Molecular aspects of pancreatic cancer: focus on reprogrammed metabolism in a nutrient-deficient environment and potential therapeutic targets.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still burdened with high mortality (5-year survival rate < 9%) due to late diagnosis, aggressiveness, and a lack of more effective treatment methods. Early diagnosis and new therapeutic approaches based on the reprogrammed metabolism of the tumor in a nutrient-deficient environment are expected to improve the future treatment of PDAC patients. Research results suggest that genetic and metabolic disorders may precede the onset of neoplastic changes, which should allow for earlier appropriate treatment.

The relationship between the degree of malnutrition and changes in selected parameters of the immune response in critically ill patients.

Patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) are at high risk of malnutrition and the resulting homeostasis, metabolic, histological and immunological disorders, especially leading to organ failure and increased susceptibility to infection. In 163 patients with malnutrition [mild in 33 (19.6%), moderate in 69 (42.

The soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 as a potential early diagnostic and prognostic markers in intensive care unit patients with severe infections.

Introduction: Substantial causes of high mortality (30-50%) of people with severe infections treated in intensive care units (ICUs) are still inadequately known in terms of mechanisms and insufficient diagnostic tools for immune responses in sepsis.

Material And Methods: The aim of this study was to establish a practical value of determining the concentration of chosen proteins (by ELISA) in peripheral blood as potential in early diagnostics of severe infections, paying special attention to their prognostic values.

Results: In 163 patients treated in ICUs, changes were assessed in the concentration of chosen proteins relating to the TLR4 receptor signalling pathway, including its effectors of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1Ra, TNF-α, sTNFR1, IL-6, IL-10, sTLR4, MyD88, TNFAIP3/A20, HSP70, and HMGB1).

Infection-induced innate antimicrobial response disorders: from signaling pathways and their modulation to selected biomarkers.

Severe infections are a major public health problem responsible for about 40-65% of hospitalizations in intensive care units (ICU). The high mortality (30-50%) of persons diagnosed with severe infection is caused by largely unknown mechanisms of sepsis-induced immune system response. Severe infections with dynamic progress are accompanied with SIRS (systemic inflammatory reaction syndrome) and CARS (compensatory anti-inflammatory response syndrome), and require a biological treatment appropriate to the phase of immune response.

Association between disease-related malnutrition and innate immunity gene expression in critically ill patients at intensive care unit admission.

The aim of the study was to analyse the relationship between nutritional disorders and the expression of innate antibacterial response genes in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). In 46 patients with severe malnutrition and life-threatening surgical complications, nutritional status tests were performed on the basis of the NRS 2002 (Nutritional Risk Screening) scale, cytokine, albumin, C-reactive protein concentrations, anthropometric tests, and body composition analysis. Concurrently, the expression of Toll-like receptor 2, NOD1, TRAF6, and HMGB1 genes was determined in peripheral blood leukocytes at the mRNA level using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor I is a promising early indicator of complicated clinical outcome in patients following severe trauma.

Post-traumatic mortality rates are still very high and show an increasing tendency. Early identification of patients at high risk of severe complications has a significant impact on treatment outcomes. The aim of the study was to better understand the early pathological inflammatory response to injury and infection, and to determine the usefulness of the assessment of TNF-α and sTNFR1 concentrations in the peripheral blood as early indicators of severe post-traumatic complications.

MicroRNAs in pancreatic cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Pancreatic cancer remains a disease with very poor prognosis (only 5-6% of patients are still alive after five years). Attempts to improve the results of treatment of pancreatic cancer focus on a better understanding of the pathogenesis, and non-invasive diagnostic methods (genetic testing from peripheral blood), which would create the possibility of early diagnosis and early surgical treatment before the onset of metastasis. New hopes for the improvement of early diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are associated with genetic testing of microRNA expression changes.

The diagnostic value of early cytokine response in patients after major trauma - preliminary report.

This study was aimed to give a better understanding of the mechanisms of early immune response to trauma by assessing the concentration of cytokines in peripheral blood. The study group comprised 32 patients admitted to the Emergency Department due to injury. Depending on the magnitude of the Injury Severity Score (ISS) trauma patients were divided into two groups.

Immune disorders in anorexia.

Anorexia nervosa is a disease involving eating disorders. It mainly affects young people, especially teenage women. The disease is often latent and occurs in many sub-clinical and partial forms.

Disorders of nutritional status in sepsis - facts and myths.

