Publications by authors named "Luis Pedro-Afonso"

Colorectal cancer (CRC) cells express sialylated Lewis antigens (sLe), crucial for metastasis via E-selectin binding. However, these glycoepitopes lack cancer specificity, and E-selectin-targeted glycoproteins remain largely unknown. Here, we established a framework for identifying metastasis-linked glycoproteoforms.

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Introduction/aim: Gastric neuroendocrine tumors (GNETs) frequently have an indolent clinical course, despite their metastatic potential. The aim of the study was to identify prognostic factors associated with overall survival and risk of metastases and to evaluate the impact of serial measurements of chromogranin A (CgA).

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective cohort study including consecutive patients with GNET diagnosed between 2010 and 2019, with a minimum follow-up of 1 year.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening relies primarily on stool analysis to identify occult blood. However, its sensitivity for detecting precancerous lesions is limited, requiring the development of new tools to improve CRC screening. Carcinogenesis involves significant alterations in mucosal epithelium glycocalyx that decisively contribute to disease progression.

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Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) remains a pressing health concern due to conventional treatment failure and significant molecular heterogeneity, hampering the development of novel targeted therapeutics. In our quest for novel targetable markers, recent glycoproteomics and bioinformatics data have pinpointed (glucose transporter 1) GLUT1 as a potential biomarker due to its increased expression in tumours compared to healthy tissues. This study explores this hypothesis in more detail, with emphasis on GLUT1 glycosylation patterns and cancer specificity.

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The authors present a case involving a 51-year-old male who was diagnosed with a 4-cm mass in the body of the pancreas, initially suspected to be a ductal adenocarcinoma due to an elevated Ca 19.9 during routine analysis. Subsequent imaging studies confirmed a resectable disease without suspicious lymph nodes or distant metastasis, leading to the proposal of surgery.

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Gastric cancer is a dominating cause of cancer-associated mortality with limited therapeutic options. Here, we show that syndecan-4 (SDC4), a transmembrane proteoglycan, is highly expressed in intestinal subtype gastric tumors and that this signature associates with patient poor survival. Further, we mechanistically demonstrate that SDC4 is a master regulator of gastric cancer cell motility and invasion.

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Introduction: Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors (GI-NETs) are being more frequently diagnosed and treated by endoscopic resection (ER) techniques. However, comparison studies of the different ER techniques or long-term outcomes are rarely reported.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study analyzing short and long-term outcomes after ER of gastric, duodenum, and rectal GI-NETs.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for most of the hepatic neoplasms and can also occur in ectopic liver tissue. We present a case of a 55-year-old male complaining of weight loss. The imaging studies reported a 2.

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Tramadol and tapentadol, two structurally related synthetic opioid analgesics, are widely prescribed due to the enhanced therapeutic profiles resulting from the synergistic combination between μ-opioid receptor (MOR) activation and monoamine reuptake inhibition. However, the number of adverse reactions has been growing along with their increasing use and misuse. The potential toxicological mechanisms for these drugs are not completely understood, especially for tapentadol, owing to its shorter market history.

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Tramadol and tapentadol are fully synthetic and extensively used analgesic opioids, presenting enhanced therapeutic and safety profiles as compared with their peers. However, reports of adverse reactions, intoxications and fatalities have been increasing. Information regarding the molecular, biochemical, and histological alterations underlying their toxicological potential is missing, particularly for tapentadol, owing to its more recent market authorization.

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Introduction And Aim: hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) can be caused by a CDH1 mutation. It often presents as multiple foci of signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) that is rarely detected by gastroscopy. Prophylactic total gastrectomy is recommended at a young age.

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Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a major health burden worldwide, with half of patients developing metastases within 5 years after treatment, urging novel biomarkers for diagnosis and efficient therapeutic targeting. Sialyl-Lewis A (SLeA), a terminal glycoepitope of glycoproteins and glycolipids, offers tremendous potential towards this objective. It is rarely expressed in healthy tissues and blood cells, while it is present in highly metastatic cell lines and metastases.

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Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been associated with about 9% of all gastric carcinomas, but its role in gastric carcinogenesis remains unclear since there is lack of evidence of EBV presence in pre-neoplastic lesions of gastric mucosa. This study intends to determine the prevalence of EBV in gastric dysplasia and superficial neoplasia to clarify whether EBV infection is an early or late event in gastric cancer development. This retrospective study included a total of 242 gastric lesions from 199 consecutive patients who were referred for endoscopic resection.

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Ephitelioid Hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare type of tumor with vascular and sarcomatous components. There's only another case published of an internal jugular vein (IJV) EHE. A case of a 50 years-old woman with a palpable and pulsatile mass on the left cervical area is reported.

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An association of well-differentiated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (WD GEP NETs) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) was recently described. Yet no molecular mechanisms linking the two conditions are known. This study's aim was to identify putative molecular signatures linking WD GEP NETs and MetS to gain further insight into potential mechanisms for this association.

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Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) originating from a primary tumour, lymph nodes and distant metastases hold great potential for liquid biopsies by providing a molecular fingerprint for disease dissemination and its temporal evolution through the course of disease management. CTC enumeration, classically defined on the basis of surface expression of Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) and absence of the pan-leukocyte marker CD45, has been shown to correlate with clinical outcome. However, existing approaches introduce bias into the subsets of captured CTCs, which may exclude biologically and clinically relevant subpopulations.

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Aim: To determine the prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated gastric carcinomas in the North Region of Portugal and to study its clinicopathological characteristics.

Methods: We have performed a retrospective study including a total of 179 consecutive patients with gastric cancer (GC) submitted to gastrectomy during 2011 at the Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto. Clinical and pathological data was collected from individual clinical records and inserted on a database with unique codification.

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TP53 is a tumour suppressor gene frequently mutated in human cancers; nevertheless, in EBV-associated malignancies mutations are uncommon despite frequent deregulation of the p53 pathway. In this study, we aimed to investigate p53 expression, TP53 mRNA levels and TP53 mutations in EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC). A case-control study was performed using 46 patients: 15 EBVaGC and 31 EBV-negative GC (EBVnGC) cases.

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Tramadol and tapentadol are two atypical synthetic opioid analgesics, with monoamine reuptake inhibition properties. Mainly aimed at the treatment of moderate to severe pain, these drugs are extensively prescribed for multiple clinical applications. Along with the increase in their use, there has been an increment in their abuse, and consequently in the reported number of adverse reactions and intoxications.

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Tramadol and tapentadol are extensively prescribed for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Although these drugs are very effective in pain treatment, the number of intoxications and deaths due to both opioids is increasing, and the underlying toxic mechanisms are not fully understood. The present work aimed to study the potential biochemical and histopathological alterations induced by acute effective (analgesic) doses of tramadol and tapentadol, in Wistar rats.

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Mucosal prolapse polyps (MPPs) are rare inflammatory lesions that are part of the mucosal prolapse syndrome. We present the case of a 40-year-old male with history of constipation referred to our institution with suspected rectal malignancy due to hematochezia and a palpable rectal mass. Colonoscopy revealed a 25 mm wide lesion suggestive of subepithelial origin but with marked erythema and erosion in the mucosa.

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