Clonal analysis of metachronous double biliary tract cancers.

The molecular mechanisms underpinning the development of metachronous tumors in the remnant bile duct following surgical resection of primary biliary tract carcinomas (BTCs) are unknown. This study aimed to elucidate these mechanisms by evaluating the clinicopathologic features of BTCs, the alterations to 31 BTC-related genes on targeted sequencing, and the aberrant expression of p53, p16, SMAD4, ARID1A and ß-catenin on immunohistochemistry. Twelve consecutive patients who underwent resection of metachronous BTCs following primary BTC resection with negative bile duct margins were enrolled. Among the 12 metachronous tumors, six exhibited anterograde growth in the lower portion and six exhibited retrograde growth in the upper portion of the biliary tree. Surgical resection of metachronous BTCs resulted in recurrence-free survival in seven, local recurrence in five, and death in two patients. Nine achieved 5-year overall survival after primary surgery. Molecular analyses revealed that recurrently altered genes were: TP53, SMAD4, CDKN2A, ELF3, ARID1A, GNAS, NF1, STK11, RNF43, KMT2D and ERBB3. Each of these was altered in at least three cases. A comparison of the molecular features between 12 paired primary and metachronous BTCs indicated that 10 (83%) metachronous tumors developed in clonal association with corresponding primary tumors either successionally or phylogenically. The remaining two (17%) developed distinctly. The successional tumors consisted of direct or evolved primary tumor clones that spread along the bile duct. The phylogenic tumors consisted of genetically unstable clones and conferred a poor prognosis. Metachronous tumors distinct from their primaries harbored fewer mutations than successional and phylogenic tumors. In conclusion, over 80% of metachronous BTCs that develop following primary BTC resection are probably molecularly associated with their primaries in either a successional or a phylogenetic manner. Comparison between the molecular features of a metachronous tumor and those of a preceding tumor may provide effective therapeutic clues for the treatment of metachronous BTC. © 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Thick mesopancreas is a novel predictor of surgical outcomes of patients who undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy.

PURPOSE: Mesopancreas resection is a crucial but difficult procedure when performing pancreaticoduodenectomy. This study evaluated the influence of mesopancreas thickness on surgical outcomes in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy. METHODS: We measured the thickness of the fat tissue on the right side of the superior mesenteric artery from the dorsal margin of the confluence of the superior mesenteric vein and portal vein to the ventral margin of the left renal vein on preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography and defined it as the mesopancreas thickness. We evaluated the correlation between mesopancreas thickness and intraoperative and postoperative variables in 357 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis revealed that a thick mesopancreas was significantly associated with a long operative time (ß = 10.361; 95% confidence interval, 0.370-20.353, p = 0.042), high estimated blood loss (ß = 36.038; 95% confidence interval, -27.192-99.268, p = 0.013), and a low number of resected lymph nodes (ß = -1.551; 95% confidence interval, -2.662--0.439, p = 0.006). This analysis further revealed that thick mesopancreas was a significant risk factor for overall morbidity (odds ratio 2.170; 95% confidence interval 1.340-3.520, p = 0.002), major morbidity (odds ratio 2.430; 95% confidence interval 1.360-4.340, p = 0.003), and a longer hospital stay (ß = 2.386; 95% confidence interval 0.299-4.474, p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: A thick mesopancreas could predict a longer operation time, higher estimated blood loss, fewer resected lymph nodes, more frequent overall and major morbidities, and a longer hospital stay in patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy more precisely than the body mass index.

