YAP acts as an independent prognostic marker and regulates growth and metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors via FBXW7-YAP pathway.

Background: Although imatinib (IM) and subsequent tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) significantly improve the prognosis of GIST patients by delaying metastasis and recurrence, most patients experience limited efficacy due to toxicity and secondary resistance. We evaluated Yes-associated protein (YAP), a coactivator of the Hippo pathway accounting for IM resistance and aggressive GIST phenotypes, in GISTs. The degradation of YAP is mediated by FBXW7, and FBXW7 predicts recurrence and IM efficacy for GIST patients.

Textbook outcome contributes to long-term prognosis in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Textbook outcome (TO) is a composite quality measurement of outcomes for evaluating surgical procedures. We investigated whether TO can be used to predict outcomes after curative resection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in elderly patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 105 patients who underwent curative esophagectomy for ESCC from 2005 to 2020.

Intracranial Subdural Empyema During Long-term Chemotherapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Case Report.

Background/aim: Although chemotherapy for colorectal cancer has advanced remarkably, long-term chemotherapy can lead to a variety of infections. However, if chemotherapy must be discontinued to control infection, there is a risk of progression of colorectal cancer. Intracranial subdural empyema is a life-threatening intracranial infection.

Presence of Fusobacterium nucleatum in relation to patient survival and an acidic environment in oesophagogastric junction and gastric cancers.

Background: Fusobacterium nucleatum inhabits the oral cavity and affects the progression of gastrointestinal cancer. Our prior findings link F. nucleatum to poor prognosis in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma via NF-κB pathway.

Laparoscopic versus open abdominal lymph node dissection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis.

Purpose: To compare the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic and open abdominal lymph node dissection using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.

Methods: The subjects of this retrospective analysis were 459 patients who underwent curative resection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) between May, 2005 and December, 2019, at our hospital. Patients were divided into two groups: the Laparoscopic (Lap group) and the Open (Open group).

Poorly differentiated mucinous carcinoma of the ascending colon complicated by bilateral ovarian mature cystic teratomas in a 17-year-old female patient: a case report.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and screening colonoscopy has led to a decreasing incidence rate. However, the incidence of CRC is increasing among young people, especially adolescents and young adults (AYAs) who are not routinely screened. Although CRC is the fourth most common cancer among AYAs, it is extremely rare.

The relationship between the treatment course and prognosis of oligometastasis after esophageal squamous cell carcinoma resection.

Purpose: The concept of oligometastasis, which represents limited metastatic disease, has recently gained interest, accompanied by a more detailed classification. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the treatment course and prognosis in patients with a recurrence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after curative esophagectomy.

Methods: 126 patients with ESCC recurrence after curative resection were enrolled in this study.

Conversion surgery for stage IV gastric cancer with multiple liver metastases with a complete pathological response to S-1 plus oxaliplatin therapy.

Although patients with stage IV gastric cancer who respond well to systemic chemotherapy can be treated with gastrectomy, the prognosis of patients with multiple liver metastases is poor. We herein describe a patient with stage IV gastric cancer with multiple liver metastases who underwent conversion surgery after systemic treatment with S-1 plus oxaliplatin. The patient was a 62-year-old man.

Clinical impact of very early recurrence after conversion surgery for stage IV gastric cancer.

Background: The development and improved response to chemotherapy has resulted in a survival benefit of conversion surgery (CS) for advanced gastric cancer (GC). However, this benefit is limited in some cases, such as in those with very early recurrence (VER). This study investigated the relationship between outcome and clinicopathological characteristics after CS for stage IV GC, and the risk factors for VER after CS.

Body Composition and Clinical Outcomes in Esophageal Cancer Patients Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Background: Obesity is associated with increased mortality in various cancers, but the relationship between obesity and clinical outcomes in unresectable or recurrent esophageal cancer who receive immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remains unknown. This study investigated the association between body composition and clinical outcomes in patients with unresectable or recurrent esophageal cancer who received ICIs.

Methods: Utilizing an unbiased database of 111 unresectable or recurrent esophageal cancers, we evaluated the relationships between body composition (body mass index, waist circumference, psoas major muscle volume, and subcutaneous and visceral fat areas) at the initiation of ICI treatment and clinical outcomes including the disease control rate and progression-free survival (PFS).

Mesothelial cells with mesenchymal features enhance peritoneal dissemination by forming a protumorigenic microenvironment.

