Minimally invasive colorectal surgery learning curve.

The learning curve in minimally invasive colorectal surgery is a constant subject of discussion in the literature. Discordant data likely reflects the varying degrees of each surgeon's experience in colorectal, laparoscopic or robotic surgery. Several factors are necessary for a successful minimally invasive colorectal surgery training program, including: Compliance with oncological outcomes; dissection along the embryological planes; constant presence of an expert tutor; periodic discussion of the morbidity and mortality rate; and creation of a dedicated, expert team.

Cutaneous metastasis from lung cancer. Case report.

Unlabelled: Lung cancer is the most common neoplasm diagnosed worldwide. Metastatic presentation of the disease is frequent. Apart from the usual sites of metastatic disease (bone, adrenals, liver, brain), a particular site for metastases is represented by skin.

CD133 and CD44 cell surface markers do not identify cancer stem cells in primary human gastric tumors.

Emerging evidence suggests that tumors contain and are driven by a cellular component that displays stem cell properties, the so-called cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs have been identified in several solid human cancers; however, there are no data about CSCs in primary human gastric cancer (GC). By using CD133 and CD44 cell surface markers we investigated whether primary human GCs contain a cell subset expressing stem-like properties and whether this subpopulation has tumor-initiating properties in xenograft transplantation experiments.