Assessing immunological surgical stress markers in patients undergoing digestive surgery for pancreatic, hepatic and gastric tumors.

Purpose: Cytokines like IL-6, IL-10 and other factors like CRP are involved in the postoperative inflammatory-stress response. The association between IL-6, IL-10, CRP, albumin and early postoperative complications and deaths was analyzed on a cohort of cancer patient.

Methods: The plasma levels of IL-6, IL-10 and serum levels of c-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin were measured in 85 patients undergoing surgical resection of pancreatic, hepatic and gastric tumors.

Cystic Dystrophy of the Duodenal Wall in Heterotopic Pancreas with Groove Pancreatitis: A Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenge.

Unlabelled: Cystic dystrophy of heterotopic pancreas is a benign, rare disease characterized by development of true cysts into the duodenal wall. Non-specific clinical manifestations and difficult to interpret imaging provide a diagnostic challenge, especially when pancreatic cancer is suspected. Surgical treatment (pancreatoduodenectomy) offer best outcomes.

How do surgical stress and low perioperative serum protein and albumin impact upon short term morbidity and mortality in gastric cancer surgery?

Background: Patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer may be expected to develop a certain range of postoperative complications. This retrospective cohort study determined if gauging the serum value of total proteins and albumins before and especially after surgery can predict an undesired short term outcome in patients with gastric resections for cancer, as we have not found studies debating the link between low postoperative total proteins or albumins and early postoperative morbidity.

Methods: A total of 195 patients with gastric cancer who had been subjected to gastric resection (83 patients) or total gastrectomy (111 patients), were subsequently arranged into study group pairs.

The role of intraoperative ultrasound for the assessment of the focal liver lesions in patients with colorectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the concordance between intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) and abdominal ultrasound (US) for the characterization of focal liver lesions in patients with colorectal cancer, and to evaluate the way in which IOUS influences the initially established hepatic surgical protocol based on abdominal US only.

Method: In this prospective study 73 patients with colorectal cancer and focal liver lesions found during IOUS were included. Abdominal US and IOUS findings were compared.

Staging laparoscopy in digestive cancers.

BACKGROUND. Laparoscopy and laparoscopic ultrasonography may assist in the more accurate staging of digestive cancers. We assessed the diagnostic value of staging laparoscopy in patients with cancers of lower esophagus, stomach, liver, biliary tract, pancreas and colon.

Gallbladder carcinoma. A clinical study of a series of 38 cases.

We analyse a series of 38 cases of gallbladder carcinoma. All cases presented gallbladder stones and IVB was the most frequent TNM stage--29 cases (76.31%).