Aqueous Povidone-Iodine Versus Normal Saline For Intraoperative Wound Irrigation on The Incidence of Surgical Site Infection in Clean-Contaminated Wounds After Gastroenterological Surgery: A Single-Institute, Prospective, Blinded-Endpoint, Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This trial evaluated the superiority of intraoperative wound irrigation (IOWI) with aqueous povidone-iodine (PVP-I) compared with that with saline for reducing the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI). BACKGROUND: IOWI with aqueous PVP-I is recommended for the prevention of SSI by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although the evidence level is low. METHODS: This single institute in Japan, prospective, randomized, blinded-endpoint trial was conducted to assess the superiority of IOWI with aqueous PVP-I in comparison with IOWI with saline for reducing the incidence of SSI in clean-contaminated wounds after gastroenterological surgery. Patients 20 years or older were assessed for eligibility, and the eligible participants were randomized at a 1:1 ratio using a computer-generated block randomization. In the study group, IOWI was performed for 1 minute with 40 mL of aqueous 10% PVP-I before skin closure. In the control group, the procedure was performed with 100 mL of saline. Participants, assessors, and analysts were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was the incidence of incisional SSI in the intention-to-treat set. RESULTS: Between June 2019 and March 2022, 941 patients were randomized to the study group (473 patients) or the control group (468 patients). The incidence of incisional SSI was 7.6% in the study group and 5.1% in the control group (risk difference 0.025, 95% CI -0.006 to 0.056; risk ratio 1.484, 95% CI 0.9 to 2.448; P =0.154). CONCLUSION: The current recommendation of IOWI with aqueous PVP-I should be reconsidered.

Ral GTPase-activating protein regulates the malignancy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

The small GTPases RalA and RalB are members of the Ras family and activated downstream of Ras. Ral proteins are found in GTP-bound active and GDP-bound inactive forms. The activation process is executed by guanine nucleotide exchange factors, while inactivation is mediated by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). RalGAPs are complexes that consist of a catalytic α1 or α2 subunit together with a common ß subunit. Several reports implicate the importance of Ral in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, there are few reports on the relationship between levels of RalGAP expression and malignancy in PDAC. We generated RalGAPß-deficient PDAC cells by CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to investigate how increased Ral activity affects malignant phenotypes of PDAC cells. RalGAPß-deficient PDAC cells exhibited several-fold higher Ral activity relative to control cells. They had a high migratory and invasive capacity. The RalGAPß-deficient cells grew more rapidly than control cells when injected subcutaneously into nude mice. When injected into the spleen, the RalGAPß-deficient cells formed larger splenic tumors with more liver metastases, and unlike controls, they disseminated into the abdominal cavity. These results indicate that RalGAPß deficiency in PDAC cells contributes to high activities of RalA and RalB, leading to enhanced cell migration and invasion in vitro, and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo.

Preceding Systemic Chemotherapy for Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma with Positive Peritoneal Cytology Provides Survival Benefit Compared with Up-Front Surgery.

BACKGROUND: The significance of surgical resection in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with positive peritoneal cytology (PPC) is controversial. This study aimed to evaluate whether preceding chemotherapy could be beneficial for patients with PDAC with PPC. METHODS: Between 2017 and 2019, 34 consecutive PDAC patients diagnosed with PPC without distant metastasis were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-three patients did not receive neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) and 11 received NAT. All patients received systemic chemotherapy after PPC was confirmed, and they underwent surgical resection if PPC turned negative. The treatment course, ratio of conversion surgery (CS), and prognosis were evaluated. Moreover, the prognosis of PPC patients who underwent up-front surgery without NAT between 2003 and 2016 was analyzed as a comparative cohort. RESULTS: The median survival time (MST) of the patients without NAT was 31.4 months. CS was performed in 52.2% of the patients. Patients who underwent CS had better prognoses than those who did not undergo CS (p = 0.005). The CS rate was significantly higher in resectable PDAC (78.5%) than in borderline/unresectable PDAC (11.1%) (p = 0.002). The prognosis of patients with resectable PDAC was improved with preceding chemotherapy compared with up-front surgery (MST 13.0 months; p = 0.016). After NAT, the CS rate was low (27.3%), and the MST was only 14.1 months. CONCLUSIONS: As an initial treatment for PDAC patients with PPC, chemotherapy may lead to a favorable prognosis. Especially, resectable PDAC is associated with a greater chance of improved prognosis. Future studies are required to ascertain whether up-front surgery or preceding chemotherapy should be performed for these patients.

