a lack of contemporary data on the true incidence of aberrant arterial anatomy, and it is likely to be underreported by nonhepatobiliary radiologists.

"The Prognostic Role of Aspartate Transaminase to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) on Outcomes Following Non-emergent Minor Hepatectomy".

Introduction: Fibrosis and cirrhosis are associated with worse outcomes after hepatectomy. Aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI) is associated with fibrosis and cirrhosis in hepatitis C patients. However, APRI has not been studied to predict outcomes after hepatectomy in patients without viral hepatitis.

Early-stage gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer: Is there a survival benefit to neoadjuvant therapy?

Background: Several randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of resectable gastric cancer. Most patients in these studies had node-positive disease or more advanced T stage. The benefit of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with early-stage gastric cancer remains unclear.

Small-sized gastrointestinal stromal tumors: Is there an association between expectant management and overall survival?

Background: Small-sized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have limited malignant potential. Few studies evaluate the safety and efficacy of expectant management (EM) for patients presenting with small GIST.

Methods: We queried the National Cancer Database to identify patients ≤65 years presenting with GISTs smaller than 3 cm in size between 2004 and 2015.

Positive microscopic surgical margins: Is there an association with survival in resected small gastrointestinal stromal tumors?

Background: Few studies evaluate the relationships between surgical approach, histologic margin, and overall survival in gastrointestinal stromal tumor. We test the hypothesis that margin positive resection is associated with compromised overall survival.

Methods: We queried the National Cancer Data Base to identify patients undergoing resections for gastrointestinal stromal tumors ≤3 cm in size between 2010 and 2015.

Adjuvant systemic therapy for small bowel gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST): Is there a survival benefit after R0 resection?

Background: The utility of adjuvant systemic therapy in small bowel gastrointestinal stromal tumor remains unclear.

Methods: We queried the National Cancer Data Base for individuals having enterectomy to negative margins for small bowel gastrointestinal stromal tumor between 2010 and 2015. Subjects were categorized by tumor size (2.

Adjuvant systemic therapy for intermediate and large gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs): Is there a survival benefit following margin negative surgical resection?

Background: The value of adjuvant systemic therapy after margin-negative resection for gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) remains unclear.

Methods: The National Cancer Data Base was queried to identify patients undergoing margin negative resections for gastric GISTs >2 cm between 2010 and 2015. Patients were stratified by tumor size (small: 2.

Clinically resectable acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas: Is there a benefit to adjuvant systemic therapy?

Background: Prior studies of adjuvant systemic therapy in pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma have been underpowered.

Methods: We queried the National Cancer Data Base to identify patients presenting with resectable (clinical stage I and II) acinar cell carcinoma between 2004 and 2015. Multivariable Cox Regression was used to evaluate the association between overall survival and systemic therapy.

Discovery of Ibomycin, a Complex Macrolactone that Exerts Antifungal Activity by Impeding Endocytic Trafficking and Membrane Function.

Natural products are invaluable historic sources of drugs for infectious diseases; however, the discovery of novel antimicrobial chemical scaffolds has waned in recent years. Concurrently, there is a pressing need for improved therapeutics to treat fungal infections. We employed a co-culture screen to identify ibomycin, a large polyketide macrolactone that has preferential killing activity against Cryptococcus neoformans.