The problem of diagnosing nutritional status disorders in septic patients remains unresolved. This is associated with the necessity of the introduction of newer and newer methods of assessing nutritional status, often requiring precise and expensive equipment as well as employment of professionals in this field in hospital wards, primarily including intensive care units (ICU). Methods that have been applied thus far for assessing nutritional status, also used in severely ill septic patients, have little impact on improving treatment results.

Colorectal cancer tumour markers and biomarkers: Recent therapeutic advances.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among females and third among males worldwide. It also contributes significantly to cancer-related deaths, despite the continuous progress in diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Biomarkers currently play an important role in the detection and treatment of patients with colorectal cancer.

Dysregulation of signaling pathways associated with innate antibacterial immunity in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Disorders of innate antibacterial response are of fundamental importance in the development of gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Multi-regulatory properties of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) (e.g.

Diagnostic value of selected markers and apoptotic pathways for pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer occupies the fourth place as a cause of death from cancer, and the mortality rate is similar to the number of newly detected cases. Due to the late diagnosis, only 5-6% of patients with pancreatic cancer survive for five years. Given that early diagnosis is critical for improving patients' survival rates, there is an urgent need for the discovery and validation of new biomarkers with sufficient sensitivity and specificity to help diagnose pancreatic cancer early.

Innate immunity gene expression changes in critically ill patients with sepsis and disease-related malnutrition.

The aim of this study was an attempt to determine whether the expression of genes involved in innate antibacterial response (TL R2, NOD 1, TRAF6, HMGB 1 and Hsp70) in peripheral blood leukocytes in critically ill patients, may undergo significant changes depending on the severity of the infection and the degree of malnutrition. The study was performed in a group of 128 patients with infections treated in the intensive care and surgical ward. In 103/80.

Host response, obesity, and oral health.

Proper food choices are part of preventing or reducing the risk of dental caries and periodontal disease. A significant association has been proven between oral diseases and the incidence of systemic diseases. Obesity, just like smoking, is one of the major risk factors for oral disease and is a serious social problem that has reached epidemic proportions in many developed countries.

The immune response to surgery and infection.

Surgical trauma affects both the innate and acquired immunity. The severity of immune disorders is proportional to the extent of surgical trauma and depends on a number of factors, including primarily the basic disease requiring surgical treatment (e.g.

Host response, malnutrition and oral diseases. Part 2.

Acute phase proteins enhance antioxidant defenses; they are involved in the activation of complement components, opsonization and increase in platelet aggregation as well as inhibition of the respiratory burst in the course of inflammation. Malnutrition plays an important role in the course of response of acute phase proteins. The role of nutrients as antioxidants or as key components of antioxidant enzymes is commonly known.

Host response, malnutrition and oral diseases. Part 1.

Effective defense response of the body requires the proper nutritional and metabolic preparation and adequate energy expenditure. Every pathological process with coexisting malnutrition is subject to an increased risk of failure and complications in medical treatment, which is a serious threat to human health and life. Malnutrition, particularly protein-calorie malnutrition, is characterized by a decrease in resistance, particularly involving cellular immune deficiency, which in turn causes a significant decrease in resistance to infections.

The role of tumor markers and biomarkers in colorectal cancer.

A steady increase in colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality has been observed in Europe, despite the continuous advancement in diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Accordingly, further progress is very much desirable in non-invasive diagnostic methods to enable early diagnosis, preand postoperative staging, and to assist in selecting the most suitable neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapeutic methods and post-treatment follow-up. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about the role of tumor markers and biomarkers in CRC diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

Apoptosis in lymphocytes of pancreatic cancer patients: influence of preoperative enteral immunonutrition and extensive surgery.

The mechanisms of correcting immune disorders in patients with pancreatic cancer requiring major surgery procedures by introducing perioperative immune-enhancing diet (immunonutrition) are still unclear. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of pancreatic cancer, extensive surgery and immunonutrition versus enteral standard nutrition on the apoptotic signaling pathways. The randomized studies were performed in 72 patients before and after pancreatic cancer resection with preoperative standard (Group I) or enteral immunonutrition (Group II).

Innate immunity signaling pathways: links between immunonutrition and responses to sepsis.

Septic infections in patients treated in intensive care units show the highest mortality rates. Despite advances in treatment methods, there is still no therapy available to efficiently reduce the excessive inflammatory response, which can increase the risk of multiple organ failure. One of the ways to discover new, more efficient treatment methods involves regulating the mechanisms of inflammatory response to a massive infection.