Improved outcomes of liver resection for hepatitis C-related hepatocellular carcinoma after the introduction of direct-acting antiviral therapy.

BACKGROUND: Assess impact of direct-acting antivirals introduction on outcomes after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: 391 patients (1991-2021) treated with resection for hepatocellular carcinoma on Hepatitis C background were divided according to receiving Hepatitis C treatment, treatment type, achievement of sustained virological response (SVR), time of resection pre- (Era 1, 1991-2011) and post-direct acting antivirals introduction (Era 2, 2012-2021). Survival was estimated with Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox regression analysis performed to identify survival predictors. RESULTS: Majority of patients had single lesion (67.8%), diameter >2 cm in 60.6%, no evidence of macroscopic vascular invasion on imaging. Pathology showed vascular invasion in 69.6% of patients, 76.5% microvascular. Recurrence developed in 247 patients (63.2%). 194 patients (49.6%) achieved SVR. Overall survival at 1-, 3-, 5-years was 94.6%, 85.7%, 78.8% for patients who achieved SVR, 80.1%, 48.1%, 29.9% in those who did not (p < 0.001). 220 patients (56.3%) were in Era 1, 171 (43.7%) in Era 2. Survival at 1-, 3-, 5-years was 76.1%, 49%, 36% in Era 1, 94.5%, 82.5%, 70.3% in Era 2 (p < 0.001). SVR was an independent predictor of survival on multiple Cox Regression analysis. CONCLUSION: While many aspects of HCC management have evolved, SVR following direct-acting antivirals independently improves HCC resection outcomes.

NAFLD: a multi-faceted morbid spectrum with uncertain diagnosis and complicated management.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can be considered the pandemic of these times, because of its global diffusion alongside obesity, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction. It is a disease that often poses many difficulties, since making an early diagnosis is often impossible since specific diagnostic tests and criteria are missing: so, it needs a high degree of suspicion. Most of the times the evolution to its more severe and terminal step, NASH cirrhosis, is unavoidable and so are the social pressure on health system and economic consequences it brings back. The aim of this article is to provide a review of the literature about both non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NASH, thus structuring a wide, comprehensive, 360-degree work with a focus on all major aspects of NAFLD, spanning from diagnosis, physiopathology and its repercussions on liver transplantation. Moreover, we also focus on patients related issues both in pre- and post-transplant management (when these patients are listed for liver transplant). NAFLD and NASH are a contemporary plague, and an exhaustive knowledge of the problem throughout all its aspects is necessary in order to lower economic weight that metabolic issues bring back and to have an open view to possible solutions to all management issues that NASH patients have and that are often prohibitive to a definitive cure (for example cardiovascular risk in patients otherwise eligible to liver transplantation). We aim to offer a complete view on the actual knowledge about NAFLD and NASH, by an extensive review of the literature.

Thoracoscopic Ablation of Critically Located Liver Tumors: A Safety and Efficacy Cohort Study.

Background: Liver resection represents the first curative treatment to treat primary and secondary hepatic tumors. Thoracoscopic liver ablation is a viable and minimally invasive alternative treatment, especially for patients with previous multiple abdominal surgeries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of thoracoscopic ablation for liver tumors. Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospective database of patients with liver tumors, treated with thoracoscopic trans-diagrammatic ablation (MWA or RFA) at our institution from 2012 to 2018. The primary endpoint was post-operative mortality at 30 days, while secondary endpoints were morbidity and efficacy of ablation (i.e., response rate evaluated according to mRECIST criteria, and overall patient survival). Patient demographics, operational characteristics, and complications were recorded. Results: A total of 13 nodules were treated in 10 patients with a median age of 65.5 years. Post-operative mortality was 0%, and overall morbidity was 40% (Clavien-Dindo I complications 30%, II 0%, III 10%, IV 0%). Complete radiological response was obtained in 83.3% of nodules at 3 months. After a median follow-up of 20.95 months, the local tumor progression rate was 30%, with an intra-segmental-recurrence of 30%, and an intra-hepatic-recurrence of 30%. The overall 1-, 2-, and 3-years survival rates were 80%, 58%, and 58%. Conclusion: Thoracoscopic trans-diaphragmatic ablation proved to be a safe and effective way to treat liver tumors when abdominal approach is not feasible. Considering the low morbidity, it is a viable option to treat patients with recurrent disease and/or previous multiple abdominal surgeries.

Bile Microbiota in Liver Transplantation: Proof of Concept Using Gene Amplification in a Heterogeneous Clinical Scenario.

Objective: Historically, bile in the biliary tract has been considered sterile. Most of the series are based on patients with biliary tract diseases or the bile has been obtained with procedures susceptible to contamination. Methods: We evaluated the bile in a heterogeneous cohort of liver donors and recipient patients, with samples obtained in a sterile way, directly from the gallbladder and the common bile duct. Results: We assessed the bile microbiota in six liver donors and in six liver recipients after whole or split liver procedures in adult or pediatric recipients. Bile samples were studied using PCR sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplification (rDNA). Conclusions: We demonstrated that the bile is sterile, thereby ruling this out as a source of contamination following transplant.

Overview of Prognostic Systems for Hepatocellular Carcinoma and ITA.LI.CA External Validation of MESH and CNLC Classifications.