Prognostic value of an inflammation-based nutritional score for patients with initially unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma undergoing conversion surgery following chemo-/radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: To clarify the prognostic value of the preoperative nutrition status of patients undergoing conversion surgery (CS) for initially unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (UR-PA). METHODS: The subjects of this retrospective study were 41 consecutive patients with initially UR-PA treated with chemo-/radiotherapy and subsequent CS between 2007 and 2014, at Tohoku University Hospital. The preoperative Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) was 0, conveying normal nutrition, in 25 patients (N group) and 1-2, conveying malnutrition, in 16 patients (M group). The clinicopathological factors influencing overall survival were defined by uni- and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The M group had a significantly worse prognosis than the N group (median overall survival (mOS) 9.6 vs 40.7 months, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified a GPS of 1-2 as an independent predictor of worse prognosis [hazard ratio (HR)3.437, p = 0.032], followed by CA19-9 elevation before CS (HR4.089, p = 0.012) and pathological lymph node metastases (HR2.314, p = 0.046). Patients who maintained a favorable nutritional status (GPS 0) during preoperative treatment had a significantly better prognosis, whereas those whose nutritional status deteriorated (elevated to GPS 1-2) had poorer survival (mOS 40.7 vs. 9.7 months, p = 0.003) CONCLUSION: Preoperative malnutrition status (GPS 1-2) is considered an independent predictor of a worse prognosis for patients undergoing CS for initially UR-PA.

Staging laparoscopy is mandatory for the treatment of pancreatic cancer to avoid missing radiologically negative metastases.

PURPOSE: Staging laparoscopy is considered useful for determining treatment plans for advanced pancreatic cancer. However, the indications for staging laparoscopy are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of staging laparoscopy and its usefulness for detecting distant metastases in patients with pancreatic cancer. METHODS: A total of 146 patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent staging laparoscopy between 2013 and 2019 were analyzed. Staging laparoscopy was performed in all pancreatic cancer patients in whom surgery was considered possible. RESULTS: In this cohort, 42 patients (29%) were diagnosed with malignant cells on peritoneal lavage cytology, 9 (6%) had peritoneal dissemination, and 11 (8%) had liver metastases. A total of 48 (33%) had radiologically negative metastases. On a multivariate analysis, body and tail cancer [odds ratio (OR) 5.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.15-11.6, p < 0.001], high CA19-9 level [OR 4.04, 95% CI 1.74-9.38, p = 0.001], and a resectability status of unresectable (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.03-5.20, p = 0.04) were independent risk factors for radiologically negative metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Staging laparoscopy can be safely performed and is useful for the diagnosis of radiologically negative metastases. Staging laparoscopy should be routinely performed for the accurate diagnosis of pancreatic cancer patients before pancreatectomy and/or local treatment, such as radiotherapy.

Increased neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio predicts recurrence in patients with well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm based on the 2017 World Health Organization classification.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic values of inflammation-based markers in well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms, diagnosed according to the new 2017 World Health Organization classification, have remained unclear. Therefore, we assessed the ability to predict the recurrence of such markers after curative resection in patients with these neoplasms. METHODS: Circulating/systemic neutrophil-lymphocyte, monocyte-lymphocyte, platelet-lymphocyte, and platelet-white cell ratios were evaluated in 120 patients who underwent curative resection for well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms without synchronous distant metastasis between 2001 and 2018. Recurrence-free-survival and overall survival were compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests. Univariate or multivariate analyses, using a Cox proportional hazards model, were used to calculate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Univariate analysis demonstrated that preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, tumor size, European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society TMN classification, 2017 World Health Organization classification, and venous invasion were associated with recurrence. The optimal preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio cut-off value was 2.62, based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. In multivariate analysis, a higher preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (HR = 3.49 95% CI 1.05-11.7; P = 0.042) and 2017 World Health Organization classification (HR = 8.81, 95% CI 1.46-168.2; P = 0.015) were independent recurrence predictors. CONCLUSIONS: The circulating/systemic neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is a useful and convenient preoperative prognostic marker of recurrence in patients with well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm based on the 2017 World Health Organization classification.

The Function and Prognostic Significance of Cripto-1 in Colorectal Cancer.

Cripto-1 is a plasma membrane protein which is not expressed in adult tissue, but some tumors are accompanied by re-activation. We studied the clinical and biological significance of Cripto-1 in colorectal cancer. Cripto-1 was positive in 68 out of 192 cases (35%) by immunohistochemistry. Cripto-1 expression was correlated with worse prognosis and was an independent prognostic factor. Cripto-1-silenced colorectal cancer cell lines had reduced cell proliferation, migration, and activation of Akt and MAPK signaling pathways in vitro, and decreased tumor growth and lymph node metastasis in vivo. Cripto-1 could be a useful prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in colorectal cancer.

Prognostic impact of intraoperative peritoneal cytology after neoadjuvant therapy for potentially resectable pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is considered a potential approach to improve survival for patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA). The objective of this study was to identify the clinical implications of washing peritoneal cytology (CY) status after NAT. METHODS: Between 2005 and 2016, 151 consecutive patients with resectable (R)/borderline resectable (BR) PA underwent NAT with intention of subsequent resection at our institution. Of them, 13 and 123 patients underwent pancreatectomies with positive (CY+) and negative (CY-) cytology, respectively, while the remaining 15 patients did not undergo resection due to gross metastases at laparotomy. The clinicopathological factors influencing overall survival were clarified by the uni- and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The postoperative overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were markedly worse in patients who underwent resection with CY+, compared with those who were CY- (median OS, 14.8 m vs 30.8 m, p = 0.026, and median DFS 6.0 m vs 15.1 m, p = 0.008). According to the resectability by NCCN guidelines, CY+ indicates worse prognosis than CY- in R-PA patients (mOS: 30.1 m vs 71.1 m: p = 0.080). Similarly, in BR-PA patients, CY+ showed the significantly worse prognosis than CY- (mOS: 13.8 m vs 24.5 m: p = 0.048), which prognosis is comparable with patients who did not undergo resection. The multivariate analysis revealed that resectability, CY status and the induction of adjuvant therapy were significant predictors of postoperative OS (p = 0.007: Hazard ratio 2.264, 0.040:2.094 and 0.002:3.246, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: CY+ is a significant predictor of poorer prognosis in PA patients after NAT. The subsequent pancreatectomies with CY+ after NAT do not contribute to prolonged survival.

Prognostic indicators in pancreatic cancer patients undergoing total pancreatectomy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of total pancreatectomy in a modern cohort of pancreatic cancer patients and to establish whether any factors identified prior to pancreatic resection were related to poor survival. METHODS: We analyzed, retrospectively, patients who underwent total pancreatectomy for pancreatic cancer between 2007 and 2016. The short- and long-term outcomes were investigated and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic factors identified before resection. RESULTS: The subjects were 49 patients with a mean age of 65 years, who underwent total pancreatectomy in our hospital during the study period. Peritoneal washing cytology was performed in 48 patients, with positive results in 4 (8.3%). There was no 30-day mortality. The median overall survival was 22.5 months, with a 5-year survival rate of 28.5%. Univariate analyses of the pre-resection variables revealed that overall survival was associated with tumor location, resectability classification, maximum standardized uptake value of positron emission tomography, the preoperative carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level, and peritoneal washing cytology status. Multivariate analysis revealed that positive peritoneal washing cytology status and the maximum standardized uptake value were independent predictors of poor survival. CONCLUSION: Total pancreatectomy for pancreatic cancer is appropriate for selected patients, but peritoneal washing cytology and positron emission tomography should be performed preoperatively.

