Transanal minimally invasive surgery for benign and malignant rectal lesions: midterm outcomes from a tertiary center.

Background: Although transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) for rectal neoplasia has gained wide acceptance, the mid-term and long-term outcomes are not widely reported in the literature.

Objective: Describe the mid-term outcomes of patients who underwent TAMIS for benign and malignant rectal lesions in a single center.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Colonic medullary carcinoma: an exceedingly rare type of colorectal malignancy: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Medullary carcinoma of the colon is a rare subtype of colorectal cancer that has a unique, and sometimes varied, clinical and histologic profile. It usually presents in adult patients older than 50 years. Here, we report a unique case of young male patient who initially presented with abdominal pain followed by a large bowel obstruction.

Short-term outcomes in robotic vs laparoscopic ileal pouch-anal anastomosis surgery: a propensity score match study.

Purpose: Laparoscopic ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) surgery offers improved short-term outcomes over open surgery but can be technically challenging. Robotic surgery has been increasingly used for IPAA surgery, but there is limited evidence supporting its use. This study aims to compare the short-term outcomes of laparoscopic and robotic IPAA procedures.

Choice of specimen's extraction site affects wound morbidity in laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery.

Background: The choice for an ideal site of specimen extraction following laparoscopic colorectal surgery remains debatable. However, midline incision (MI) is usually employed for right and left-sided colonic resections while left iliac fossa or suprapubic transverse incision (STI) were reserved for sigmoid and rectal cancer resections.

Objective: To compare the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) and incisional hernia (IH) in elective laparoscopic colorectal surgery for cancer and specimen extraction via MI or STI.

A Rare Case of COVID-19 Infection Leading to Colonic Stricture: Case Report and Review of Literature.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) predominantly targets the respiratory tract; despite gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms that may present in many patients, colonic strictures in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients are extremely rare and, to our knowledge, have never been reported. We, herein, present a case of a 59-year-old lady who developed intestinal obstruction due to colonic strictures shortly after recovering from complicated COVID-19 pneumonia. Ultimately, she underwent laparoscopic subtotal colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis.

Prevalence of zonulopathy in primary angle closure disease.

Background: To determine the prevalence of zonulopathy in a large cohort of eyes with primary angle closure disease (PACD) that underwent cataract surgery.

Methods: Retrospective consecutive case series of PACD eyes (including primary angle closure suspect, primary angle closure, and primary angle closure glaucoma) that underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery or clear lens extraction between 2009 and 2020 at a single ophthalmology centre. Those with risk factors for zonulopathy such as history of trauma, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, intraocular surgery, retinitis pigmentosa or connective tissue disorders were excluded.

Integrated whole transcriptome and small RNA analysis revealed multiple regulatory networks in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a global disease burden and a leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. The identification of aberrantly expressed messenger RNA (mRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), and microRNA (miRNA), and the resulting molecular interactions and signaling networks is essential for better understanding of CRC, identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers and potential development of therapeutic interventions. Herein, we performed microRNA (miRNA) sequencing on fifteen CRC and their non-tumor adjacent tissues and whole transcriptome RNA-Seq on six paired samples from the same cohort and identified alterations in miRNA, mRNA, and lncRNA expression.

Transcriptome of Tumor-Infiltrating T Cells in Colorectal Cancer Patients Uncovered a Unique Gene Signature in CD4 T Cells Associated with Poor Disease-Specific Survival.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is influenced by infiltration of immune cell populations in the tumor microenvironment. While elevated levels of cytotoxic T cells are associated with improved prognosis, limited studies have reported associations between CD4 T cells and disease outcomes. We recently performed transcriptomic profiling and comparative analyses of sorted CD4 and CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from bulk tumors of CRC patients with varying disease stages.

Transcriptome of CD8 tumor-infiltrating T cells: a link between diabetes and colorectal cancer.

There is an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) development in patients with non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes. CD8 T cells have been implicated in diabetes and are crucial for anti-tumor immunity. However, transcriptomic profiling for CD8 T cells from CRC diabetic patients has not been explored.

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphoid Cells in Colorectal Cancer Patients with Varying Disease Stages and Microsatellite Instability-High/Stable Tumors.