Malignant ascites accompanied by peritoneal dissemination contain various factors and cell populations as well as cancer cells; however, how the tumor microenvironment is shaped in ascites remains unclear. Single-cell proteomic profiling and a comprehensive proteomic analysis are conducted to comprehensively characterize malignant ascites. Here, we find defects in immune effectors along with immunosuppressive cell accumulation in ascites of patients with gastric cancer (GC) and identify five distinct subpopulations of CD45(-)/EpCAM(-) cells.

FBXW7 regulates the sensitivity of imatinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumors by targeting MCL1.

Background: Imatinib contributes to improving prognosis of high-risk or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). As therapeutic efficacy is limited by imatinib resistance and toxicity, the exploration of predictive markers of imatinib therapeutic efficacy that enables patients to utilize more effective therapeutic strategies remains urgent.

Methods: The correlation between FBXW7 and imatinib resistance via FBXW7-MCL1 axis was evaluated in vitro and in vivo experiments.

Relationship between the severity of emphysematous change in the lung and morbidity after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: A retrospective study on a novel strategy for risk prediction.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence increases post-esophagectomy morbidity. However, the association between COPD severity and post-esophagectomy morbidity remains unclear because of the lack of an objective method to classify COPD severity. Low attenuation volume ratio (LAVR) estimated using Ziostation2 may reflect the extent of emphysematous changes in the lungs and COPD severity, thereby predicting post-esophagectomy morbidity.

LINE-1 hypomethylation, increased retrotransposition and tumor-specific insertion in upper gastrointestinal cancer.

The long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) retrotransposons are a major family of mobile genetic elements, comprising approximately 17% of the human genome. The methylation state of LINE-1 is often used as an indicator of global DNA methylation levels and it regulates the retrotransposition and somatic insertion of the genetic element. We have previously reported the significant relationship between LINE-1 hypomethylation and poor prognosis in upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

Cancer-Associated Fibroblast-Derived IL-8 Upregulates PD-L1 Expression in Gastric Cancer Through the NF-κB Pathway.

Background: The expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in tumor cells is a leading cause of tumor immune escape; however, the precise mechanism underlying the regulation of PD-L1 expression in gastric cancer (GC) cells remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential mechanism of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) regulating PD-L1 expression in GC cells.

Methods: We evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of CAFs in GC cells in vitro via the transwell co-culture system, cytometric bead array, and Western blotting.

The comprehensive review of gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach (GAPPS) from diagnosis and treatment.

Gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach (GAPPS) was first proposed by Wothley et al. in 2012 as a rare familial gastric cancer syndrome associated with an autosomal dominant form of inheritance. GAPPS is characterized by gastric basal gland polyposis from the hilum to the body of the stomach.

Textbook outcome contributes to long-term prognosis in older adults with gastric cancer.

Purpose: Textbook outcome (TO) is a composite quality measurement of short-term outcomes for evaluating surgical procedures. We investigated whether TO can be used to predict outcomes after curative gastric cancer (GC) surgery in older adults.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 492 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for GC from 2005 to 2017.

The 5-factor modified frailty index is a novel predictive marker of death from other diseases after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Aim: The 5-factor modified frailty index (MFI-5) is a stratification tool to evaluate a patient's frailty. This study determined whether the MFI-5 is associated with short- and long-term outcomes after curative gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 447 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy, and evaluated their overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS) and cancer-specific survival.

Textbook outcome contributes to long-term prognosis in elderly colorectal cancer patients.

Purpose: Textbook outcome (TO) has been used to define achievement of multiple "ideal" or "optimal" surgical and postoperative quality measures from the patient's perspective. However, TO has not been reported for their impact on survival in elderly, including CRC surgery. This study determined whether TO is associated with long-term outcomes after curative colorectomy in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Relationship between gut microbiome Fusobacterium nucleatum and LINE-1 methylation level in esophageal cancer.

Background: We previously demonstrated the relationship of human microbiome Fusobacterium nucleatum with unfavorable clinical outcomes and inferior chemotherapeutic responses in esophageal cancer. Global DNA methylation is associated with the occurrence and development of various cancers. In our previous study, LINE-1 hypomethylation (i.

The colon inflammatory index score can predict the survival outcome after resection of colorectal cancer: a retrospective multicentre study.

Purpose: Many systemic inflammatory markers have been identified to be prognostic factors in various diseases, including colorectal cancer (CRC). The Colon Inflammatory Index (CII), which is based on the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), is reportedly a predictor of the outcome of chemotherapy in patients with metastatic CRC. This retrospective review study aimed to determine whether CII can predict the prognosis after surgical resection of CRC.