Endovascular treatment of complex abdominal aortic aneurysms by combining different types of endoprostheses.

Purpose: To describe an off-the-shelf method for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms with hostile (large, >30 mm) neck and/or small (<20 mm) aortic bifurcation.

Case Report: We describe five patients with large aortic necks and/or small aortic bifurcations, which were treated by combining an AFX endoprosthesis with a Valiant Captiva endograft, and additional proximal endoanchors when deemed necessary. Initial technical success was 100%.

An internal iliac artery aneurysm causing sudden buttock ischemia and nerve root compression.

Acute buttock ischemia can be a consequence of aneurysmatic disease and has a dramatic presentation. This case report describes an otherwise healthy patient with a simultaneous onset of buttock ischemia combined with sciatic nerve compression caused by a small distal internal iliac artery aneurysm. Coiling of the aneurysm prevented thromboembolism recurrence but was only partially successful in reducing the symptoms of nerve compression.

Hypoxia after liver surgery imposes an aggressive cancer stem cell phenotype on residual tumor cells.

Objective: To assess the contribution of hypoxia and bone marrow-derived cells to aggressive outgrowth of micrometastases after liver surgery.

Background: Liver surgery generates a microenvironment that fosters aggressive tumor recurrence. These areas are characterized by chronic hypoxia and influx of bone marrow-derived cells.

Circulating CD95-ligand as a potential prognostic marker for recurrence in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases.

Aim: To assess whether circulating soluble CD95 ligand (sCD95L) levels are associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases.

Patients And Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 62 patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases before and after liver surgery. Serum sCD95L levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Combined KRAS and TP53 mutation status is not predictive in CAPOX-treated metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: The response of colorectal tumours to chemotherapy is highly variable. Preclinical work has shown that the Kirsten ras (KRAS) oncogene sensitizes colorectal tumour cells to oxaliplatin and capecitabine in a wild-type tumour suppressor p53 (TP53)-dependent manner. Therefore, whether or not the combined mutation status of KRAS and TP53 could predict response to chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer was tested.

Synergistic killing of colorectal cancer cells by oxaliplatin and ABT-737.

Background: Oxaliplatin is frequently used in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Our previous work shows that oxaliplatin induces the pro-apoptotic protein Noxa in CRC cells. The Bcl2-inhibitor ABT-737 is particularly effective in cells with high Noxa levels.

Intermittent ischaemia maintains function after ischaemia reperfusion in steatotic livers.

Background: Ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) and intermittent ischaemia (INT) reduce liver injury after ischaemia reperfusion (IR). Steatotic livers are at a higher risk of IR injury, but the protection offered by IPC and INT is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of IPC and INT in maintaining liver function in steatotic livers.

Oncogenic KRAS desensitizes colorectal tumor cells to epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition and activation.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting therapeutics have shown efficacy in the treatment of colorectal cancer patients. Clinical studies have revealed that activating mutations in the KRAS protooncogene predict resistance to EGFR-targeted therapy. However, the causality between mutant KRAS and resistance to EGFR inhibition has so far not been demonstrated.

Oncogenic K-ras activates p38 to maintain colorectal cancer cell proliferation during MEK inhibition.

Background: Colon carcinomas frequently contain activating mutations in the K-ras proto-oncogene. K-ras itself is a poor drug target and drug development efforts have mostly focused on components of the classical Ras-activated MEK/ERK pathway. Here we have studied whether endogenous oncogenic K-ras affects the dependency of colorectal tumor cells on MEK/ERK signaling.

Oncogenic K-Ras turns death receptors into metastasis-promoting receptors in human and mouse colorectal cancer cells.

Background & Aims: Death receptors expressed on tumor cells can prevent metastasis formation by inducing apoptosis, but they also can promote migration and invasion. The determinants of death receptor signaling output are poorly defined. Here we investigated the role of oncogenic K-Ras in determining death receptor function and metastatic potential.

Wip1 confers G2 checkpoint recovery competence by counteracting p53-dependent transcriptional repression.

Activation of the DNA damage checkpoint causes a cell-cycle arrest through inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks). To successfully recover from the arrest, a cell should somehow be maintained in its proper cell-cycle phase. This problem is particularly eminent when a cell arrests in G2, as cdk activity is important to establish a G2 state.

Accelerated perinecrotic outgrowth of colorectal liver metastases following radiofrequency ablation is a hypoxia-driven phenomenon.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess how thermal ablation of colorectal liver metastases affects the outgrowth of micrometastases in the transition zone (TZ) between ablated tissue and the unaffected reference zone (RZ) in 2 different murine models.

Background: Thermal destruction therapies of nonresectable colorectal liver metastases, including radiofrequency ablation (RFA), can provide tumor clearance, but local recurrences are common.

Methods: Three days after intrasplenic injection of C26 colon carcinoma cells, RFA was applied to the left liver lobe.

Ischemic preconditioning and intermittent ischemia preserve bile flow in a rat model of ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury of the liver is associated with impaired bile secretion, but the effects of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and intermittent ischemia (INT) on bile flow are unknown. A rat model of segmental (60%-70%) hepatic ischemia and reperfusion was employed to test the effects of IPC and INT on bile flow. Continuous clamping for 45 min (CC) substantially reduced bile flow, and this did not recover after 60 min of reperfusion.

Ischemic preconditioning and intermittent ischemia preserve bile flow in a rat model of ischemia reperfusion injury.

Ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury of the liver is associated with impaired bile secretion, but the effects of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and intermittent ischemia (INT) on bile flow are unknown. A rat model of segmental (60%-70%) hepatic ischemia and reperfusion was employed to test the effects of IPC and INT on bile flow. Continuous clamping for 45 min (CC) substantially reduced bile flow, and this did not recover after 60 min of reperfusion.

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury: roles of Ca2+ and other intracellular mediators of impaired bile flow and hepatocyte damage.

Liver resection and liver transplantation have been successful in the treatment of liver tumors and end-stage liver disease. This success has led to an expansion in the pool of patients potentially treatable by liver surgery and, in the case of transplantation, to a shortage of liver donors. At present, there are significant numbers of potential candidates for liver resection and liver donation who have fatty livers, are aged, or have livers damaged by chemotherapy.

Effects of subtotal colectomy on bacterial translocation during experimental acute pancreatitis.

Objectives: The colon is considered a major source of bacteria causing infection of pancreatic necrosis in acute pancreatitis (AP). Subtotal colectomy before AP in rats reduces mortality, but its role in affecting small bowel flora, bacterial translocation, and infection of pancreatic necrosis is unknown. Our aim was to study these phenomena in rats with AP.