Sulforaphane has an additive anticancer effect to FOLFOX in highly metastatic human colon carcinoma cells.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Patients with CRC may need chemotherapy (CTx) in a neoadjuvant, adjuvant or palliative setting through the course of the disease. Unfortunately, its effect is limited by chemoresistance and chemotoxicity.

Routine Use of Contrast Swallow After Total Gastrectomy and Esophagectomy: Is it Justified?

Background: After gastrectomy or esophagectomy, esophagogastrostomy and esophagojejunostomy are commonly used for reconstruction. Water-soluble contrast swallow is often used as a routine screening to exclude anastomotic leakage during the first postoperative week. In this retrospective study, the sensitivity and specificity of oral water-soluble contrast swallow for the detection of anastomotic leakage and its clinical symptoms were analysed.

Impact of Inter-Laboratory Variability on Model of End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) Score Calculation.

BACKGROUND The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) is a laboratory-based scoring system for assessing the severity of liver disease. Since 16 December 2006, MELD-based organ allocation for liver transplantation (LT) has been established in Germany to prioritize the sickest patients. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of using different laboratories on the calculated MELD score, despite the use of mandatory round-robin testing for comparable of inter-laboratory results.

Glycine inhibits angiogenesis in colorectal cancer: role of endothelial cells.

Neo-angiogenesis is important for tumor growth. Glycine is a non-toxic amino acid with suspected anti-angiogenic effects. This study was designed to evaluate anti-angiogenic effects of glycine in colorectal cancer.

Intraoperative Fluid Excess Is a Risk Factor for Pancreatic Fistula after Partial Pancreaticoduodenectomy.

. After pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), pancreatic fistulas (PF) are a frequent complication. Infusions may compromise anastomotic integrity.

A Retrospective Comparison of Mycophenolate Mofetil with Low-Exposure Cyclosporine Versus Standard Cyclosporine Therapy in De Novo Liver Transplant Patients.

BACKGROUND Data on low-exposure calcineurin inhibitor therapy with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in de novo liver transplant patients are limited and restricted to tacrolimus. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-eight patients receiving cyclosporine and MMF at a single center were identified retrospectively and categorized as low-exposure or standard-exposure CsA (median concentration <80 ng/mL [n=16] or ≥80 ng/mL [n=12] during days 1-7) and analyzed to 12 weeks post-transplant. RESULTS Biopsy-proven acute rejection (Banff ≥4) occurred in 3 low-CsA patients and no standard-CsA patients (p=0.

Early markers of reperfusion injury after liver transplantation: association with primary dysfunction.

Background: In patients with end-stage liver disease, liver transplantation is the only available curative treatment. Although the outcome and quality of life in the patients have improved over the past decades, primary dys- or nonfunction (PDF/PNF) can occur. Early detection of PDF and PNF is crucial and could lead to individual therapies.

A systematic review of pharmacological treatment options used to reduce ischemia reperfusion injury in rat liver transplantation.

Background: Although animal studies models are frequently used for the purpose of attenuating ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in liver transplantation (LT), many of pharmacological agents have not become part of clinical routine.

Methods: A search was performed using the PubMed database to identify agents, from which 58 articles containing 2700 rat LT procedures were selected. The identified pharmacological agents were categorized as follows: I - adenosine agonists, nitric oxide agonists, endothelin antagonists, and prostaglandins, II - Kupffer cell inactivator, III - complement inhibiter, IV - antioxidant, V - neutrophil inactivator, VI -anti-apoptosis agent, VII - heat shock protein and nuclear factor kappa B inducer, VIII - metabolic agent, IX - traditional Chinese medicine, and X - others.

Prediction of postoperative mortality in liver transplantation in the era of MELD-based liver allocation: a multivariate analysis.

Background And Aims: Liver transplantation is the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease. While waiting list mortality can be predicted by the MELD-score, reliable scoring systems for the postoperative period do not exist. This study's objective was to identify risk factors that contribute to postoperative mortality.

Current strategies for immunosuppression following liver transplantation.

Background: New strategies for immunosuppression (IS) after liver transplantation (LTx) are in part responsible for the increased patient and graft survival seen over time. With a few basic exceptions-notably the continued use of steroids and calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs)-IS drugs and regimens being used today are different from those used 30 years ago. While graft loss due to acute or chronic rejection has become rare, the side effect burden of IS drugs exerts a significant toll on patients.

Machine perfusion in solid organ transplantation: where is the benefit?

Background: Machine perfusion (MP) in solid organ transplantation has been a topic of variable importance for decades. At the dawn of organ transplantation, MP was one of the standard techniques for preservation; today's gold standard for organ preservation for transplantation is cold storage (CS). The outcome after transplantation of solid organs has tremendously improved over the last five decades.

Glycine inhibits angiogenic signaling in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly vascularized tumor with limited susceptibility to chemotherapy. Modern targeted therapies are aimed at specific properties of this neoplasm. Glycine is a simple non-essential amino acid with potential antiangiogenic effects.

Sulforaphane protects hearts from early injury after experimental transplantation.

Background: Oxidative stress is a major factor in the development of ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) after heart transplantation. The isothiocyanate found in broccoli - sulforaphane (SFN) - is an indirect antioxidant that acts by inducing Nrf2-dependent Phase 2 enzymes, such as NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, and the cardioprotective enzymes, haemoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and thioredoxin (Trx-1), participate in adaptive and protective responses to oxidative stress and various inflammatory stimuli. The aim of this study was to ameliorate IRI following heart transplants by recipient preconditioning.

Sulforaphane decreases kidney injury after transplantation in rats: role of mitochondrial damage.

Background: Sulforaphane is a naturally occuring antioxidative and anti-inflammatory isothiocyanat. In this study, its impact on experimental kidney transplantation was evaluated.

Material And Methods: Male Brown Norway rats (n=112) were used as experimental animals.

Immunodominance and functional alterations of tumor-associated antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Unlabelled: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide with a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. To aid the development of novel immunological interventions, we studied the breadth, frequency, and tumor-infiltration of naturally occurring CD8(+) T-cell responses targeting several tumor-associated antigens (TAA). We used overlapping peptides spanning the entire alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), glypican-3 (GPC-3), melanoma-associated gene-A1 (MAGE-A1) and New York-esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) proteins and major-histocompatibility-complex-class-I-tetramers specific for epitopes of MAGE-A1 and NY-ESO-1 to analyze TAA-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses in a large cohort of HCC patients.

Alternatives to islet transplantation: future cell sources of beta-like cells.

Cell transplantation is a treatment option for diabetes, metabolic liver disease in children, and leukemia. Except for the latter indication, solid organ transplantation is one of the available therapies but can be replaced by cell transplantation. However, due to the limited amount of cells that can be transplanted and due to rejection, results of cell transplants are still inferior to solid organ transplantation; there is a general shortage of donor organs, and cell isolation is limited to organs which cannot be transplanted as a whole for anatomic reasons.

HTK-N, a modified HTK solution, decreases preservation injury in a model of microsteatotic rat liver transplantation.

Background: Ischemia/reperfusion injury is an obstacle especially in steatotic livers, including those with steatosis induced by acute toxic stress. Recently, a modified histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solution, HTK-N, has been developed. This solution contains N-acetylhistidine, amino acids, and iron chelators.

Evaluation of porcine mesenchymal stem cells for therapeutic use in human liver cancer.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation is suggested for therapy of end-stage liver disease, due to e.g. liver cancer and metastasis.

LabMELD-based organ allocation increases total costs of liver transplantation: a single-center experience.

Introduction: In 2006, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)-based allocation was implemented in the Eurotransplant (ET) region. Sick patients, who in general require more resources, are prioritized. In this analysis, the effect of MELD on costs for liver transplantation (LTx) was assessed.

The use of high-dose melatonin in liver resection is safe: first clinical experience.

Experimental data suggest that melatonin decreases inflammatory changes after major liver resection, thus positively influencing the postoperative course. To assess the safety of a preoperative single dose of melatonin in patients undergoing major liver resection, a randomized controlled double-blind pilot clinical trial with two parallel study arms was designed at the Department of General and Transplantation Surgery, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg. A total of 307 patients, who were referred for liver surgery, were screened.

Glycine and taurine equally prevent fatty livers from Kupffer cell-dependent injury: an in vivo microscopy study.

Background: IRI still is a major problem in liver surgery due to warm ischemia and organ manipulation. Steatosis is not only induced by diabetes, hyperalimentation, alcohol and toxins, but also chemotherapy given before resection. Since steatotic livers are prone to Kupffer cell-dependent IRI, protection of steatotic livers is of special interest.

Dietary glycine protects from chemotherapy-induced hepatotoxicity.

Hepatotoxic side effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal liver metastases increase perioperative morbidity and mortality. Glycine protects liver from injury in various animal models. Thus, this study was designed to assess its effect on liver after chemotherapy.

Quality of life after curative liver resection: a single center analysis.

Aim: To evaluate quality of life (QoL) after curative liver resection and identify variables associated with decreased QoL.

Methods: From October 2001 to July 2004, 323 patients underwent liver resection. At 3-36 mo after discharge, 188 patients were disease free.

Danshen protects liver grafts from ischemia/reperfusion injury in experimental liver transplantation in rats.

Reperfusion injury remains one of the major problems in transplantation. Free radicals and disturbance of microcirculation are the supposed main contributors. Recent evidence shows that Danshen, a traditional Chinese drug used in vascular diseases, can scavenge radicals and improve microcirculation.