Tumor irradiation may facilitate the detection of tumor-specific mutations in plasma.

Background: The mutation-based analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a promising diagnostic tool for clinical oncology. However, it has low success rate because many cancer patients do not have detectable ctDNA in the bloodstream.

Aim: To evaluate whether preoperative tumor irradiation results in a transient increase of plasma ctDNA concentration due to the induction of apoptosis in radiation-exposed cells.

[Dilated cardiomyopathy as a cause of ischemic stroke].

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP) is a disease of the myocardium characterized by the dilatation of heart cavities with the development of systolic dysfunction but without a decrease in the thickness of the myocardium. DCMP is a frequent cause of cardioembolic syndrome, in particular cardioembolic ischemic stroke (CES). A case of a patient with DCMP after CES is presented.

[Results of surgical treatment of cholelithiasis by laparotomic and minimally invasive accesses].

The article presents the results of surgical treatment of 1038 patients with cholelithiasis, acute and chronic calculous cholecystitis and complicated forms of the disease. Operations were performed with traditional laparotomic and minimally invasive approaches. Indications for choosing access, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of various options of surgery in patients with cholelithiasis are discussed.

[Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in case of acute cholecystitis].

The article describes the results of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis. 97 patients including 13 men and 84 women aged from 20 to 74 years were included in the study. There was not the conversion to laparotomy and intraoperative complications in all cases.