Novel biomarkers distinguishing pancreatic head Cancer from distal cholangiocarcinoma based on proteomic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The differentiation between pancreatic head cancer (PHC) and distal cholangiocarcinoma (DCC) can be challenging because of their anatomical and histopathological similarity. This is an important problem, because the distinction has important implications for the treatment of these malignancies. However, there are no biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of PHC and DCC. The present study aimed to identify novel diagnostic immunohistochemical biomarkers to distinguish PHC from DCC. METHODS: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed to detect candidate proteins. Ten PHC and 8 DCC specimens were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Selected proteins were evaluated, using immunohistochemical analysis, to determine whether they would be appropriate biomarkers. Finally, we generated biomarker panels to improve diagnostic accuracy. We applied these panels to clinically difficult cases (cases in which different diagnoses were made before and after operation). RESULTS: Consequently, 1820 proteins were detected using LC-MS/MS. Fifteen differentially expressed proteins were selected as candidates based on semi-quantitative comparison. We first performed immunohistochemical staining on samples from the small cohort group (12 PHCs and 12 DCCs) using 15 candidates. KRT17, ANXA10, TMEM109, PTMS, and ATP1B1 showed favorable performances and were tested in the next large cohort group (72 PHCs and 74 DCCs). Based on immunohistochemical analysis, KRT17 performed best for the diagnosis of PHC as a single marker; additionally, PTMS exhibited good performance for the diagnosis of DCCs. Moreover, we indicated the KRT17+/ANXA10+/PTMS- staining pattern as a biomarker panel for the correct diagnosis of PHC and KRT17-/ANXA10-/PTMS+ for the diagnosis of DCC. After immunohistochemical staining for examining samples from the clinically difficult cases, these panels showed satisfactory diagnostic performance with 85.7% (6/7) accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that 5 proteins and 2 biomarker panels are promising for distinguishing PHC from DCC, and patients with an equivocal diagnosis would benefit from the application of these biomarkers. Confirmatory studies are needed to generalize these findings to other populations.

Predictive risk factors for peritoneal recurrence after pancreatic cancer resection and strategies for its prevention.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the risk factors for peritoneal recurrence (PR) of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and to discuss the appropriate management strategies. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 236 patients who underwent pancreatectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. We then compared the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with vs. those without PR. The independent risk factors for PR were defined using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: The median survival of patients with PR was 13.3 months after surgical treatment. The PR group had a significantly higher incidence of portal vein resection, longer operative time (≥648 min), greater blood loss (≥2179 mL), blood transfusion, tumor size, portal vein invasion, artery invasion, pancreatic nerve plexus invasion, and histological grade. Multivariate analysis revealed that excessive blood loss (≥2179 mL; P = 0.010), artery invasion (P = 0.025), pancreatic nerve plexus invasion (P = 0.001), and histological grade 3 (P = 0.011) were independent risk factors for PR. Excessive blood loss was also strongly related to tumor size (P = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Local invasion and tumor size-related factors suggested the possibility of intraoperative dissemination at the time of tumor resection. Preoperative treatment and an operative procedure to prevent tumor exposure may help prevent PR.

[Multidisciplinary Therapy with Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel for Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer].

Gemcitabine with nab-paclitaxel(GN)shows promisinganti -tumor effect and has been established standard regimen for metastatic pancreatic cancer(PC). Conversion surgery(CS), recently reported about initially unresectable PC with favorable response to non-surgical treatment, might provide long-term survival. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of multi-modal treatment includingCS after GN therapy for initially unresectable PC. From 2015 to 2016, 29 initially unresectable PC treated with chemotherapy includingGN were eligible for the retrospective analysis. Unresectability was defined over 180- degree abutment to major arteries(UR-LA)or suspicious small metastases(UR-M). CS was planed after clinical favorable response over 6 months of treatment duration. Median age of the patients was 62.5 years old, including 18 males and 11 females. Tumor in the pancreas head(n=20)was dominant. Eighteen patients were UR-LA and remaining1 1 were UR-M. CS was performed in 9 cases(31%)with no significant difference between UR-LA and UR-M. CS showed significant better survival with 67%of 2-year survival rate, compared to without CS(p=0.039). GN regimen effectively induced CS for initially unresectable PC. Multidisciplinary therapy includinginduction GN and CS might have survival impact on unresectable PC.

