1,720,961 research outputs found
Ricerca di cellule staminali tumorali nel carcinoma colorettale
Full text linkColorectal cancer is the most frequent cancer of the digestive system; it is the second cause of death after that one for lung tumor in man, and for breast tumor in women. The highest incidence is between 60 and 70 years (higher in the USA and in Eastern Europe). The disease affects men and women with equal frequency, although rectal tumors show a higher prevalence in men. In the European Community population over the age of 65 the estimated incidence for rectal cancer is 95 new cases / year per 100.000 men and 53 new cases / year per 100.000 women. Every year in our country about 27.000 people get cancer of the colon-rectum and, of these, just over half die from the disease. Five-year survival exceeds 50%.
Therapy is based on surgery and chemotherapy. The prospects for research on the role of cancer stem cells (CSC) in cancer are extensive. In many cancer histotypes, in fact, CSC seem to determine the aggressiveness of neoplastic disease; CSC’s research in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is important for prognostic and therapeutic objectives. In fact, metastases are the main cause of death linked to cancer and determine the transition from localized neoplastic disease to systemic neoplastic disease.
The discovery of CSC represents a strategy for the control and prevention of overt metastatic disease. The molecular characterization of CSC may allow to identify drug targets and personalized antimetastatic therapies. While in breast, lung and prostate cancer CSC have been extensively characterized, these molecular features are still to be discovered in colorectal cancer. Therefore, the development of in vitro and in vivo models for the expansion and analysis of colorectal CSC is of primary importance for identifying novel prognostic and therapeutic approaches.
In this experimental study, we searched for CSC in 22 colorectal cancers surgically excised.
In the materials and methods, the technologies used for the research of CSC are widely described.
CSC were isolated and characterized in 5 patients, as shown in the results table : 1 cancer of the cecum, 1 cancer of the ascending colon, 2 cancers of the transverse colon, 1 cancer of the rectum.
The cell lines that have developed from the CSC discovered in the 5 patients are found in the CSC Bank of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and are used for numerous experiments.
In these patients there was a worse prognosis than in others confirming the negative prognostic role of the CSCs.
The research therefore aims to identify these patients early in order to be able to submit them to a closer follow-up and to realize targeted therapies that have specific targets for CSCs, considered responsible for the aggressiveness and the possible recurrence of the disease
Cancer stem cells as functional biomarkers
No full textAccording to the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), a Cancer Stem Cell is a cell within a tumor that possesses the capacity to self-renew and to cause the heterogeneous lineages of cancer cells that constitutes the tumor [1]. Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are involved in the metastatic process, in the resistance to therapeutic treatments of many types of human cancers and consequently in the onset of recurrences. Numerous translational studies have been conducted to understand CSC characteristics and evaluate association between CSC-related biomarkers and clinical outcomes. The CSC theory can explain also a tumor relapse after that a tumor has been completely surgically removed (R0 macroscopical zero residual resection) or after an apparently complete response to chemoteraphy. CSCs, in fact, showed a marked ability to reduce intracellular accumulation of chemotherapic agents by active drug extrusion, increased chemoresistance and survival, as well as elevated membrane transporter activity. In addition, it is possible that these cancer stem cells may nest in the "secured" (niche) sites of our body, where they may remain undisturbed for a long time, even years, until a stimulus arrives to awaken them, causing the disease to resume. CSCs, in fact, are able to use a variety of cellular pathways to survive to anticancer treatments. More recently CSCs have been described in several solid tumors, expressing specific biomarkers. Another field of research should be focused on the realization of diagnostic instruments to follow up patients after R0 surgical resection or after a complete response for an early detection and management of relapse and metastasis
Breath test as non-invasive assessment for the initial screening of non-ulcerous dyspepsia
No full text.Considering the important role of Helicobacter Pylori (Hp) in the most common gastro-intestinal pathologies, the Authors want to test the effectiveness of a non-invasive diagnostic technique for detection of the Hp in the gastric mucosa. At the end of experience they think, like the most of Literature, that the Breath Test, concerning sensibility and specificity, represent the gold standard for detection of the Hp
Celiac Disease and Helicobacter Pylori Infection: an Ups and Downs Correlation
No full textBackground: Several studies showed an involvement of the gastric mucosa in celiac disease (CD).
Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is the major agent of gastric damage. The aim of this article was to present a
literature review of a possible correlation between the two conditions.
Methods: A literature search was conducted in Medline, Scopus and Directory of Open Access Journal
(DOAJ) using appropriate keywords. We included only articles written in English over the period July
1996 - May 2014.
Results: The search for Medline, Scopus and DOAJ provided a total of 530 citation. Twenty five studies
met the inclusion criteria and were included in quantitative analysis. The prevalence of Hp infection in
celiac children and adults from different geographical areas has been reported. The possible correlation
between Hp infection and the increase of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) has also been reported.
Conclusion: Several studies showed a wide heterogeneity. This is probably due to differences in Hp
prevalence, small series of patients, lack of histological confirmation of Hp and lack of adjustment for
sociodemographic characteristics. More studies to clarify the possible correlation between these two
conditions are necessary
L’utilizzo delle protesi endoscopiche nella patologia dell’apparato digerente
Full text linkL’utilizzo di protesi ad introduzione per via endoscopica per patologie dell’apparato digerente sia benigne che maligne ha avuto negli ultimi anni un considerevole sviluppo. Il posizionamento delle endoprotesi è ben tollerato dai pazienti, non necessita di anestesia e comporta rischi relativamente minimi. Le nuove protesi metalliche autoespansibili permettono di risolvere stenosi anche molto serrate senza quasi mai necessità di dilatazione, con riduzione dei rischi che da questa derivano. Viene riportata una revisione dell’esperienza di protesizzazione per patologie dell’apparato digerente e vengono discussi le indicazioni, i limiti e le complicanze, sulla scorta dei dati dalla letteratura internazionale
Does anxiety or waiting time influence patients’ tolerance of upper endoscopy?
Full text linkBackground/Aims: Endoscopy is an essential and very commonly used procedure for the evaluation of a
multitude of gastrointestinal symptoms. Although it is increasingly required, patients often wait on arrival
at the endoscopy unit until they are called for the procedure. It is not clear whether or not this waiting time
may have an impact on patient’s tolerance during upper endoscopy. Our study attempts to address this.
Patients and Methods: We studied consecutive outpatients who underwent endoscopy from September
to December, 2013. Gender, age, body mass index (BMI), previous endoscopic experiences, antidepressant
therapy, and the time interval between arrival at the endoscopy unit and the onset of examination was
recorded. Anxiety before the procedure, pain, and discomfort were rated by a numeric rating scale (0 = no
pain/discomfort encountered to 10 = extremely painful/uncomfortable). Results: One hundred and five
consecutive outpatients (male = 52; mean age = 45.3 years; age range = 20–86 years) were included in the
study. The mean BMI was 25 ± 4.8; mean waiting time from registration to the procedure was 172 min (time
range = 30 - 375 mins). Mean patients’ pre‐examination anxiety level was 3 ± 3.84, mean discomfort score
was 4.3 ± 3.09 and mean pain score was 3.4 ± 3.03. The level of pain and discomfort was significantly higher
in patients with higher levels of pre‐procedure anxiety. No differences were found in terms of anxiety,
pain and discomfort among patients divided according to waiting time. Conclusions: According to our
data, waiting time does not have a significant impact on the perception of pain and discomfort related to
the endoscopic procedure. On the other hand, high pre‐procedural levels of anxiety were associated with
a low tolerance. Further multicenter randomized trials are needed to clarify the impact of waiting time
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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