Tumor Budding as a Prognostic Marker in Primary Colon Cancer - A Single Center Experience.

Introduction: Tumor budding (TB) is considered to be a morphological and prognostic factor relevant to colon cancer (CC). The aim of our study is to assess the TB and to evaluate its relationship to clinicopathological findings within stage II and III CC patients as a single center experience. Materials and methods: A total of 120 CC patients operated between 2018 and 2021 at the University Clinic of Digestive Surgery in Skopje, the Republic of North Macedonia were included in this retrospective, single center study. TB was evaluated by the magnification of 200x along the invasive front of the primary tumor on H&E and CKAE1/AE3 immunohistochemically stained sections. Two grades were used: low grade (TB1, 0-4 TBs) and high-grade, which includes intermediate (TB2, 5-9 TBs) and high grade (TB3 ≥10TBs) of TBs. Results: A statistically significant correlation has been identified between high-grade TB and age (p=0.05) of the patients. There was also a significantly higher occurrence of high-grade TB in patients within stage III CC. Statistically significant correlations were also found in lymph node status (p<0.01), vascular invasion (p<0.05), lymphatic invasion (p<0.01), postoperative relapse (p<0.01), and death (p<0.01). Tumor relapse and death were significantly more frequent in patients with high-grade TB than those with low-grade TB. Patients with registered high-grade TB demonstrated significantly lower relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates than patients with low-grade TB over the observation period (RFS: 53.8% vs. 98.5%, p<0.001; OS: 65.4% vs. 97.1%, p<0.001, respectively). Patients with lung and liver postoperative relapses had higher percentage of cases with high-grade TB (94.1%). Conclusion: Our results are highly suggestive that TB should be included as a histological biomarker in the pathology report of patients with stage II and stage III CC, because of its prognostic value.

Percutaneous Onsite Insertion of Catheter for Peritoneal Dialysis - A New Method Introduction in the Country.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is one of the options for renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Compared to hemodialysis (HD), patients on PD experience a greater sense of well-being, an improved steady state in terms of extracellular fluid volume shifts and hemodynamics and it is preferred method for patients with problematic vascular access, bleeding tendencies, heart failure and elderly patients. In order to perform PD, a tunneled catheter should be placed through the abdominal wall and into peritoneal space, with positioning of the catheter within the most dependent portion of pelvis. Currently, there are several techniques available for PD catheter placement: open surgery, laparoscopic and percutaneous. We present for the first time in our country a case of 65 year old male patient to whom percutaneous onsite insertion of peritoneal catheter was performed. The idea is to emphasize that sometimes this should be a method of choice for RRT, especially in patients where general anesthesia should be avoid. Compared to other methods, percutaneous insertion is a simple procedure with no need for general anesthesia, and the benefits of quick recovery, earlier ambulation, and less delay in catheter placement.

Chronic Abdominal Pain, an Overlooked Diagnosis of Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS).

Median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare condition that is often overlooked as a result of its nonspecific symptoms. It is usually presented with nausea, bloating, abdominal postprandial pain, and weight loss. The diagnosis of MALS is usually delayed and made by excluding other causes for the symptoms. The diagnosis of this syndrome is based on clinical presentation and radiological findings on computer tomography angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Surgery is treatment of choice, with promising results from laparoscopic surgery.