Prognostic assessment in patients with HCC remains an extremely difficult clinical task due to the complexity of this cancer where tumour characteristics interact with degree of liver dysfunction, patient general health status, and a large span of available treatment options. Several prognostic systems have been proposed in the last three decades, both from the Asian and European/North American countries. Prognostic scores, such as the CLIP score and the recent MESH score, have been generated on a solid statistical basis from real life population data, while staging systems, such as the BCLC scheme and the recent CNLC classification, have been created by experts according to recent HCC prognostic evidences from the literature. A third category includes combined prognostic systems that can be used both as prognostic scores and staging systems. A recent example is the ITA.LI.CA prognostic system including either a prognostic score and a simplified staging system. This review focuses first on an overview of the main prognostic systems for HCC classified according to the above three categories, and, second, on a comprehensive description of the methodology required for a correct comparison between different systems in terms of prognostic performance. In this second section the main studies in the literature comparing different prognostic systems are described in detail. Lastly, a formal comparison between the last prognostic systems proposed for each of the above three categories is performed using a large Italian database including 6882 HCC patients in order to concretely apply the comparison rules previously described.

Abdominal Tuberculosis Mimicking Cancer Clinically and on Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging: A Two-Case Series.

BACKGROUND Miliary tuberculosis (MT) is the disseminated form of tuberculosis (TB) and it is a potentially fatal condition. Diagnosis is often delayed because symptoms are typically nonspecific or absent, and misdiagnosis in favor of other diseases is common. We report 2 cases of disseminated TB that were diagnosed during or after surgeries performed for other suspected diseases. CASE REPORT Imaging findings are not specific and cannot be relied upon to raise suspicion of MT. In the first case, besides other imaging techniques, we also performed a positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) on the patient and the resulting, thick, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-avid ring surrounding the liver first led to concern for peritoneal carcinomatosis. TB peritonitis was only identified on laparoscopy and biopsy. In the second case, CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of a solitary liver mass with an irregular enhancing rim and progressive enhancement led to a radiographic diagnosis of likely intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, The subsequent finding that the lesion was intensely FDG-avid without other foci of FDG uptake led to the decision to proceed with resection without a prior biopsy. CONCLUSIONS We have presented 2 patients with TB in whom clinical and imaging findings, and in particular, FDG-PET imaging, led to an erroneous clinical diagnosis of malignancy. An awareness that TB remains very much an active clinical problem in North America and that there are other reasons for FDG uptake on PET imaging besides cancer, is necessary in order to avoid unnecessary and potentially deleterious interventions in patients with TB.

In Pursuit of the Parietal Cell - An Evolution of Scientific Methodology and Techniques.

The stomach has unique embryologic and anatomic properties, making the study of the parietal cell technically challenging. Numerous individuals have devoted decades of research to unraveling the pathophysiological basis of this cell type. Here, we perform a scoping review of novel in vitro and in vivo methodology pertaining to the parietal cell. First, we evaluate early in vitro methods of parietal cell analysis. This section focuses on three major techniques: gastric gland isolation, parietal cell isolation, and parietal cell culture. We also discuss parietal cell physiology and pathophysiology. Second, we discuss more contemporary efforts involving confocal microscopy and gastric organoids, a new technique that holds much promise in unveiling the temporal-spatial dynamics of the cell. Finally, we will discuss findings from our laboratory where we identified an active gastric vacuolar H+-ATPase as a putative mechanism for refractory GERD. Overall, this review aims to highlight the major milestones in understanding an elusive yet important cell. Though in no way comprehensive, we hope to provide a birds-eye view to the study of this unique cell type in the gastrointestinal tract.

One-lung ventilation to treat hepatic dome lesion - a further step towards minimally invasive surgery: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Although liver resection is still the best treatment for primary or metastatic hepatic lesions, a conventional surgical approach may be challenging in patients with a history of previous abdominal surgery. We present a case of a 58-year-old white man with paracaval, subdiaphragmatic, recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma; he had a history of multiple abdominal surgeries. METHODS: In select patients, percutaneous ultrasound-guided thermal ablation is a valid non-surgical alternative due to its safety, efficacy, and good tolerability. Hepatic lesions located in the posterosuperior segments, however, can be difficult to reach via a percutaneous approach. RESULT: For these cases, one-lung left-sided ventilation may be particularly helpful in blocking the right hemidiaphragm and improving the acoustic window to the liver. CONCLUSION: We present a case of paracaval, subdiaphragmatic, recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma in which the tumor was only reachable after one-lung left-sided ventilation that was successfully treated by percutaneous ultrasound-guided microwave ablation.

Microwave Thermal Ablation in an Unusual Case of Malignant and Locally Advanced Rare Tumor of Pancreas in ASA IV Old Male Patient and Literature Review.

Pancreatic intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm is a rare primary neoplasm of unknown pathogenesis. This kind of tumor represents 0.2-2.7% of all pancreatic cancers and they may proceed to malignant lesions. In this study, we describe a case of pancreatic intraductal papillary-mucinous tumor (4.3 cm) with normal tumoral markers and nuclear atypia. We perform also a systematic review of the literature on MEDLINE and find only one relevant study that used microwave ablation for the palliative treatment of pancreatic tumor. We describe the case of a 70-year-old Caucasian male who was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor with biliary tree dilatation. The patient underwent computed tomography (CT), percutaneous biopsy, and an endoscopic positioning of prosthesis in the biliary tree. Due to the worsening of jaundice and cholestasis, and considering the severe systemic disease status, palliative surgery with microwave thermoablation in the head of pancreas was performed. No complications were observed. The hospitalization lasted for 11 days after surgery, with normal liver and pancreatic lab tests at discharge. The patient followed a line of chemotherapy for 6 months with a complete response for 8 months. One month after the treatment, a staging CT scan was performed showing the size of the cephalopancreatic lesion had decreased from 43 to 35 mm with signs of complete ablation. The patient had a total response at the imaging of 10 months. One year later, a CT scan follow-up showed progression of the pancreatic disease. The disease remained stable for 18 months. The patient died due to cardiovascular complications with an overall survival of 30 months. Microwave ablation in our case report has been demonstrated to be feasible and safe without complications. It can be used as a phase of multimodality treatment in patients with severe systemic disease status and advanced intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm.