Gastrointestinal Tumors最新文献

Hiatal hernia is a rare postoperative complication of esophagectomy in the treatment of esophageal cancer. Although rare, its incidence increased after the establishment of minimally invasive surgical techniques. The patient is usually oligosymptomatic, and the diagnosis is made in the late postoperative period, during outpatient follow-up. The initial presentation of hiatus hernia with hemodynamic instability is a rare condition that has never been described in the literature before. In the following report, we address the clinical picture, diagnosis, and treatment for this condition, discussing the main nuances of the literature.

Background: Changes in cell metabolism are a well-known feature of some cancers, and this may be involved in the etiology of tumor formation and progression, as well as tumor heterogeneity. These changes may affect fatty acid metabolism and glycolysis and are required to provide the increase in energy necessary for the high rate of proliferation of cancer cells. Gastrointestinal cancers remain a difficult-to-treat cancer, particularly as they are usually diagnosed at a late stage of disease and are associated with poor outcomes.

Summary: Recently, the changes in the metabolic pathways, including the expression of the rate-limiting enzymes involved, have been considered to be a potential target for therapy for gastrointestinal tumors.

Key message: A combination of routine chemotherapy drugs with metabolic inhibitors may improve the effectiveness of treatment.

Background: Discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) belong to the receptor tyrosine kinases family and are activated by different types of collagens, which play roles in various physiological processes. An abnormal expression of DDRs is reported in different types of cancers. Despite many reports about the association and roles of high DDR expression levels in cancers, the prognostic values of DDRs are still unclear. This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic effect of DDRs in different tissue cancers.

Method: A literature search was performed in several related databases to find eligible English articles. Based on our research, 20 appropriate studies with 2,602 patients were selected till October 5, 2020. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) was computed to evaluate the strength of correlation between DDRs and survival of cancer patients.

Result: Pooling results showed that a high DDR expression was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.304, 95% CI 1.007-1.69, p = 0.04). Subgroup analysis based on cancer type revealed a significant link between a high DDR expression level and poor OS both in gastrointestinal (pooled HR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.214-2.624, p = 0.003) and urological cancers (pooled HR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.062-1.82, p = 0.018).

Conclusion: Our meta-analysis results suggest that high DDRs expression has the potential to be used as a biomarker of poor prognosis in cancers.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is recorded as the fifth most common cancer globally. The classic resemblance of early symptoms of chronic gastritis including nausea, dysphagia, and dyspepsia with GC is the current challenge limiting the early diagnosis of GC. The current diagnostic procedures of GC are limited due to their invasive nature. This directs the research question toward alternative approaches, specifically at the molecular level. Recent advances in molecular regulation of cancer suggest the prominence of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the multistep process of tumourigenesis.

Summary: CircRNAs are a class of non-coding RNAs, abundant in eukaryotes, with key roles in regulating genes and miRNAs as well as the alteration of processes involved in pathological conditions. Research studies have demonstrated the participation of circRNAs in the initiation and progression of tumours. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the potential of circRNAs as disease biomarkers for the early detection and treatment of GC.

Key messages: This study is an amalgamation of the implications and future prospects of circRNAs for the detection and potential treatment of GC.