Short- and long-term outcome following laparoscopic versus open resection for carcinoma of the rectum in the multimodal setting.

Background: Laparoscopic resection for rectal cancer has remained controversial because of the lack of level 1 evidence regarding oncologic safety and long-term survival.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of laparoscopic versus open resection for rectal cancer on clinical and oncologic outcome in the multimodal setting.

Design: This is a review of prospectively gathered data from a single-institution rectal cancer database.

Quality of surgical care, local recurrence, and survival in patients with low- and midrectal cancers following multimodal therapy.

Purpose: To assess the quality of surgical care and outcome following multimodal treatment for low- and midrectal cancers, focusing on differences between low anterior and abdominoperineal resections.

Methods: From 1999 to 2007, 179 patients underwent low anterior resection (LAR), abdominoperineal resection (APR), or proctocolectomy for low- or midrectal cancers. Preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy was given according to local guidelines and adjuvant postoperative chemotherapy in stage III disease.

Carbonic anhydrase II. A novel biomarker for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are clinically distinct mesenchymal tumors, which generally result from expression of mutant KIT or PDGFRA receptor tyrosine kinase oncogenes. Most GISTs feature strong expression of KIT that serves as a crucial diagnostic adjunct. However, a subset of tumors lacks KIT expression and otherwise may also be difficult to distinguish from other sarcomas, including leiomyosarcoma.

Allelic imbalance at rs6983267 suggests selection of the risk allele in somatic colorectal tumor evolution.

A common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs6983267, at 8q24.21 has recently been shown to associate with colorectal cancer (CRC). Three independent SNP association studies showed that rs6983267 contributes to CRC with odds ratios (OR) of 1.

Is gastric cancer part of the tumour spectrum of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer? A molecular genetic study.

Background: Gastric cancer is the second most common extracolonic malignancy in individuals with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC)/Lynch syndrome. As gastric cancer is relatively common in the general population as well, it is not clear whether or not gastric cancer is a true HNPCC spectrum malignancy.

Aim: To determine whether or not gastric cancer is a true HNPCC spectrum malignancy.

Day-case stapled (circular) vs. diathermy hemorrhoidectomy: a randomized, controlled trial evaluating surgical and functional outcome.

Purpose: Stapled hemorrhoidectomy may be associated with less pain and faster recovery than conventional hemorrhoidectomy for prolapsing hemorrhoids. Therefore, the outcome of stapled hemorrhoidectomy was compared with that of diathermy hemorrhoidectomy in a randomized, controlled trial.

Methods: Sixty patients with third-degree hemorrhoids were randomly assigned to stapled hemorrhoidectomy (n = 30) or to diathermy hemorrhoidectomy in a day-case setting.

Specialized columnar epithelium of the esophagogastric junction: prevalence and associations. The Central Finland Endoscopy Study Group.

Objectives: In Barrett's esophagus (BE) normal squamous esophageal epithelium is replaced by specialized columnar epithelium (SCE). BE is related to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is a risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. SCE is detected also at normal-appearing esophagogastric junction without BE (junctional SCE).

p53 protein accumulation in lung carcinomas of patients exposed to asbestos and tobacco smoke.

Primary lung carcinomas often carry mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene. Most of these mutations alter the conformation of the p53 protein into a more stable phenotype that makes it immunohistochemically detectable. Asbestos is a carcinogen that can cause deletions in chromosomes and possibly also gene mutations.

p53 and c-erbB-2 expression in schistosomal urinary bladder carcinomas and schistosomal cystitis with premalignant lesions.

Immunoreactivity for p53 and c-erbB-2 proteins was studied in 31 schistosomal urinary bladder carcinomas and 21 cases of schistosomal cystitis with hyperplastic, metaplastic and/or dysplastic (premalignant) lesions. The results were compared with 30 carcinomas and 21 premalignant lesions of the urinary bladder without schistosomiasis. Abnormal nuclear p53 protein accumulation was found in 17/31 schistosomal and in 15/30 non-schistosomal carcinomas and in 8/21 schistosomal cystitis with premalignant lesions of which five showed hyperplasia.

p53 immunohistochemistry in transitional cell carcinoma and dysplasia of the urinary bladder correlates with disease progression.

Immunohistochemically detectable p53 protein using a polyclonal antibody (CM-1) was studied in 42 carcinomas of which 11 were grade I, 22 grade II and nine grade III carcinomas. Additionally 14 urothelial dysplasias were studied. In 11 of these a diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma was established before and in one after the dysplasia diagnosis.

p53 and c-erbB-2 protein expression in adenocarcinomas and epithelial dysplasias of the gall bladder.

In this study we investigated immunohistochemically the expression of p53 and c-erbB-2 proteins in 30 gall bladder adenocarcinomas, one carcinoma in situ, eight gall bladder epithelial dysplasias, and four cases of chronic cholecystitis. p53 expression could be found in 14 (47 per cent) adenocarcinomas and in two out of eight epithelial dysplasias. There were significantly more p53-positive grade II-III tumours than grade I tumours (P = 0.

Concurrent p53 expression in bronchial dysplasias and squamous cell lung carcinomas.

We analyzed the p53 protein immunohistochemically in bronchial dysplasias or squamous cell carcinomas in situ and in squamous cell lung carcinomas occurring in the same patients. The polyclonal antibody used (CM-1) is directed against the wild-type p53 protein, but also recognizes the mutated p53 in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections. To study the integrity of basement membranes (BMs) and the possible invasion of the dysplastic epithelium, immunostainings for the BM proteins laminin and type IV collagen were used.

Evidence by in situ hybridization that c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene expression is a marker of malignancy and is expressed in lung adenocarcinomas.

In order to identify potential markers of malignancy in diagnostic respiratory cytopathology, c-myc and c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene expression was studied in fine needle aspirates from 14 consecutive fresh operation tissue samples (after surgical removal) representing lung tumors and a variety of other cell samples by in situ hybridization of 35S-labeled antisense and sense RNA c-myc and c-erbB-2 specific proto-oncogene probes. All 14 lung tumors showed c-myc expression and eight also showed c-erbB-2 expression. On average, the c-myc expression was about 4 times higher than that of c-erbB-2 (P less than 0.

Comparative analysis of p53 protein immunoreactivity in prostatic, lung and breast carcinomas.

In this study we analysed the expression of p53 protein in a total of 143 carcinomas immunohistochemically. These consisted of 34 prostatic adenocarcinomas, 59 lung and 50 breast carcinomas. In 28 cases, an average of 2-3 additional sections from different tumour areas were analysed.