Endoscopic ultrasonography-fine needle aspiration of solid pancreatic masses: Do we need the fourth pass? A prospective study.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is important for the differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions. Sample adequacy is related to the number of needle passes, and European guidelines recommend three to four needle passes with a standard EUS-FNA needle. We aimed to evaluate the optimal number of passes with standard EUS-FNA needles in solid pancreatic lesions.

Harmonic Contrast-Enhanced Endoscopic Ultrasonography for the Guidance of Fine-Needle Aspiration in Solid Pancreatic Masses.

 The global accuracy of fine-needle aspiration guided by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS-FNA) for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is about 85 %. The use of contrast agents during EUS to highlight vessels and the necrotic parts of pancreatic masses may improve biopsy guidance. Our aim was to assess whether the guidance of FNA by harmonic contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasound (CH-EUS) would increase diagnostic accuracy relative to conventional EUS-FNA in the same pancreatic masses.

Crosstalk between EGFR and p53 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent cancers worldwide, with a high mortality. Most patients present with late stage disease, when the treatment options are limited to systemic chemotherapy. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the significance of p53 and EGFR expression in HCC, and to determine whether these two markers correlate with conventional parameters of prognosis.

Prevalence, histology, endoscopic treatment and long-term follow-up of large colonic polyps and laterally spreading tumors. The Romanian experience.

Aims: We report the prevalence, histological aspect, endoscopic treatment and follow-up of colonic polyps of 2 cm or larger and of laterally spreading tumors (LSTs) in an eastern European country.

Methods: All consecutive colonoscopies carried out over a 1-year period (3,856) in the Endoscopy Department of the 3rd Medical Clinic Cluj-Napoca were evaluated. Fifty-two polyps and 12 LSTs of >=2cm diameter were found.

Multilocular colorectal tuberculosis and hypogammaglobulinemia.

We present the case of a young male patient admitted for weight loss, diarrhea and rectal bleeding. The patient belonged to a low social class and had associated hypogammaglobulinemia. The endoscopy revealed different localized ulcerations of he rectum and a stenosis.

Correlation of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 level with biochemical, histological and viral findings in chronic hepatitis C after interferon-alpha + ribavirin therapy.

Unlabelled: Intercellular cell adhesion molecules-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecules-1 (VCAM-1) are expressed in a high quantity on hepatocytes and at the level of endothelium cells from sinusoidal vessels in the liver tissue of patients with chronic hepatitis C. The soluble forms of these molecules sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 can be determined in the serum of patients through the immunoenzymatic technique (ELISA).

The Aim: of the study was to analyse the base level of these molecules and the changes induced through the combined treatment of interferon-alpha (IFN- alpha) and ribavirin (Rib).