Pancreatic tumors and immature immunosuppressive myeloid cells in blood and spleen: role of inhibitory co-stimulatory molecules PDL1 and CTLA4. An in vivo and in vitro study.

Background: Blood and spleen expansion of immature myeloid cells (IMCs) might compromise the immune response to cancer. We studied in vivo circulating and splenic T lymphocyte and IMC subsets in patients with benign and malignant pancreatic diseases. We ascertained in vitro whether pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC)-associated IMC subsets are induced by tumor-derived soluble factors and whether they are immunosuppressive focusing on the inhibitory co-stimulatory molecules PDL1 and CTLA4.

B1a lymphocytes in the rectal mucosa of ulcerative colitis patients.

Aim: To assess B1a cell expression in the rectal mucosa of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in comparison with healthy controls.

Methods: Rectal mucosa biopsies were collected from 15 UC patients and 17 healthy controls. CD5(+) B cells were analysed by three colour flow cytometry from rectal mucosal samples after mechanical disaggregation by Medimachine(®).

Neurological syndrome after R-CHOP chemotherapy for a non-Hodgkin lymphoma: what is the diagnosis?

A 63-year-old man was admitted to our Oncology department for management of a follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma, stage IV A FLIPI 5. The patient entered chemotherapy following the R-CHOP schedule, and a PET scan after three cycles showed partial remission. One week later he was admitted to our hospital after developing serious pain in his left arm resulting in an impaired function, right facial hemiplegia, and ophthalmoplegia.

Herbal hepatotoxicity: a case of difficult interpretation.

Herbal medicines are widely used in the world and are generally considered effective and safe, although many studies have demonstrated their potential toxic effects, particularly for the liver. We present a case of a woman, who developed a mixed cholestatic/hepatocellular liver injury due to herbal products. Firstly, she was admitted to Division of Surgery for right upper abdominal pain and jaundice and, for the suspect of biliary obstruction, she underwent to cholecystectomy.