Synchronous polyps predict metachronous colorectal lesions after curative resection of colorectal cancer.

Background: The principal aim of endoscopic follow-up programs after curative resection of colorectal cancer (CRC) is to improve survival and identify local recurrence and metachronous CRC. The aim of our study was to identify the possible predictors of metachronous colorectal lesions.

Methods: The records of 348 consecutive patients with CRC and who completed at least 1 year of endoscopic follow-up after surgery were analyzed.

Roux-en-Y gastrojejunal bypass using a hybrid NOTES-12 mm trocar technique in a porcine model.

Aims: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of Roux-en-Y gastrojejunal bypass procedure using a hybrid NOTES-12 mm trocar technique in a survival porcine model.

Material And Methods: The procedure was carried out on ten pigs. Two gastroscopes were introduced through the mouth and through a 12 mm trocar, respectively.

Palliative therapy for esophageal cancer: laser therapy alone is associated with a better functional outcome.

The aim of our study was to compare functional outcome and survival in patients who underwent laser therapy (LT) or laser therapy and esophageal stenting (LTES) to palliate inoperable esophageal cancer. Two hundred and twenty-seven consecutive patients who had endoscopic palliation for esophageal cancer were enrolled in this retrospective study. One hundred and sixty-four underwent LT alone and 63 had LTES.

On the suitability of Thiel cadavers for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES): surgical training, feasibility studies, and anatomical education.

Background: Surgical training in virtual, animal and cadaver models is essential for minimally invasive surgery. Thiel cadavers are suitable for laparoscopy, but there are few data about the use of embalmed (Tutsch method) and slightly embalmed (Thiel method) cadavers in procedures of Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES), which are usually developed and learned on swine models and fresh frozen cadavers. The aim of this study was thus to assess the use of these cadavers for NOTES approaches.

Transanal ileoproctostomy is feasible in human cadavers.

Aim: An ileorectal bypass performed entirely through a transanal route has recently been described in an animal model. The present study aimed to demonstrate its technical feasibility in four human cadavers.

Method: A transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) device and endoscopic instruments were used.

Cognitive assessment of stroke patients with mobile apps: a controlled study.

Stroke is a major cause of cognitive impairments. New technologies such as virtual reality and mobile apps have opened up new possibilities of neuropsychological assessment and intervention. This paper reports a controlled study assessing cognitive functioning through a mobile virtual reality application.

Tryptophan hydroxylase autoantibodies as markers of a distinct autoimmune gastrointestinal component of autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1.

Background: Autoantibodies to tryptophan hydroxylase (TPHAbs) directed against serotonin-producing enterochromaffin cells (EC) have been reported in autoimmune-polyendocrine-syndrome type 1 (APS-1) patients with gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID). Serotonin plays a critical role in enteric function and its peripheral blood levels reflect serotonin release from the gastrointestinal tract.

Aims: We test the hypothesis that TPHAbs mark a distinct autoimmune component of APS-1 characterized by an autoimmune attack toward EC, which results in clinical GID.

Barrett's esophagus and adenocarcinoma risk: the experience of the North-Eastern Italian Registry (EBRA).

Objective: To establish the incidence and risk factors for progression to high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-IEN) or Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma (BAc) in a prospective cohort of patients with esophageal intestinal metaplasia [(BE)].

Background: BE is associated with an increased risk of BAc unless cases are detected early by surveillance. No consistent data are available on the prevalence of BE-related cancer, the ideal surveillance schedule, or the risk factors for cancer.

Totally stapled gastrojejunal anastomosis using hybrid NOTES: single 12-mm trocar approach in a porcine model.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a totally stapled gastrojejunal anastomosis performed using one transabdominal 12-mm trocar and a gastroscope in a porcine model.

Methods: The procedure was carried out on six domestic pigs weighing 45 kg using a hybrid technique with a gastroscope and a 12-mm Hasson trocar, positioned in the left hypochondrium. At the end of the procedure a mechanical circular 21-mm gastrojejunal anastomosis was performed by inserting the stapler through a small gastrotomy after enlarging the trocar incision.

B1a lymphocytes in the rectal mucosa of ulcerative colitis patients.

Aim: To assess B1a cell expression in the rectal mucosa of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in comparison with healthy controls.

Methods: Rectal mucosa biopsies were collected from 15 UC patients and 17 healthy controls. CD5(+) B cells were analysed by three colour flow cytometry from rectal mucosal samples after mechanical disaggregation by Medimachine(®).

Usefulness of chromogranin A, neuron-specific enolase and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid measurements in patients with malignant carcinoids.

Background: Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the gastro-entero-pancreatic (GEP) system are a heterogeneous group of cancers more common in the small intestine. In patients with malignant NETs, especially carcinoids, a number of prognostic parameters have been considered, such as age, clinical symptoms related to the neoplasm, TNM staging and histological grade, as well as urinary 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA), chromogranin A (CgA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) serum levels.

Patients And Methods: The data from a series of 14 patients (median age 56 years, range 33-72 years) with gastric (N=8), ileal (N=1), colorectal (N=4) or appendiceal (N=1) malignant carcinoids were retrospectively reviewed.

Report on a case of Rothmund-Thomson syndrome associated with esophageal stenosis.

