Background & Aims: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) is a group of vascular disorders characterized by lesions involving portal venules and sinusoids, irrespective of the presence of portal hypertension. Liver biopsy is essential for diagnosis. In a single-center study, we demonstrated high rates of PSVD in patients with persistently elevated gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Adaptive immunity is gaining a significant role in progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). B-cell activity can be assessed by serum-free light chains (sFLCs) k and λ levels. The objective of the present investigation is to examine the utility of sFLCs as non-invasive biomarkers for the stratification of MASLD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic disabling conditions with a complex and multifactorial etiology, still incompletely understood. OCTN1, an organic cation transporter, could have a role in modulating the inflammatory response, and some genetic polymorphisms of this molecule have been associated with increased risk of inflammatory bowel diseases. Until now, limited information exists on its potential in predicting/modulating patient's response to therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Univentricular heart is corrected with the Fontan procedure (FP). In the long term, so-called Fontan-associated liver diseases (FALDs) can develop. The aim of this study is to analyze the molecular profile of FALDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Case Rep Intern Med
November 2023
Introduction: Recently, medical interest has been growing in SARS-CoV-2 infection and its multiorgan involvement, including the liver. Up until now, a few reports have described autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection, but no data are available about the specific liver inflammatory infiltrate and cluster of differentiation. We report a case of AIH triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a particular focus on its histological and mainly immunohistochemical features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCMV infection is still a matter of concern in IBD patients, especially regarding the disease's relapse management. Why IBD patients, particularly those affected by ulcerative colitis, are more susceptible to CMV reactivation is not totally explained, although a weakened immune system could be the reason. Various techniques, ranging from serology to histology, can be employed to detect intestinal CMV infection; however, there is currently disagreement in the literature regarding the most effective diagnostic test.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, antitumor immunotherapies have witnessed a breakthrough with the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) including programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors. Unfortunately, the use of ICIs has also led to the advent of a novel class of adverse events that differ from those of classic chemotherapeutics and are more reminiscent of autoimmune diseases, the immune-related adverse events (IRAEs). Herein, we performed an insight of the main IRAEs associated with ICIs, focusing on gastroenterological IRAEs and specifically on checkpoint inhibitor colitis, which represents the most widely reported IRAE to date.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The aetiology of cryptoglandular anal fistula (AF) is poorly understood. Evidence suggests that persistence and/or recurrence of the disease is more related to inflammatory than infectious factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the immune profile of cryptoglandular AF and to perform a histopathological characterization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong liver vascular tumours, hepatic small vessel neoplasm (HSVN) has been recently identified as a rare infiltrative vascular neoplasm whose malignant potential is yet to be fully ascertained. About 30 cases of HSVN have been described so far. The most common clinical presentation is an asymptomatic solitary liver lesion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4), anti-PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1), and PD-L1 (programmed cell death protein-ligand 1) are emerging drugs that have radically changed treatment and prognosis of different types of tumors. However, despite their considerable benefits, immune checkpoint inhibitors are associated with numerous side effects involving several organs. Gastrointestinal toxicities represent some of these most common adverse events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 65-year-old Italian physician affected by Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) was hospitalized due to progressive abdominal enlargement, which had begun 6 months before admission. Physical examination revealed ascites and bilateral leg edema. Abdominal CT scan showed ascitic fluid and extensive multiple peritoneal implants; peritoneal CT-guided biopsy revealed an epithelial-type malignant mesothelioma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Few comparative studies are available on the long-term prognostic role of mesopancreas (MP) excision after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). We compared the long-term outcomes of patients undergoing standard PD (sPD) and PD with MP excision (PD-MPe).
Methods: Sixty sPDs were compared to 60 matched PD-MPe patients for intraoperative and postoperative data, histopathological findings, and long-term outcomes.
Background: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a rare vascular tumor associated with human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 infection. One of the variants of KS is defined iatrogenic and is overall reported in transplanted patient but also, although less frequently, in patients treated with long-standing immunosuppressive therapy, such as in inflammatory bowel disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Case Presentation: Herein, we report the first case of KS in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative 47-year old male with UC after treatment with the α4-β7 integrin inhibitor vedolizumab (VDZ).
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is gaining popularity in rectal tumor treatment. However, contrasting data are available regarding its safety and efficacy. Our aim is to compare the open and MIS approaches for rectal cancer treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors regret that the original version of this article, unfortunately, contained an error. The values "1/3 (33%)" reported in the second to last sentence of the Discussion are wrong; the correct values are "2/2 (100%)". These are presented correctly in this article.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGastrointestinal "juvenile-like (inflammatory/hyperplastic) mucosal polyps" (JLIHMPs) have been proposed as a neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-specific gastrointestinal manifestation. Juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) has also been reported in a NF1 patient, harboring concurrent NF1 and SMAD4 germline mutations. Additionally, NF1-like cafe-au-lait spots have been described in biallelic mismatch repair deficiency, another condition featuring gastrointestinal polyps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPDGFRA mutations in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract can cause GI stromal tumour (GIST) and inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP). Hitherto no cell type has been identified as a physiological counterpart of the latter, while interstitial Cajal cells (ICC) are considered the precursor of the former. However, ICC hyperplasia (ICCH), which strongly supports the ICC role in GIST pathogenesis, has been identified in germline KIT-mutant settings but not in PDGFRA-mutant ones, challenging the precursor role of ICC for PDGFRA-driven GISTs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: About 30% of colorectal cancers (CRCs) present with acute symptoms. The adequacy of oncologic resections is a matter of concern since few authors reported that emergency surgery in these patients results in a lower lymph node harvest (LNH). In addition, emergency resections have been reported with a longer hospital stay and higher morbidity rate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Carcinomas of the left colon represent a neoplasm of older patients (late onset), but epidemiologic evidence has been showing an increasing incidence in patients 50 years or younger (early onset). In this study, we investigate pathologic and molecular features of early- and late-onset carcinoma of the left colon.
Methods: We selected 22 patients 50 years or younger and 21 patients 70 years or older with left-sided colorectal carcinoma (CRC).