[A Case of Curatively Resected Ascending Colon Cancer with Ovarian Metastasis and Peritoneal Dissemination after Chemotherapy].

A52 -year-old woman was diagnosed with ascending colon cancer with ovarian metastasis and peritoneal dissemination. Since the patient did not have symptoms with intestinal obstruction, mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab(Bmab)was performed for 12 cycles. After chemotherapy, the tumors of ascending colon and ovary were significantly shrunken and novel distant metastasis was not observed by CT scans. Therefore, the tumors were considered to be resectable and curative resection was performed. In the surgical findings, the peritoneal disseminations were localized, and right colectomy, bilateral oophorectomy and extirpation of the peritoneal disseminations were performed. R0 resection was pathologically achieved and adjuvant chemotherapy with UFT/UZEL was administrated for 6 months. The patient is alive without recurrence for 1 year. Since right sided colon cancer is less likely to have obstruction, upfront chemotherapy can be a strategy for locally advanced right sided colon cancer with distant metastasis.

[A Successful Case of Conversion Therapy after Chemotherapy for Advanced Rectal Cancer with Inguinal Lymph Node Metastasis].

CASE: A70-year-old man was diagnosed with lower rectal cancer with right inguinal lymph node metastasis. Surgical resection was not suitable for this patient. Chemotherapy(IRIS plus bevacizumab followed by XELOX plus bevacizumab)was administered for 16 months. After the chemotherapy, the rectal tumor and lymph node swelling were significantly reduced and distant metastasis was not observed on CT scans. Therefore, the tumor was considered to be resectable and abdominoperineal resection of the rectum with lymph node dissection was performed. On histopathological examination, cancer cells partially remained in the rectal tumor and lateral lymph nodes, although there were no cancer cells in the inguinal lymph nodes. The patient is alive without recurrence a year later. In cases with a good response to chemotherapy, conversion therapy may become an important therapeutic option.

Preoperative chemotherapy with Gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer causes zinc deficiency.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate how preoperative chemotherapy affected the serum zinc concentrations in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). METHODS: Two hundreds and thirty-one patients with PC who underwent pancreatectomy at our department from 2013 to 2019 were enrolled in this study and measured for the serum zinc concentrations before pancreatectomy. Patient characteristics, course of treatment, and laboratory data were analyzed. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-five patients underwent upfront pancreatectomy and 58 received preoperative Gemcitabine + S1 (GEM + S1) and 29 received Gemcitabine + nab-Paclitaxel (GEM + nab-PTX). Comparing the serum zinc concentrations before and after preoperative treatment, it was found to decrease after treatment with statistical difference (79.3 µg/dl vs. 68.7 µg/dl, p < 0.001). The result was consistent with the investigation for both the patients who received GEM + S1 and those who received GEM + nab-PTX (p = 0.019, p < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative chemotherapy consistently reduced the serum zinc concentrations in the PC patients, regardless of their regimen such as GEM + S1 and GEM + nab-PTX. Monitoring the serum zinc concentration and appropriate zinc supplementation may be essential for PC patients undergoing preoperative chemotherapy and pancreatectomy.

Deep learning predicts the 1-year prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients using positive peritoneal washing cytology.

