Stress and obesity signaling converge on CREB phosphorylation to promote pancreatic cancer.

One of the deadliest types of cancer is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Chronic stress and obesity are recognized as risk factors for PDAC. We hypothesized that the combination of stress and obesity strongly promotes pancreatic cancer development and growth.

Management of chronic pancreatitis.

Chronic pancreatitis results from repeated episodes of pancreatic inflammation and associated fibrosis leading to the loss of functional exocrine and endocrine pancreatic function. The disease is manifested by abdominal pain, deterioration in quality of life, food maldigestion and malabsorption, diabetes, and an increased risk for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This review summarizes the latest evidence on the diagnosis and management of chronic pancreatitis and its manifestations.

Cataloging formal medical student surgical funding opportunities: A retrospective characterization.

Representation of female surgical residents has slowly increased, but underrepresented in medicine (URiM) representation remains disappointingly low. National residency matching reports suggest that meaningful research experience improves surgical residency match success - therefore, formal funding opportunities and early mentorship for URiM medical students. In this study, we catalog medical student (MS) funding opportunities (funding type, eligibility by year, mission, compensation, length of commitment, number of awardees, and dollar investment amount per student) from 7 surgical departments (general surgery, thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, otorhinolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery) within 196 US medical schools and 20 professional surgical educational organizations through manually searching web pages.

Robotic versus open pancreaticoduodenectomy in elderly patients: a propensity score-matched analysis.

Background: Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is complex procedure with high morbidity in the elderly. This retrospective study aimed to compare post-operative outcomes in patients ≥75 years of age who underwent robot-assisted (RA)PD and open PD.

Methods: We analyzed 2502 patients ≥75 years of age who underwent PD from 2015 to 2018 in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database.

Pathological treatment response has different prognostic implications for pancreatic cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Pathological treatment effect of resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma after neoadjuvant therapy has prognostic implications. The impact for patients who received chemotherapy alone or chemoradiotherapy is not well defined.

Methods: Patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma who had pancreatectomy after neoadjuvant therapy at 3 centers from 2011 to 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.

Persistence of Gender Bias Over Four Decades of Surgical Training.

Objective: Female surgeons face gender-specific obstacles during residency training, yet longitudinal data on gender bias experienced by female surgery residents are lacking. We aimed to investigate the evolution of gender bias, identify obstacles experienced by female general surgery residents, and discuss approaches to supporting female surgeons during residency training.

Methods: Between August 2019 and January 2021, we conducted a retrospective cohort study using structured telephone interviews of female graduates of the UCLA General Surgery Residency training program.

The Effect of Perioperative Blood Transfusion on Long-Term Survival Outcomes After Surgery for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To evaluate survival outcomes associated with perioperative allogeneic red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma undergoing surgery.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science Core Collection were queried for English-language articles until May 28, 2020. Studies evaluating long-term outcomes of RBCT compared with no transfusion in adults with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma undergoing pancreatectomy were included.

Robust Inference for Mediated Effects in Partially Linear Models.

We consider mediated effects of an exposure, X on an outcome, Y, via a mediator, M, under no unmeasured confounding assumptions in the setting where models for the conditional expectation of the mediator and outcome are partially linear. We propose G-estimators for the direct and indirect effects and demonstrate consistent asymptotic normality for indirect effects when models for the conditional means of M, or X and Y are correctly specified, and for direct effects, when models for the conditional means of Y, or X and M are correct. This marks an improvement, in this particular setting, over previous 'triple' robust methods, which do not assume partially linear mean models.

Long-term cardiovascular outcomes after orlistat therapy in patients with obesity: a nationwide, propensity-score matched cohort study.

Aims: The rising prevalence of obesity and its associated comorbidities represent a growing public health issue; in particular, obesity is known to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Despite the evidence behind the efficacy of orlistat in achieving weight loss in patients with obesity, no study thus far has quantified its long-term effect on cardiovascular outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore long-term cardiovascular outcomes after orlistat therapy.

Direct Effects of Lipopolysaccharide on Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Objectives: Obesity, a risk factor for pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is often accompanied by a systemic increase in lipopolysaccharide (LPS; metabolic endotoxemia), which is thought to mediate obesity-associated inflammation. However, the direct effects of LPS on PDAC cells are poorly understood.

Methods: The expression of toll-like receptor 4, the receptor for LPS, was confirmed in PDAC cell lines.