Results of a randomised controlled trial between an ORC collagen hemostatic agent and a carrier-bound fibrin sealant.

Introduction: Despite ongoing optimisation of surgical techniques, hemostasis continues to be a fundamental challenge in many operations today. This randomised controlled trial compared the efficacy of a new hemostatic agent made of oxidised regenerated cellulose and collagen (ORC-Coll) with that of a conventional carrier-bound fibrin sealant (CBFS).

Methods: Hemostasis was investigated representatively in the case of post-thyroidectomy bleeding from the resection surface.

The significance of collagen dressings in wound management: a review.

Clinical experience and research has improved our understanding of wound healing which, in turn, has enabled health professionals to aid wound healing and manufacturers to develop modern wound dressings. The significant role of collagen in wound healing has led to the development of numerous products on the basis of this biological material. The main focus of this review is to provide a critical appraisal of publications about collagen and acellular collagen dressings with a fleece-like or spongy structure.

[Reconstruction of the Bile Duct with the Umbilical Vein after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy].

Roux-Y hepaticojejunostomy is currently the standard surgical procedure for the reconstruction of the bile duct after iatrogenic transection in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, about 30 % of all hepaticojejunostomies develop a stenosis after some time and in 7 % a cholangiocellular carcinoma occurs. Therefore, alternative procedures have been investigated.

Prognostic and predictive value of circulating tumor cell analysis in colorectal cancer patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic and predictive values of circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis in colorectal cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Presence of CTCs was evaluated in 60 colorectal cancer patients before systemic therapy--from which 33 patients were also evaluable for CTC analysis during the first 3 months of treatment--through immunomagnetic enrichment, using the antibodies BM7 and VU1D9 (targeting mucin 1 and EpCAM, respectively), followed by real-time RT-PCR analysis of the tumor-associated genes KRT19, MUC1, EPCAM, CEACAM5 and BIRC5.

Results: Patients were stratified into groups according to CTC detection (CTC negative, when all marker genes were negative; and CTC positive when at least one of the marker genes was positive).

Development of a molecular multimarker assay for the analysis of circulating tumor cells in adenocarcinoma patients.

Background: The analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is emerging as a promising diagnostic tool in oncology. However, even if a variety of methods for CTC isolation have been already developed, their specificity and/or sensitivity still remain problematic. The aim of this study was to develop an immunomagnetic/real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for the molecular detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood (PB) of adenocarcinoma cancer patients.