Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Am Coll Radiol 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Vascular and Interventional Radiology, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address:

Objective: To explore baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and clinical diagnoses in the prediction of outcomes for inpatient percutaneous biliary interventions in the United States.

Methods: Hospitalizations for percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and percutaneous biliary drainage were studied using the National Inpatient Sample 2012 to 2015. Associations between baseline characteristics, comorbidities, clinical diagnoses, and outcomes were analyzed using multivariable regression modeling. Read More

Curr Biol 2021 Apr;31(7):R337-R340

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado - Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Electronic address:

Extra centrosomes are linked to cancer-associated errors in cell division, metastasis and signaling. A new study reveals that centrosome amplification disrupts lysosome function, leading to the release of small extracellular vesicles and to invasive activity in pancreatic cells. Read More

JCI Insight 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States of America.

Endothelial cells are important in the maintenance of healthy blood vessels and in the development of vascular diseases. However, the origin and dynamics of endothelial precursors and remodeling at the single-cell level have been difficult to study in vivo due to technical limitations. We aimed to develop a direct visual approach to track the fate and function of single endothelial cells over several days-weeks in the same vascular bed in vivo using multiphoton microscopy (MPM) of transgenic Cdh5-Confetti mice and the kidney glomerulus as a model. Read More

Surg Case Rep 2021 Apr 13;7(1):90. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Pathology, NHO Kanazawa Medical Center, 1-1 Shimoishibikicho, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-8650, Japan.

Background: Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC) is a rare exocrine malignant tumor. Its widespread intraductal extension into the main pancreatic duct (MPD) is also rare.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 71-year-old man with PACC with MPD extension. Read More

Eur Radiol 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Background: A variety of imaging techniques can be used to evaluate diffusion characteristics to differentiate malignant and benign pancreatic lesions. The diagnostic performance of diffusion parameters has not been systematic assessed.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for pancreatic lesions. Read More

Langenbecks Arch Surg 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Gastroenterological, Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minami-Kogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.

Purpose: Surgical resection is the only curative treatment for pancreatic cancer. Arterial resection and reconstruction during pancreaticoduodenectomy for advanced pancreatic cancer remain controversial due to a high rate of complications.

Methods: We report two cases of pancreatic cancer with hepatic artery resection and reconstruction using the right gastroepiploic artery during pancreaticoduodenectomy after neoadjuvant therapy. Read More

Surg Radiol Anat 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinique St Luc, Bouge, 5004, Namur, Belgium.

Left isomerism (polysplenia), one of the two major variants of heterotaxia with right isomerism (asplenia), may be rarely diagnosed in adulthood. Most cases are nevertheless asymptomatic and incidentally detected during imaging or surgery performed for unrelated conditions. We hereby report a case of left isomerism fortuitously diagnosed in a 55-year-old man with unrelated tachy-cardiomyopathy. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 Apr;100(15):e25301

Xiamen Key Laboratory of Biomarker Translational Medicine, Center of Clinical Laboratory, Xiamen Humanity Hospital Fujian Medical University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.

Abstract: Carbohydrate antigen 24-2 (CA24-2) is usually used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer. Currentlly, a new quantitative assay kit for CA242 by flow fluorometry assay (FFA) was developed by Shanghai Tellgen Cooperation Co. Ltd. Read More

J Biomol Struct Dyn 2021 Apr 13:1-12. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biopharmaceutical and Toxicological Analysis Research Team, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.

In the present study, a series of thiazolidine-2,4-diones derivatives () and () were synthesized and characterized by H NMR, C NMR and ESI-MS spectrometry. All compounds were screened for their α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities. biological investigations revealed that most of compounds were active against α-glucosidase with IC values in the range of 43. Read More

J Magn Reson Imaging 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Differentiation of benign and malignant pancreatic cystic lesions on MRI, computed tomography (CT), and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is critical for determining management.

Purpose: To perform a systematic review evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of MRI for diagnosing malignant pancreatic cystic lesions, and to compare the accuracy of MRI to CT and EUS.

Study Type: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Read More

J Pharm Pharmacol 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Postgraduate Program in Hepatobiliary/Pancreatic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.

Objectives: We investigated the positive effect of silibinin after IV administration as silibinin-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin lyophilized product, by measuring gene expression and liver tissue protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, matrix metalloproteinases matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-2.

Methods: 63 Wistar rats of age 13.24±4. Read More

J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2021 May;72(5):645-653

Neurogastroenterology and Motility Unit, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Abstract: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are amongst the most commonly prescribed drugs in infants and children with the last decades witnessing a dramatic rise in their utilization. Although PPIs are clearly effective when used appropriately and have been regarded as safe drugs, there is growing evidence regarding their potential adverse effects. Although, largely based on adult data it is clear that many of these are also relevant to pediatrics. Read More

Antioxid Redox Signal 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Hokkaido University, Division of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, North 14, West 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0814, Japan;

Aims: This work aimed to establish an accelerated imaging system for redox-sensitive mapping in a mouse tumor model using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nitroxyl radicals.

Results: Sparse sampling of EPR spectral projections was demonstrated for a solution phantom. The reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) images with filtered back-projection (FBP) and compressed sensing (CS) image reconstruction were quantitatively assessed for the solution phantom. Read More

ANZ J Surg 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, The University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Monogastric Research Center, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

The effects of corn particle size and dietary fibre on the performance, coefficient of apparent ileal digestibility (CAID) and intestinal characteristics in broiler starters fed pelleted diets were studied. The experiment included 10 treatments arranged as a 2 × 5 factorial with two corn particle sizes (GMD of 1071 [CGC] vs. 534 [FGC]) and five diets that consisted in a low-fibre diet and four extra diets resulting from the inclusion of insoluble fibre sources (10 g/kg of lignocellulose (LC), and 30 g/kg of oat hulls; OH, rice hulls; RH, and sunflower hulls; SFH). Read More

Oncol Rep 2021 Jun 13;45(6). Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of The Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common type of hepatocellular carcinoma characterized by high aggressiveness and extremely poor patient prognosis. The germ cell‑specific gene 2 protein (GSG2) is a histone H3 threonine‑3 kinase required for normal mitosis. Nevertheless, the role and mechanism of GSG2 in the progression and development of CCA remain elusive. Read More

Oncol Rep 2021 Jun 13;45(6). Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Surgery, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Seiryo‑machi, Aoba‑ku, Sendai 980‑8574, Japan.

Stomatin‑like protein 2 (SLP‑2) is associated with poor prognosis in several types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer (PC); however, the molecular mechanism of its involvement remains elusive. The present study aimed to elucidate the role of this protein in the development of PC. Human PC cell lines AsPC‑1 and PANC‑1 were transfected by a vector expressing SLP‑2 shRNA. Read More

Singapore Med J 2021 Mar;62(3):113-119

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.

Oncogene 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

We provide evidence that a member of the human Schlafen (SLFN) family of proteins, SLFN5, is overexpressed in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Targeted deletion of SLFN5 results in decreased PDAC cell proliferation and suppresses PDAC tumorigenesis in in vivo PDAC models. Importantly, high expression levels of SLFN5 correlate with worse outcomes in PDAC patients, implicating SLFN5 in the pathophysiology of PDAC that leads to poor outcomes. Read More

Commun Biol 2021 Apr 12;4(1):452. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Cancer Biology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a cytokine secreted by stromal myofibroblasts and tumor cells, has recently been highlighted to promote tumor progression in pancreatic and other cancers through KRAS-driven cell signaling. We engineered a high affinity soluble human LIF receptor (LIFR) decoy that sequesters human LIF and inhibits its signaling as a therapeutic strategy. This engineered 'ligand trap', fused to an antibody Fc-domain, has ~50-fold increased affinity (~20 pM) and improved LIF inhibition compared to wild-type LIFR-Fc, potently blocks LIF-mediated effects in pancreatic cancer cells, and slows the growth of pancreatic cancer xenograft tumors. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 12;11(1):7853. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Computer Science and Engineering, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, 741235, India.

