Desmoglein 2 Functions as a Receptor for Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 in Breast Cancer Epithelial Cells.

Unlabelled: Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is a secreted adipokine linked to obesity and progression of a variety of cancers. Obesity increases extracellular FABP4 (eFABP4) levels in animal models and in obese breast cancer patients compared with lean healthy controls. Using MCF-7 and T47D breast cancer epithelial cells, we show herein that eFABP4 stimulates cellular proliferation in a time and concentration dependent manner while the non-fatty acid-binding mutant, R126Q, failed to potentiate growth.

Fatty acid binding protein 4 regulates pancreatic cancer cell proliferation via activation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2.

Background: Obesity and diabetes are associated with an increased incidence of pancreatic cancer. Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), noted to be higher in patients with severe obesity, is linked to the development and progression of several cancers, and its level in the circulation decreases after bariatric surgery.

Objective: In this paper, we evaluate the role of FABP4 in pancreatic cancer progression.

A nonhuman primate model of vertical sleeve gastrectomy facilitates mechanistic and translational research in human obesity.

The obesity epidemic significantly contributes to overall morbidity and mortality. Bariatric surgery is the gold standard treatment for obesity and metabolic dysfunction, yet the mechanisms by which it exerts metabolic benefit remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate a model of vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) in nonhuman primates (NHP) that mimics the complexity and outcomes in humans.

Bariatric surgery outcomes in Medicare beneficiaries.

Background: The Medicare population is increasing while the prevalence of obesity remains high. Bariatric surgery is the most efficacious treatment of obesity and its comorbidities. The objective of this investigation was to assess trends in utilization, readmission, mortality, and cost of bariatric surgery in the Medicare population.

Systemic therapy without radiation may be appropriate as neoadjuvant therapy for localized pancreas cancer.

Background: The utility of neoadjuvant treatment for resectable pancreas cancer is yet to be determined, but has commonly included chemoradiation. We evaluated outcomes in patients with radiographically resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy without chemoradiation.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients in our institutional pancreatic cancer registry was performed, which identified 36 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone for resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma between 2012 and 2016.

Bariatric Surgery is Associated With Decreased Progression of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease to Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

Objective: This study sought to compare trends in the development of cirrhosis between patients with NAFLD who underwent bariatric surgery and a well-matched group of nonsurgical controls.

Summary Of Background Data: Patients with NAFLD who undergo bariatric surgery generally have improvements in liver histology. However, the long-term effect of bariatric surgery on clinically relevant liver outcomes has not been investigated.

The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Breast Cancer Recurrence: Case Series and Review of Literature.

Background: Excess body weight has been associated with worsening breast cancer survival. While bariatric surgery has been associated with less incident of breast cancer, the role that bariatric surgery plays after breast cancer diagnosis in terms of both feasibility and in preventing breast cancer recurrence is unclear.

Methods: We report the outcomes of 13 individuals who underwent bariatric surgery after definitive breast cancer treatment at a single institution.

Completion of Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Upfront Surgical Resection for Pancreatic Cancer Is Uncommon Yet Associated With Improved Survival.

Background: Multiple trials have demonstrated a survival benefit for adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to identify the rate for completion of adjuvant chemotherapy, factors associated with completion, and its impact on survival after surgical resection.

Methods: The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Medicare-linked data was used to identify patients who underwent upfront resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 2004 to 2013.

Racial disparities in perioperative outcomes after bariatric surgery.

Background: NonHispanic black patients bear a disproportionate burden of the obesity epidemic and its related medical co-morbidities. While bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity, black patients access bariatric surgery at lower rates than nonHispanic white patients.

Objectives: To examine racial differences before bariatric surgery and in short-term perioperative outcomes and complications, and the extent to which race is independently associated with perioperative morbidity and mortality.

Surgical resection of lymph node positive intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma may not improve survival.

Background: Nodal positivity is a predictor of poor survival following resection for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of surgical resection on survival in patients with lymph node (LN) positive ICC.

Methods: An augmented version of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program database was utilized to identify patients with LN-positive ICC without distant metastases from 2000 to 2014.

Role of Gene Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer-A Review.

Mortality from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has remained essentially unchanged for decades and its relative contribution to overall cancer death is projected to only increase in the coming years. Current treatment for PDAC includes aggressive chemotherapy and surgical resection in a limited number of patients, with median survival of optimal treatment rather dismal. Recent advances in gene therapies offer novel opportunities for treatment, even in those with locally advanced disease.

Liver Regeneration in the Acute Liver Failure Patient.

Liver regeneration after simple resection represents a unique process in which the organ returns to its original size and histologic structure. Over the past 30 years, there has been significant progress in elucidating the mechanisms associated with regeneration after loss of hepatic mass. Liver regeneration after acute liver failure shares several of these classical pathways.

Bariatric Surgery: A Perspective for Primary Care.

Bariatric surgery is the most efficacious treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other obesity-related comorbidities. In this article, the authors review the current indications for bariatric surgery and discuss the most commonly performed procedures. They analyze medical outcomes of bariatric procedures by reviewing key prospective trials and discuss changes in physiology after these procedures.

A structured teaching curriculum for medical students improves their performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners shelf examination in surgery.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a resident-driven, student taught educational curriculum on the medical students' performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners surgery subject examination (NBME).

Methods: On daily morning rounds, medical students or the chief resident delivered preassigned brief presentations on 1 or 2 of the 30 common surgical topics selected for the curriculum. An initial assessment of student knowledge and an end-rotation in-house examination (multiple choice question examination) were conducted.

Is there a place for medical students as teachers in the education of junior residents?

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate a novel resident education model that turns the traditional surgical hierarchy upside down, termed a "reverse" peer-assisted learning curriculum.

Methods: Thirty surgical topics were randomized between medical students and chief residents on each clinical team, with 1 topic being presented briefly during morning rounds. An exam evaluating junior residents' knowledge of these topics was administered before and after 1 month of presentations.

Epidural catheter placement in morbidly obese parturients with the use of an epidural depth equation prior to ultrasound visualization.

Background: Previously, Balki determined the Pearson correlation coefficient with the use of ultrasound (US) was 0.85 in morbidly obese parturients. We aimed to determine if the use of the epidural depth equation (EDE) in conjunction with US can provide better clinical correlation in estimating the distance from the skin to the epidural space in morbidly obese parturients.