Verteporfin- and sodium porfimer-mediated photodynamic therapy enhances pancreatic cancer cell death without activating stromal cells in the microenvironment.

The goal of our study was to determine the susceptibility of different pancreatic cell lines to clinically applicable photodynamic therapy (PDT). The efficacy of PDT of two different commercially available photosensitizers, verteporfin and sodium porfimer, was compared using a panel of four different pancreatic cancer cell lines, PANC-1, BxPC-3, CAPAN-2, and MIA PaCa-2, and an immortalized non-neoplastic pancreatic ductal epithelium cell line, HPNE. The minimum effective concentrations and dose-dependent curves of verteporfin and sodium porfimer on PANC-1 were determined.

Comparative diagnostic performance of volumetric laser endomicroscopy and confocal laser endomicroscopy in the detection of dysplasia associated with Barrett's esophagus.

Background And Aims: Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) and volumetric laser endomicroscopy (VLE) (also known as frequency domain optical coherence tomography) are advanced endoscopic imaging modalities that may be useful in the diagnosis of dysplasia associated with Barrett's esophagus (BE). We performed pCLE examination in ex-vivo EMR specimens and compared the diagnostic performance of using the current VLE scoring index (previously established as OCT-SI) and a novel VLE diagnostic algorithm (VLE-DA) for the detection of dysplasia.

Methods: A total of 27 patients with BE enrolled in a surveillance program at a tertiary-care center underwent 50 clinically indicated EMRs that were imaged with VLE and pCLE and classified into neoplastic (N = 34; high-grade dysplasia, intramucosal adenocarcinoma) and nonneoplastic (N = 16; low-grade dysplasia, nondysplastic BE), based on histology.

A new era: endoscopic tissue transplantation.

Purpose Of Review: To describe basic principles of tissue engineering with emphasis on the potential role of gastrointestinal endoscopy in regenerative medicine.

Recent Findings: Stricturing associated with endoscopic submucosal resection and circumferential endoscopic mucosal resection can be prevented through transplantation of autologous epidermal cell sheets or seeded decellularized biological scaffolds. Lower esophageal sphincter augmentation through injection of muscle-derived cells is a novel potential treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The role of cellular senescence in the gastrointestinal mucosa.

Cellular senescence is a biologically irreversible state of cell-growth arrest that occurs following either a replicative or an oncogenic stimulus. This phenomenon occurs as a response to the presence of premalignant cells and appears to be an important anticancer mechanism that keeps these transformed cells at bay. Many exogenous and endogenous triggers for senescence have been recognized to act via genomic or epigenomic pathways.

Synergistic effects of photodynamic therapy with HPPH and gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cell lines.

Background And Objective: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a potential treatment for pancreatic cancer. A second-generation photosensitizer, 2-[1-hexyloxyethyl]-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide (HPPH) has a long wavelength absorption, high-tumor selectivity, and shorter duration of skin photosensitivity. We investigated the efficacy of PDT with HPPH and gemcitabine in inducing cell death in multiple pancreatic cancer cell lines.

Diagnostic performance of two confocal endomicroscopy systems in detecting Barrett's dysplasia: a pilot study using a novel bioprobe in ex vivo tissue.

Background: There are currently 2 existing confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) platforms: probe-based CLE (pCLE) and endoscope-based CLE (eCLE) systems, each with its own criteria for identifying dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus (BE). The diagnostic performance of these 2 systems has not been directly compared.

Design: Preclinical, feasibility study.

Chemoprevention of esophageal adenocarcinoma by COX-2 inhibitors in an animal model of Barrett's esophagus.

Background & Aims: Carcinogenesis in Barrett's esophagus (BE) is associated with an increased expression of cyclooxygenase (COX) 2. However, there has been no direct evidence that inhibition of COX-2 prevents cancer in BE. We studied the effect of MF-Tricyclic, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, on the development of BE and adenocarcinoma in a rat model.

The effect of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition in Barrett's esophagus epithelium: an in vitro study.

Background: Individuals with Barrett's esophagus, in which the normal squamous esophageal epithelium is replaced with a columnar mucosa, are at increased risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Mucosal injury may be involved in the progression to neoplasia via the synthesis of prostaglandins and other mediators of inflammation. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 is the rate-limiting enzyme involved in prostaglandin synthesis.