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most lethal type of pancreatic cancer, late detection leading to its therapeutic failure. This study aims to determine the key regulatory genes and their impacts on the disease's progression, helping the disease's etiology, which is still mostly unknown. We leverage the landmark advantages of time-series gene expression data of this disease and thereby identified the key regulators that capture the characteristics of gene activity patterns in the cancer progression. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 12;11(1):7986. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Medicine, University of Washington College of Medicine, 1959 NE Pacific Street, RR-512, Box 356020, Seattle, WA, 98195-6420, USA.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has extensive stromal involvement and remains one of the cancers with the highest mortality rates. Activin A has been implicated in colon cancer and its stroma but its role in the stroma of PDAC has not been elucidated. Activin A expression in cancer and stroma was assessed in human PDAC tissue microarrays (TMA). Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 12;11(1):7881. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institutes, 1F No 367, Sheng-Li Road, Tainan, 70456, Taiwan.

The incidence of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) has been increasing in recent decades. Previously, we reported the incidence and survival of NETs in Taiwan by analyzing the 1996-2008 data from the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Here we performed an updated analysis on the incidence and survival of NETs in Taiwan from 1996 to 2015. Read More

Cell Death Dis 2021 Apr 12;12(4):390. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Organ Transplantation Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Organ and Tissue Regeneration, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.

Increasing evidence suggests that global downregulation of miRNA expression is a hallmark of human cancer, potentially due to defects in the miRNA processing machinery. In this study, we found that the protein expression of Argonaute 2 (AGO2), a key regulator of miRNA processing, was downregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues, which was also consistent with the findings of the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). Furthermore, the correlation between the levels of AGO2 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers (E-cadherin and vimentin) indicated that reduced levels of AGO2 promoted EMT in CRC. Read More

Cell Death Discov 2021 Apr 12;7(1):76. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Urology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China.

Nerves are important pathological elements of the microenvironment of tumors, including those in pancreatic, colon and rectal, prostate, head and neck, and breast cancers. Recent studies have associated perineural invasion with tumor progression and poor outcomes. In turn, tumors drive the reprogramming of neurons to recruit new nerve fibers. Read More

Gut 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Institute of Cancer Research, Departmet of Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria

Objective: Molecular taxonomy of tumours is the foundation of personalised medicine and is becoming of paramount importance for therapeutic purposes. Four transcriptomics-based classification systems of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) exist, which consistently identified a subtype of highly aggressive PDACs with basal-like features, including ΔNp63 expression and loss of the epithelial master regulator GATA6. We investigated the precise molecular events driving PDAC progression and the emergence of the basal programme. Read More

J Cyst Fibros 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany NY.

Dig Liver Dis 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Division of Surgery, CLINTEC, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery - University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, United States.

Background: 2017 International and 2018 European guidelines are the most recent guidelines for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms management.

Aim: to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of these guidelines in identifying malignant IPMN.

Methods: data from resected patients with IPMN were collected in two referral centers. Read More

World J Surg Oncol 2021 Apr 12;19(1):112. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Oncology, Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is a nonimmunogenic tumor, and very little is known about the relationship between the host immune response and patient survival. We aimed to develop an immune prognostic model (IPM) and analyze its relevance to the tumor immune profiles of patients with PAAD.

Methods: We investigated differentially expressed genes between tumor and normal tissues in the TCGA PAAD cohort. Read More

BMC Cancer 2021 Apr 12;21(1):396. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Integrative Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.

Background: Kaempferol, a natural flavonoid, exhibits anticancer properties by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, increasing evidence has demonstrated that, under certain conditions, kaempferol can inhibit tumor growth by upregulating ROS levels. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether kaempferol effectively suppresses pancreatic cancer through upregulation of ROS, and to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. Read More