Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects in a Cohort of Colorectal Cancer Patients.

We conducted a retrospective, observational study, based on 91 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC), hospitalized and evaluated within the Surgical and the 2nd Internal Medicine Clinic, the Clinical Emergency County Hospital Craiova, between October 2020 and October 2022. We aimed in this study to analyze the epidemiological aspects and clinical characteristics of patients with CRC. In our study group, the patients' ages were between 30-89 years, with mean a of 68.06 (±9.39) years. The incidence of CRC cases in young patients was relatively low. 56.04% of all patients lived in urban areas. In 57.14% of cases, tumors were found on the left colon. The histopathological (HP) examination revealed the net predominance of adenocarcinoma. Depending on the HP grade, the tumor formations were represented predominantly by moderate and poorly differentiated tumors, having G2 and G3 grades. The T3 tumors predominated the total tumors identified. We observed that obstructions have the highest percentages on the left colon, while haemorrhages and perforations have higher percentages on the right side of the colon. The results obtained in our study largely validated the hypothesis proposed at the beginning of the study, according to which, using the clinical, paraclinical, and HP data, we can create a typology of the patient with CRC, from the Craiova Reference Center, to guide us in identifying some measures to decrease the percentage of CRC, as well as to improve the efficiency of the surgical treatment for these cases.

Immunoexpression of Mismatch Repair Proteins in a Cohort of Colorectal Cancer Patients.

One of the molecular routes of colorectal carcinogenesis is the lack of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, which may have substantial clinical consequences in predicting therapy success. This study aimed to analyze the expression of the MutL homolog 1 (MLH1), MutS homolog 2 (MSH2), and MutS homolog 6 (MSH6) in a cohort of 91 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and to evaluate the relationship between patient clinicopathological characteristics and immunoexpression of these biomarkers. In this study, we obtained the highest scores of the MLH1 immunoexpression in non-mucinous tumors, moderately differentiated lesions, and in stage IV. The highest values of the MSH2 and MSH6 scores were observed in mucinous tumors, and poorly differentiated lesions, in stages II-III, and stages III-IV, respectively. To improve the stratification criteria for targeted oncological therapy and to predict patient outcomes, markers used may help evaluate the aggressiveness of lesions.

Post-COVID-19 enterocolitis - a cause of rebellious diarrhea, acute abdomen and liver failure.

Currently, worldwide, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, is capsizing the medical system and turning the attention of the entire healthcare system through the many aspects it presents, both from a pathophysiological and from a semiological view, insufficiently studied aspects. With a high rate of morbidity and mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic was initially observed as a pathology leading to a severe acute respiratory syndrome, but over time gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations have been reported. The study includes an analysis of 21 patients in the stage of the clinical disease of COVID-19 or in the stage of recovery, hospitalized in the Departments of General Surgery II or Gastroenterology, Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Craiova, Romania, with predominantly digestive symptoms, with the clinical expression of infectious enterocolitis, although stool culture was negative for pathogenic bacteria. The evolution of patients was influenced by the appearance of peritonitis through colonic necrosis or remission of clinical symptoms under empirical therapy.

Solitary fibrous tumor developing in the right retroperitoneal space.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal tumor that is quite aggressive and prone to recurrence and metastasis. Most SFTs are benign, but the identification of the histological features that define the dedifferentiation of SFTs can predict the aggressiveness of the tumor and the presence of a reserved prognosis. We present a rare case of conventional SFTs with features of malignancy and highlight the diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties related to this case. Computed tomography aspect suggested a possible gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Surgical intervention was performed through median laparotomy and a tumor of approximately 15∕12 cm was found, developed from the level of the right retroperitoneal space, and pushing anteriorly the ascending colon, cecum, and terminal ileum. The immunohistochemical aspect correlated with the histopathological one suggests a SFT most likely malignant. In conclusion, the early diagnosis of SFTs is essential in establishing an appropriate treatment. Immunohistochemistry is indispensable in establishing the diagnosis of SFTs.