Rothmund-Thomson syndrome (RTS) is a rare autosomal recessive genodermatosis. While its incidence is unknown, approximately 300 cases have been reported in the literature. The syndrome typically presents with a characteristic facial rash (poikiloderma), its diagnostic hallmark, and heterogeneous clinical features including congenital skeletal abnormalities, sparse hair distribution, juvenile cataracts, and a predisposition to osteosarcoma.

Colonic carcinogenesis in IBD: molecular events.

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are at increased risk of developing intestinal cancers via mechanisms that remain incompletely understood. Several evidences suggest a causal link between chronic inflammation and the development of cancer in the gastrointestinal tract. In fact, patients with UC are exposed to repeated episodes of inflammation that predispose to various tumorigenic events and the sequence of these events are different from those that contribute to develop a sporadic colorectal cancer.

Helicobacter pylori and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a cross sectional study.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND\

Aims: Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) is a key pathogenetic factor in gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma and lymphoma but its relationship with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is controversial. The aim of the study is to estimate the possible association between the presence of H.

Ileorectal bypass performed entirely through a transanal route in a porcine model.

Background: Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), a new frontier of minimally invasive surgery, uses the body's natural orifices to create an access for surgical procedures. This study aimed to verify the technical feasibility of ileorectal bypass performed entirely through a transanal access.

Methods: The procedure was performed on 10 domestic pigs, after which they were killed.

Axillary node sampling in conjunction with sentinel node biopsy in patients with breast cancer. A prospective preliminary study.

In patients with breast cancer (BC), axillary lymph node sampling (ALNS) is a reliable procedure with low morbidity, alternative or complementary to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), which may improve the detection rate of axillary node metastases as compared to SLNB alone in staging the axilla. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of ALNS in conjunction with SLNB in improving the sensitivity of SLNB alone at frozen section examination. One hundred and twelve women (median age 56 years, range 29-71 years) with BC underwent SLNB using a combined radioisotope and isosulfan blue dye technique.

Hormone receptor rate, MIB-1 score and serum tumour markers CEA and CA 15-3 relationship in elderly women with pT1-2 breast cancer.

The aim of this study was to analyse whether preoperative serum levels of CEA and CA 15-3 correlate with oestrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor rate and MIB-1 score in elderly (>65 years) women with breast cancer (BC). Data from a series of 349 women (median age 61 years, range 26-89) with pT1-2 BC who underwent curative surgery were reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups: Group A, 237 (60.

Diode laser treatment of Barrett's esophagus: long-term results.

Different ablation techniques have been utilized in the treatment of Barrett's esophagus (BE) to reduce the risk of degeneration. Treatment complications, risk of recurrence, and buried intestinal metaplasia (IM) are all major concerns. The effect of diode laser treatment on BE, studied in a group of patients over a long-term period, is presented here.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: report of an audit and review of the literature.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), tumors characterized by c-KIT mutations, are the most frequent mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract. The stomach is the most commonly involved site. Localization, size and mitotic rate are reliable predictors of survival and the two milestones of GISTs treatment are surgery and imatinib.

CHIT1 and AMCase expression in human gastric mucosa: correlation with inflammation and Helicobacter pylori infection.

Objectives: In this study, we analysed the expression of chitotriosidase (CHIT1) and acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) genes in human gastric mucosa biopsies to establish the function of the corresponding enzymes in patients with gastritis associated or not with Helicobacter pylori infection.

Methods: All 27 patients who took part in this study suffered from dyspeptic symptoms and postprandial pain, and sought to undergo gastroscopy. Antral and corpus biopsy specimens were taken to analyse stomach inflammation and detect H.

Double contrast small-bowel radiography in the preoperative assessment of Crohn's disease: is it still useful?

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of double contrast small-bowel radiography (SBR) in the preoperative assessment of patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: Thirty-nine consecutive patients who underwent surgery for CD between 2000 and 2004, preceded by a preoperative small-bowel series evaluation, were enrolled in our study. The radiologic findings were compared with the intraoperative findings.

Minimally invasive surgery for colorectal cancer: quality of life, body image, cosmesis, and functional results.

Background: The aims of this cross-sectional study were to assess the long-term quality of life, the body image, and the cosmetic and functional results in patients who had laparoscopic-assisted for colorectal cancer.

Methods: Forty-two patients were enrolled in this study: 21 consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic-assisted colonic resection and 21 patients who had open colonic resection, selected according to stage, gender, age, cancer site, and type of resection. The patients answered four questionnaires about their quality of life, body image, functional, and cosmetic results.

Risk factors of endoleak following endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm. A multicentric retrospective study.

Endoleak (EL) represents the most common complication following endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). Unfortunately, the long-term results of EVAR and its durability have been questioned, and EL are variably associated with a risk of late failure. The aim of this retrospective study was to identify risk factors for this complication of aneurysm-endograft complex in patients who underwent EVAR.

Endoscopic dilation of benign esophageal strictures in a surgical unit: a report on 95 cases.

Ninety-five patients were treated by endoscopic dilation without fluoroscopic guidance between 1997 and 2005 for benign esophageal strictures. The etiologies were: anastomotic (38), postfundoplication (13), caustic (14), peptic (11), radiation-induced (10) and others (9). The strictures were classified at every session on a 0 to 4 scale on the basis of the diet and the luminal diameter.