Peritoneal washing cytology (CY) in patients with pancreatic cancer is mainly used for staging; however, it may also be used to evaluate the intraperitoneal status to predict a more accurate prognosis. Here, we investigated the potential of deep learning of CY specimen images for predicting the 1-year prognosis of pancreatic cancer in CY-positive patients. CY specimens from 88 patients with prognostic information were retrospectively analyzed. CY specimens scanned by the whole slide imaging device were segmented and subjected to deep learning with a Vision Transformer (ViT) and a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The results indicated that ViT and CNN predicted the 1-year prognosis from scanned images with accuracies of 0.8056 and 0.8009 in the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curves, respectively. Patients predicted to survive 1 year or more by ViT showed significantly longer survivals by Kaplan-Meier analyses. The cell nuclei found to have a negative prognostic impact by ViT appeared to be neutrophils. Our results indicate that AI-mediated analysis of CY specimens can successfully predict the 1-year prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer positive for CY. Intraperitoneal neutrophils may be a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target for CY-positive patients with pancreatic cancer.

Clinical and pathological factors associated with survival in patients with pancreatic cancer who receive adjuvant therapy after neoadjuvant therapy: A retrospective multi-institutional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant therapy is being increasingly used for patients with pancreatic cancer. The role of adjuvant therapy in these patients is unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and pathologic characteristics that are associated with longer overall survival in patients with pancreatic cancer who receive adjuvant therapy after neoadjuvant therapy. METHODS: This study was conducted using multi-institutional data. All patients underwent surgery after at least 1 cycle of neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer. Patients who died within 3 months after surgery and were known to have distant metastasis or macroscopic residual disease were excluded. Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 analysis, Kaplan-Meier plot, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed as statistical analyses. RESULTS: In the present study, 529 patients with resected pancreatic cancer after neoadjuvant therapy were reviewed. For neoadjuvant therapy, 177 (33.5%) patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 352 (66.5%) patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The median duration of neoadjuvant therapy was 7.0 months (interquartile range, 5.0-8.7). Patients were followed for a median of 23.0 months after surgery. Adjuvant therapy was administered to 297 (56.1%) patients and was not associated with longer overall survival for the entire cohort (24 vs 22 months, P = .31). Interaction analysis showed that adjuvant therapy was associated with longer overall survival in patients who received less than 4 months neoadjuvant therapy (hazard ratio 0.40; 95% confidence interval 0.17-0.95; P = .03) or who had microscopic margin positive surgical resections (hazard ratio 0.56; 95% confidence interval 0.33-0.93; P = .03). CONCLUSION: In this retrospective study, there was a survival benefit associated with adjuvant therapy for patients who received less than 4 months of neoadjuvant therapy or had microscopic positive margins.

Novel prognostic protein markers of resectable pancreatic cancer identified by coupled shotgun and targeted proteomics using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal malignancies worldwide. We aimed to identify novel prognostic markers by applying mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic analysis to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Resectable, node positive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with poor (n = 4) and better (n = 4) outcomes, based on survival duration, with essentially the same clinicopathological backgrounds, and noncancerous pancreatic ducts (n = 5) were analyzed. Cancerous and noncancerous cells collected from FFPE tissue sections by laser microdissection (LMD) were processed for liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem MS (MS/MS). Candidate proteins were identified by semiquantitative comparison and then analyzed quantitatively using selected reaction monitoring (SRM)-based MS. To confirm the associations between candidate proteins and outcomes, we immunohistochemically analyzed a cohort of 87 cases. In result, totally 1,229 proteins were identified and 170 were selected as candidate proteins for SRM-based targeted proteomics. Fourteen proteins overexpressed in cancerous as compared to noncancerous tissue showed different expressions in the poor and better outcome groups. Among these proteins, we found that three novel proteins ECH1, OLFM4 and STML2 were overexpressed in poor group than in better group, and that one known protein GTR1 was expressed reciprocally. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed high expressions of all four proteins to correlate with significantly worse overall survival (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we identified four proteins as candidates of prognostic marker of PDAC. The combination of shotgun proteomics verified by SRM and validated by immunohistochemistry resulted in the prognostic marker discovery that will contribute the understanding of PDAC biology and therapeutic development.