Should We Plan CME vs non-CME surgery in colon cancer based on preoperative CT? An observational cohort study.

tumour specific surgery in colon cancer is gaining popularity among colorectal surgeons. Many advocate adapting surgical technique based on preoperative CT staging as not all patients require complete mesocolic excision (CME) and D3 lymphadenectomy. We aimed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of preoperative CT scans in nodal staging and analyse whether inadequate CT staging could have influenced local recurrences.

Impact of Clostridium difficile Infection Versus Colonization on Postoperative Outcomes After Oncological Colorectal Surgery: An Observational Single-Center Study With Propensity Score Analysis.

Background: There is limited research available concerning the risk anastomotic leakage in the context of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Herein, we aim to elucidate the correlation between CDI, encompassing both preoperative asymptomatic C. difficile carriers (CDC) and postoperative hospital acquired C.

Frailty Increases Morbidity and Mortality in Patients Undergoing Oncological Liver Resections: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Considered to reflect a patients' biological age, frailty is a new syndrome shown to predict surgical outcomes in elderly patients. In view of the increasing age at which patients are proposed oncological liver surgery and the morbidity associated with it, we attempted to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare morbidity and mortality between frail and nonfrail patients after liver resections.

Methods: The study was registered with PROSPERO.

Quality assessment of surgery for colorectal cancer: Where do we stand?

Quality assurance in surgery has been one of the most important topics of debate among colorectal surgeons in the past decade. It has produced new surgical standards that led in part to the impressive oncological outcomes we see in many units today. Total mesorectal excision, complete mesocolic excision (CME), and the Japanese D3 lymphadenectomy are now benchmark techniques embraced by many surgeons and widely recommended by surgical societies.

Splenectomy Does Not Increase Early Morbidity in Patients Undergoing Total Gastrectomy: A Case-Control Study with Propensity Score Analysis.

Aim: In gastric cancer (GC), D2 lymph node dissection is, alongside negative-margins gastrectomy, of paramount importance. There is a debate between Western and Eastern scientific communities concerning the risk-benefit balance with respect to splenectomy, as Western countries are inclined to perform spleen-preserving gastrectomy due to an increased risk for postoperative complications. In Eastern countries (such as Japan) this is not the case.

Predictive and Prognostic Role of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Rectal Cancer: A Case Control Study with Propensity Score Analysis.

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is promoted as a marker reflecting the antitumoral inflammatory response. Herein, we aim to assess whether NLR at the time of diagnosis can predict response to neoadjuvant therapy and long-term survival in a matched cohort of rectal cancer patients. This is a case control study on rectal cancer patients who underwent standard oncological treatment and had NLR sampled at each stage.

Age, blood tests and comorbidities and AIMS65 risk scores outperform Glasgow-Blatchford and pre-endoscopic Rockall score in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a life-threatening condition with high mortality rates.

Aim: To compare the performance of pre-endoscopic risk scores in predicting the following primary outcomes: In-hospital mortality, intervention (endoscopic or surgical) and length of admission (≥ 7 d).

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 363 patients presenting with upper GI bleeding from December 2020 to January 2021.

Laparoscopic versus open resection of primary colorectal cancers and synchronous liver metastasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Combined resection of primary colorectal cancer and associated liver metastases is increasingly common. This study compares peri-operative and oncological outcomes according to surgical approach.

Methods: The study was registered with PROSPERO.

Targeted Cancer Therapy via pH-Functionalized Nanoparticles: A Scoping Review of Methods and Outcomes.

(1) Background: In recent years, several studies have described various and heterogenous methods to sensitize nanoparticles (NPs) to pH changes; therefore, in this current scoping review, we aimed to map current protocols for pH functionalization of NPs and analyze the outcomes of drug-loaded pH-functionalized NPs (pH-NPs) when delivered in vivo in tumoral tissue. (2) Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed database was performed for all published studies relating to in vivo models of anti-tumor drug delivery via pH-responsive NPs. Data on the type of NPs, the pH sensitization method, the in vivo model, the tumor cell line, the type and name of drug for targeted therapy, the type of in vivo imaging, and the method of delivery and outcomes were extracted in a separate database.

Postoperative Quality Assessment Score Can Select Patients with High Risk for Locoregional Recurrence in Colon Cancer.

Background: Monitoring surgical quality has been shown to reduce locoregional recurrence (LRR). We previously showed that the arterial stump length (ASL) after complete mesocolic excision (CME) is a reproducible quality instrument and correlates with the lymph-node (LN) yield. We hypothesized that generating an LRR prediction score by integrating the ASL would predict the risk of LRR after suboptimal surgery.

Post-operative computed tomography scan - reliable tool for quality assessment of complete mesocolic excision.

Background: Quality control in colon cancer surgery is an ongoing debate ever since standardization proved to be highly efficient in improving survival in rectal cancer. Complete mesocolic excision (CME) is widely acclaimed as the new gold-standard in colon cancer resections, thus it is imperative to establish quality criteria of CME in order to make it easily understood and verified by surgeons worldwide. One simple and reproducible tool could be the measurement of arterial stumps postoperatively and a straightforward way to test its reliability is to test it in a comparative study between CME and non-CME surgery.