Preoperative survival calculator for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Estimation of preoperative overall survival (OS) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may guide surgical decision-making.

Methods: OS was analyzed using the National Cancer Data Base from 1998-2012. Patients with HCC who underwent wedge resection, lobectomy or extended lobectomy were selected.

Ablative Therapies for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer.

The vast majority of patients who present with pancreatic adenocarcinoma have locally advanced or metastatic disease at the time of presentation without possibility of cure. Although in recent years there have been some new promising chemotherapy regimens that improve overall survival by a few months, the prognosis remains dismal. There is, however, a subset of patients who experience durable stable disease or partial responses after initial courses of chemotherapy with locally advanced disease.

Disparities in the Age-Related Rates of Colorectal Cancer in the United States.

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among Americans under the age of 50 years is increasing. The purpose of this study was to identify racial and socioeconomic disparities associated with this trend. The National Cancer Data Base was used to identify patients with CRC from 1998 to 2011.

Does adjuvant therapy improve overall survival for stage IA/B pancreatic adenocarcinoma?

Background: Current guidelines recommend adjuvant chemotherapy for resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, no studies have addressed its survival benefit for stage I patients as they comprise <10% of PDAC.

Methods: Using the NCDB 2006-2012, resected PDAC patients with stage I disease who received adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy or chemoradiation) were analyzed.

Tris DBA palladium is highly effective against growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer in an orthotopic model.

Pancreatic carcinoma ranks among the most lethal of human cancers. Besides late detection, other factors contribute to its lethality, including a high degree of chemoresistance, invasion, and distant metastases. Currently, the mainstay of therapy involves resection of local disease in a minority of patients (Whipple procedure) and systemic gemcitabine.

Neutralizing murine TGFβR2 promotes a differentiated tumor cell phenotype and inhibits pancreatic cancer metastasis.

Elevated levels of TGFβ are a negative prognostic indicator for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; as a result, the TGFβ pathway is an attractive target for therapy. However, clinical application of pharmacologic inhibition of TGFβ remains challenging because TGFβ has tumor suppressor functions in many epithelial malignancies, including pancreatic cancer. In fact, direct neutralization of TGFβ promotes tumor progression of genetic murine models of pancreatic cancer.

BIBF 1120 (nintedanib), a triple angiokinase inhibitor, induces hypoxia but not EMT and blocks progression of preclinical models of lung and pancreatic cancer.

Signaling from other angiokinases may underlie resistance to VEGF-directed therapy. We evaluated the antitumor and biologic effects of BIBF 1120 (nintedanib), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets VEGF receptor, platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and fibroblast growth factor receptor in preclinical models of lung and pancreatic cancer, including models resistant to VEGF-targeted treatments. In vitro, BIBF 1120 did not show antiproliferative effects, nor did it sensitize tumor cells to chemotherapy.

PG545, an angiogenesis and heparanase inhibitor, reduces primary tumor growth and metastasis in experimental pancreatic cancer.

Aggressive tumor progression, metastasis, and resistance to conventional therapies lead to an extremely poor prognosis for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Heparanase, an enzyme expressed by multiple cell types, including tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment, has been implicated in angiogenesis and metastasis, and its expression correlates with decreased overall survival in PDAC. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of PG545, an angiogenesis and heparanase inhibitor, in experimental PDAC.

Apricoxib, a novel inhibitor of COX-2, markedly improves standard therapy response in molecularly defined models of pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: COX-2 is expressed highly in pancreatic cancer and implicated in tumor progression. COX-2 inhibition can reduce tumor growth and augment therapy. The precise function of COX-2 in tumors remains poorly understood, but it is implicated in tumor angiogenesis, evasion of apoptosis, and induction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition increases tumor sensitivity to COX-2 inhibition by apricoxib.

Although cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, such as the late stage development drug apricoxib, exhibit antitumor activity, their mechanisms of action have not been fully defined. In this study, we characterized the mechanisms of action of apricoxib in HT29 colorectal carcinoma. Apricoxib was weakly cytotoxic toward naive HT29 cells in vitro but inhibited tumor growth markedly in vivo.

Axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer utilizing Harmonic Focus®.

Background: For patients with axillary lymph node metastases from breast cancer, performance of a complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is the standard approach. Due to the rich lymphatic network in the axilla, it is necessary to carefully dissect and identify all lymphatic channels. Traditionally, these lymphatics are sealed with titanium clips or individually sutured.