Publications by authors named "Menghi R"

Purpose//objectives: A disproportionate incidence's increase of rectal cancer in patients younger than 50 years of age. The ESMO and NCCN recommendations are not age-specific and the literature is poor and conflicting. We decided to examine patients with rectal cancer treated in our centre in the last 15 years with curative neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy comparing outcomes in the two groups under and over 55 years old.

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Pancreatic surgery is complex and associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality compared to other abdominal surgeries. Over the past decade, the introduction of new technologies, such as minimally invasive approaches, improvements in multimodal treatments, advancements in anesthesia and perioperative care, and better management of complications, have collectively improved patient outcomes after pancreatic surgery. In particular, the adoption of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) recommendations has reduced hospital stays and improved recovery times, as well as post-operative outcomes.

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  • The study investigates how preoperative glucose metabolism impacts the risk of clinically relevant pancreatic fistulas (CR-POPF) after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) surgery.
  • Out of 110 patients, those with normal glucose tolerance showed a higher incidence of CR-POPF at 51.7%, compared to those with impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes.
  • Fasting glucose levels and c-peptide values were found to be effective predictors for CR-POPF, indicating that both normoglycemia and normal beta cell function may increase the risk of complications post-surgery.
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The influencing role of resection margin (R) status on long-term outcomes, namely overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is not still clear. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic impact of R status after PD and to define tumor characteristics associated with a positive resection margin (R1). All PDs for PDAC performed between 2012 and 2023 were retrospectively enrolled.

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Locally advanced extraperitoneal rectal cancer represents a significant clinical challenge, and currently, the standard treatment is based on neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT) followed by radical surgical resection with total mesorectal excision (TME). In the last 30 years, its management has undergone significant changes due to the improvement of complementary radio- and chemotherapy treatments, the improvement of minimally invasive surgical approaches and the diffusion of organ-sparing approaches, such as nonoperative management, commonly called "watch and wait" (NOM) and local excision (LE), in highly selected patients who achieve a major or complete response to neoadjuvant CRT. This review aimed to critically examine the efficacy and oncological safety of NOM and LE compared to those of standard TME in rectal cancer patients after neoadjuvant CRT.

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  • This study investigates how the duration of progressive stapler closure affects the occurrence and severity of post-operative pancreatic fistula (POPF) after distal pancreatectomy (DP).* -
  • Out of 155 patients, those with a stapler compression of 10 minutes or longer had a significantly lower incidence of POPF (34-47.2%) compared to those with less than 10 minutes (67-80.7%).* -
  • The findings suggest that compressing the pancreas for at least 10 minutes is beneficial, especially for patients with a thick pancreatic gland, reducing the risk of clinically relevant POPF.*
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  • Anomalies of the right hepatic artery (RHA) can complicate pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), leading to this study assessing how these variations affect surgical outcomes.
  • The research involved analyzing 232 patients who underwent PD for tumors, categorizing them into groups based on normal or abnormal vascular patterns, and comparing their postoperative results.
  • Findings showed that anomalies in the RHA did not significantly affect the rate of complications or the cancer tissue examination results, indicating that these variations may not impact surgery outcomes when performed in specialized centers.
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  • Post-pancreatectomy acute pancreatitis (PPAP) is a serious complication following pancreatic surgery that may affect long-term outcomes, though evidence on its impact is limited.
  • A study evaluated 231 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), matching 32 patients with PPAP to 32 without PPAP to minimize biases.
  • Findings showed that while major complications and post-operative pancreatic fistulas were higher in the PPAP group, five-year overall survival rates were similar; however, the disease-free survival rate was lower for those with PPAP, indicating potential negative long-term outcomes that warrant further research.
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  • The study evaluates the impact of multidisciplinary tumor boards (MDTBs) on the management of pancreatic cancer (PC), particularly focusing on diagnosis, treatment response, and resectability assessment.
  • Data from 487 patients discussed at the MDTBs over two years showed that MDTB discussions changed treatment management in 18.3% of cases, particularly influencing resectability evaluations.
  • High concordance rates were observed between MDTB assessments and intraoperative findings, especially for resectable lesions, highlighting the importance of MDTBs in improving PC treatment outcomes.
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  • Post-pancreatectomy acute pancreatitis (PPAP) is a complication that arises after pancreatic surgery, and the International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) has recently established a standardized definition for it.
  • In a study involving 520 patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy, 12.1% experienced PPAP, which was linked to significantly higher rates of severe complications, including delayed gastric emptying and post-operative pancreatic fistula.
  • The study identified soft pancreatic texture and a narrow Wirsung duct as risk factors for developing PPAP, and it confirmed that the ISGPS classification is effective for defining and assessing the severity of this condition, although more prospective studies
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Purpose: Circular staplers for colorectal anastomoses significantly ameliorated post-operative outcomes after rectal resection. The more recent three-row technology was conceived to improve anastomotic resistance and, thus, lower the incidence of anastomotic complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential advantages of three-row circular staplers (Three-CS) on anastomotic leakage (AL), stenosis (AS), and hemorrhage (AH) rates after rectal resection as compared to two-row circular staplers (Two-CS).

