[150 years of gastroenterology in the DMW - from Kussmaul to AI].

The Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift has accompanied the diverse and dynamic developments in the field of gastroenterology since the first issue of the journal in 1875! This article examines gastroenterological publications that have been published in the DMW over its 150-year history - some of which have marked milestones in this medical field.

Prognostic relevance of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer.

Serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) has been identified as biochemical marker for biliary tract cancer (BTC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate its value as a treatment response marker and its value as a prognostic parameter in patients with unresectable BTC. We analyzed 70 patients with BTC treated with chemotherapy.

Long-acting octreotide versus placebo for treatment of advanced HCC: a randomized controlled double-blind study.

Unlabelled: Although numerous treatment modalities have been explored in patients with advanced HCC, the therapeutic options are still limited. Somatostatin has been shown to have antimitotic activity in endocrine as well as in a variety of nonendocrine tumors. Expression of somatostatin receptors is found in HCCs, but the efficacy of the somatostatin analogue octreotide remains controversial.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome in patients with chronic liver disease: role of pulse oximetry.

Background: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare complication of liver diseases of different etiologies and may indicate a poor prognosis. Therefore, a simple non-invasive screening method to detect HPS would be highly desirable. In this study pulse oximetry was evaluated to identify patients with HPS.

Rapid and simple detection of IFN-neutralizing antibodies in chronic hepatitis C non-responsive to IFN-alpha.

Different mechanisms have been proposed for the failure of interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis, for example, the presence of IFN-neutralizing antibodies. In this study, a novel assay system based on the IFN-inducible Mx-promoter was used to detect IFN-neutralizing antibodies in sera of patients with chronic hepatitis C. To monitor IFN bioactivity in IFN-treated patients, a real-time RT-PCR for MxA gene expression in PBMCs was established.

Combined TACE and PEI for palliative treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: To assess whether the effectiveness of a combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is superior to TACE alone a randomized controlled trial was performed.

Methods: The effect of combination therapy on long-term survival rates and duration of hospitalization was evaluated in 52 previously untreated HCCs, randomly allocated to TACE-PEI (27 pts) or TACE alone (25 pts).

Results: The cumulative survival rate of the TACE group was 75.

Coordinated expression of cyclin D1 and LEF-1/TCF transcription factor is restricted to a subset of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: While the Wnt pathway has been widely implicated in hepatocarcinogenesis, the role of cyclin D1 as a direct downstream target gene of beta-catenin-lymphoid enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1)/T-cell factor (TCF) signaling is controversely discussed.

Methods: By immunohistochemical analyses we studied the subcellular localization of LEF-1/TCF and cyclin D1 in 162 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Single- and double-label imaging by brightfield and confocal laser scanning microscopy was quantitated and correlated with beta-catenin, the Ki67(+) proliferation fraction (PF), tumor size, grade, the Okuda stage and patient survival.