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.

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.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided endoscopic necrosectomy of the pancreas: is irrigation necessary?

Background: Findings have shown endoscopic necrosectomy to be beneficial for patients with symptomatic pancreatic necrosis accessible for an endoscopic approach. The available studies show that endoscopic necrosectomy requires a multitude of subsequent procedures including repeat irrigation for removal of the necrotic material. This study aimed to investigate the need for additional irrigation in patients with necrotizing pancreatitis treated by endoscopic necrosectomy.