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Artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision (CV) are beginning to impact medicine. While evidence on the clinical value of AI-based solutions for the screening and staging of colorectal cancer (CRC) is mounting, CV and AI applications to enhance the surgical treatment of CRC are still in their early stage. This manuscript introduces key AI concepts to a surgical audience, illustrates fundamental steps to develop CV for surgical applications, and provides a comprehensive overview on the state-of-the-art of AI applications for the treatment of CRC.

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  • Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a poor prognosis even when the disease is resectable; this study aimed to explore how adding adjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) affects patients post-surgery.
  • A retrospective analysis included 108 PC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and CRT over 20 years, measuring local control (LC) and overall survival (OS), among other outcomes.
  • Results showed a median OS of 40 months, with a notable association between perineural invasion and LC, suggesting the need for more research on optimizing treatment combinations for better patient outcomes.
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Background: The low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score is a validated questionnaire developed in Denmark to measure the severity of bowel dysfunction after low anterior resection. This retrospective study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the LARS score in the Italian language in a population of Italian patients who underwent low anterior resection for rectal cancer. The convergent and discriminative validity and the test-retest reliability of the score were investigated.

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  • The study investigates the impact of different histological subtypes of ampullary carcinomas (ACs) on long-term patient outcomes following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).
  • It includes data from 2004 to 2020, comparing overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) among pancreatobiliary (Pb-AC), intestinal (Int-AC), and mixed (Mixed-AC) ACs.
  • Results show that Pb-AC patients have significantly worse 5-year OS and DFS compared to Int-AC patients, indicating a more aggressive tumor behavior in Pb-ACs and Mixed-ACs, while Int-ACs demonstrate better survival rates.
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Background: Few evidences are available on adhesive bowel obstruction (ASBO)management and outcomes in geriatric patients.

Methods: One-hundred-twenty-eight patients aged 65-79 years were retrospectively compared to 77 patients aged ≥80 years. Aim of this study was to compare ASBO management and in-hospital course between patients aged 65-79 years and those over 80 years.

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Aims: Between 11 to 14% of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) have positive lateral pelvic lymph nodes (LPLN) at diagnosis, related to a worse prognosis with a 5-year survival rate between 30 to 40%. The best treatment choice for this group of patients is still a challenge. The optimal radiotherapy (RT) dose for LPLN patients has been investigated.

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Design: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery is the standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).Several studies have shown a correlation between a longer interval between the end of nCRT and surgery (surgical interval - SI) and an increased pathological complete response (pCR) rate, with a maximum obtained between 10 and 13 weeks.The primary endpoint of this multicenter, 2-arm randomised trial is to investigate SI lengthening, evaluating the difference in terms of complete response (CR) and Tumor Regression Grade (TRG)1 rate in the two arms.

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Introduction: With the prolongation of life expectancy, an increasing number of elderly patients are evaluated for pancreatic surgery. However, the influence of increasing age on outcomes after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is still unclear, especially in octogenarians. Aim of this study is to evaluate the perioperative characteristics and outcomes of octogenarians undergoing PD.

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Background: Delayed gastric emptying (DGE) represents the most frequent complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of gastrojejunostomy (GJ)orientation on DGE incidence after PD.

Methods: One-hundred and twenty-one consecutive PDs were included in the analysis and divided in the horizontal (H-GJ group) and vertical GJ anastomosis groups (V-GJ group).

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Background: Although minimally-invasive techniques are currently recognized as effective and validated treatment for small gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), the role of laparoscopy is not yet established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of laparoscopic treatment of gastric GISTs compared to the results obtained in a group of patients treated with conventional surgery.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed, using a prospectively maintained comprehensive database of 100 patients treated for gastric GIST in the period from 2000 to 2015.

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Introduction: The incidence of adhesive bowel obstruction (ASBO) progressively increases with age. Strong evidences on the influencing role of age on ASBO clinical course and management are still lacking. Aim of this study is to retrospectively analyze the clinical outcomes of patients older than 65 years of age admitted to a tertiary referral Emergency Department with a diagnosis of ASBO.

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Background: Few evidences are available on the prognostic role of mesopancreas excision(MPe) for ampullary cancers(ACs). Aim of this study was to compare the long-term outcomes between pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD) with(PD-MPe group) and without(sPD group) MP.

Methods: Thirty-seven sPDs were matched and compared to 37 PD-MPes for perioperative outcomes, recurrence rate, disease-free(DFS) and overall survival(OS).

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Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) display variable aggressive behavior. A major predictor of survival is tumor grade based on the Ki67 proliferation index. As information on transcriptomic profiles of PanNETs with different tumor grades is limited, we investigated 29 PanNETs (17 G1, 7 G2, 5 G3) for their expression profiles, mutations in 16 PanNET relevant genes and LINE-1 DNA methylation profiles.

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