Immune checkpoint inhibition is an effective anti-cancer therapeutic approach but has shown limited efficacy in treating colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Importantly, immune constituents of the tumor microenvironment (TME) can influence therapy response and cancer progression. We investigated the expression of immune checkpoints (ICs) on lymphoid populations within the CRC TME and compared with cells from normal colon tissues using samples from 50 patients with varying disease stages.

Matched Cohort Study of Cataract Surgery With and Without Trabecular Microbypass Stent Implantation in Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma.

Purpose: To compare 1-year outcomes of phacoemulsification alone (phaco-only) vs phacoemulsification with implantation of 2 trabecular microbypass stents (iStent or iStent inject; phaco-stent) in eyes with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG).

Design: Retrospective matched clinical cohort study.

Methods: PACG eyes that underwent phaco-only vs phaco-stent at a single ophthalmology center.

RNA-Seq Analysis of Colorectal Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Subsets Revealed Gene Signatures of Poor Prognosis.

Elevated levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), including polymorphonuclear MDSCs (PMN-MDSCs) and immature MDSCs (I-MDSCs), are usually associated with disease progression in cancer patients, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, biological mechanisms and molecular pathways regulated by MDSC subpopulations in the CRC tumor microenvironment (TME) have not been fully investigated. In this study, we performed transcriptomic analysis of tumor-infiltrating I-MDSCs and PMN-MDSCs isolated from tumor tissues of six CRC patients, compared to antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

Epigenetic regulation of immune checkpoints and T cell exhaustion markers in tumor-infiltrating T cells of colorectal cancer patients.

 To elucidate the epigenetic alterations behind the upregulation of immune checkpoints and T cell exhaustion markers in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. mRNA expressions of different immune checkpoint/exhaustion markers were analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR and epigenetic investigations were performed using bisulfite sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR. mRNA expressions of PD-1, TIM-3, CTLA-4, PD-L1 and TOX2 were significantly upregulated in CD4 and CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and bulk CRC tumor tissues.

Differential gene expression of tumor-infiltrating CD33 myeloid cells in advanced- versus early-stage colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has high mortality rates, especially in patients with advanced disease stages, who often do not respond to therapy. The cellular components of the tumor microenvironment are essentially responsible for dictating disease progression and response to therapy. Expansion of different myeloid cell subsets in CRC tumors has been reported previously.

Left iliac fossa mini-incision sigmoidectomy for treatment of sigmoid volvulus. Case series of six patients from Qatar.

Background: Midline laparotomy is the definitive treatment for sigmoid volvulus after initial colonoscopic detorsion. We successfully adopted another technique at our center on 6 patients, treating sigmoid volvulus by left iliac fossa mini-incision.

Presentation Of Cases: We report our experience of six non-consecutive cases of sigmoid volvulus treated by left iliac fossa mini-incision.

Differential gene expression of tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells in advanced versus early-stage colorectal cancer and identification of a gene signature of poor prognosis.

Background: Cytotoxic CD8 T cell-mediated response is the most important arm of adaptive immunity, which dictates the capacity of the host immune response in eradicating tumor cells. Due to tumor intrinsic and/or extrinsic factors, the density and function of CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) could be compromised, leading to poor prognosis and survival.

Methods: Using RNA-Seq, transcriptomes of sorted CD3CD8 TILs from treatment-naïve colorectal cancer (CRC) patients at advanced stages (III and IV) were compared with those from patients with early stages (I and II).

Myeloid Cells in Circulation and Tumor Microenvironment of Colorectal Cancer Patients with Early and Advanced Disease Stages.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogenous population of cells that have been implicated in the development of an immunosuppressive environment, which promotes tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Numerous studies have reported expansion of MDSCs in circulation and the tumor microenvironment (TME) of cancer patients. However, due to the heterogenic nature of MDSCs and the different approaches for their identification, their detailed characterization and impact on disease progression in cancer patients are warranted.

Expression of immune checkpoints and T cell exhaustion markers in early and advanced stages of colorectal cancer.

Despite recent advances in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment, a large proportion of patients show limited responses to therapies, especially in advanced stages. There is an urgent need to identify prognostic biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets in advanced stages, aiming to improve the efficacy of current treatments. We aimed to determine prognostic biomarkers in tumor tissue and circulation of CRC patients, with a special focus on T cell exhaustion markers.