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39-year-old woman was admitted to surgery department for epigastric pain, upper abdomen was tender on palpation without signs of peritoneal irritation. Abdominal plain X-ray and ultrasound showed no significant pathology, there were mild microcytic anemia and leukocytosis, serum amylase was normal, initial C-reactive protein 6 mg/l rose to 142 mg/l during 2 days. Gastroscopy revealed tiny foreign body stabbed into the anterior wall of gastric antrum with submucosal edema around (Figure 1). Sharp fragment was released from the gastric wall by a polypectomy snare and extracted with a forceps (partially pulled into the working channel to avoid esophageal injury), outside verified as plastic shard (Figure 2). CT scans showed single air bubble in the subhepatic space, thus verifying transmural perforation (Figure 3,4). Nevertheless, subsequent course was uneventful with antibiotic and proton pump inhibitor therapy. Retrospectively, patient admitted intake of beverage with ice prepared by smashing of frozen plastic bottle 2 days before hospital admission.

Background: Cytomegalovirus enterocolitis is a rare but potentially life threatening complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Its early diagnosis and treatment are essential for a successful outcome. Objective: To determine the potential benefit of fecal CMV DNA detection in the diagnosis of CMV colitis among stem cell transplant recipients. Study design. Biopsies from the lower gastrointestinal tract, taken during 69 episodes of diarrhea, were compared with fecal samples previously examined for CMV DNA in 45 patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Results: Six confirmed cases of CMV colitis were observed, with 16 out of 69 (23%) fecal samples proving positive for CMV DNA. Only one positive sample correlated with histologically confirmed CMV colitis, and 15 samples were evaluated as false positive. These results provide a 16.7% sensitivity and 76.2% specificity in the diagnosis of CMV enterocolitis. Conclusion: The examination of fecal samples for the presence of CMV DNA has very low potential in the diagnosis of CMV enterocolitis after allogeneic stem cell transplantation; therefore, a biopsy of the gastrointestinal mucosa is still warranted for correct diagnosis.

Background Optimal therapy for colorectal carcinoma (CRC), a frequently diagnosed malignancy, does not exist. Some of colicins and microcins, ribosomally synthesized peptides by gramnegative bacteria, have shown significant biological activity specifically against different cancer cells in vitro and in vivo conditions. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate natural colicin and microcin production by large intestinal mucosal bacteria in each stage of colorectal neoplasia and in those with a history of colorectal neoplasia. Methods A total of 21 patients with non-advanced adenoma (non-a-A; 16/21 with current and 5/21 with history of non-a-A), 20 patients with advanced colorectal adenoma (a-A; 11/20 with current and 9/20 with history of a-A), 22 individuals with CRC (9/22 with current and 13/22 with history of CRC) and 20 controls were enrolled. Mucosal biopsies from the caecum, transverse colon and the rectum were taken during colonoscopy in each individual. Microbiological culture followed. Production of colicins and microcins was evaluated by PCR methods. Results A total of 239 mucosal biopsies were taken. Production of colicins and microcins was significantly more frequent in individuals with non-a-A, a-A and CRC compared to controls. No significant difference in colicin and microcin production was found between patients with current and previous non-a-A, a-A and CRC. Significantly more frequent production of colicins was observed in men compared to women at the stage of colorectal carcinoma. A later onset of increased production of microcins during the adenoma-carcinoma sequence has been observed in males compared to females. Conclusions Strains isolated from large intestinal mucosa in patients with colorectal neoplasia produce colicins and microcins more frequently compared to controls. Bacteriocin production does not differ between patients with current and previous colorectal neoplasia. Fundamental differences in bacteriocin production have been confirmed between males and females.

AIM: To compare molecular profiles of proximal colon, distal colon and rectum in large adenomas, early and late carcinomas. To assess feasibility of testing directed at molecular markers from this study in routine clinical practice. METHODS: A prospective 3-year study has resulted in the acquisition of samples from 159 large adenomas and 138 carcinomas along with associated clinical parameters including localization, grade and histological type for adenomas and localization and stage for carcinomas. A complex molecular phenotyping has been performed using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification technique for the evaluation of CpG-island methylator phenotype (CIMP), PCR fragment analysis for detection of microsatellite instability and denaturing capillary electrophoresis for sensitive detection of somatic mutations in KRAS, BRAF, TP53 and APC genes. RESULTS: Molecular types according to previously introduced Jass classification have been evaluated for large adenomas and early and late carcinomas. An increase in CIMP+ type, eventually accompanied with KRAS mutations, was notable between large adenomas and early carcinomas. As expected, the longitudinal observations revealed a correlation of the CIMP+/BRAF+ type with proximal location. CONCLUSION: Prospective molecular classification of tissue specimens is feasible in routine endoscopy practice. Increased frequency of some molecular types corresponds to the developmental stages of colorectal tumors. As expected, a clear distinction is notable for tumors located in proximal colon supposedly arising from the serrated (methylation) pathway.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is a widely used method of nutrition delivery for patients with long-term insufficiency of oral intake. The PEG complication rate varies from 0.4% to 22.5% of cases, with minor complications being three times more frequent. Buried bumper syndrome (BBS) is a severe complication of this method, in which the internal fixation device migrates alongside the tract of the stoma outside the stomach. Excessive compression of tissue between the external and internal fixation device of the gastrostomy tube is considered the main etiological factor leading to BBS. Incidence of BBS is estimated at around 1% (0.3%-2.4%). Inability to insert, loss of patency and leakage around the PEG tube are considered to be a typical symptomatic triad. Gastroscopy is indicated in all cases in which BBS is suspected. The depth of disc migration in relation to the lamina muscularis propria of the stomach is critical for further therapy and can be estimated by endoscopic or transabdominal ultrasound. BBS can be complicated by gastrointestinal bleeding, perforation, peritonitis, intra-abdominal and abdominal wall abscesses, or phlegmon, and these complications can lead to fatal outcomes. The most important preventive measure is adequate positioning of the external bolster. A conservative approach should be applied only in patients with high operative risk and dismal prognosis. Choice of the method of release is based on the type of the PEG set and depth of disc migration. A disc retained inside the stomach and completely covered by the overgrowing tissue can be released using some type of endoscopic dissection technique (needle knife, argon plasma coagulation, or papillotome through the cannula). Proper patient selection and dissection of the overgrowing tissue are the major determinants for successful endoscopic therapy. A disc localized out of the stomach (lamina muscularis propria) should be treated by a surgeon.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 3rd most common cancer worldwide and the Czech Republic has the 6th highest incidence of CRC worldwide. Large intestinal microbiota play in its etiopathogenesis important role. Bacteriocins are proteins, produced by bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family. The aim of our prospective study was to assess the colonization of large intestinal mucosa by Escherichia coli strains and to investigate their bacteriocin production. Methods A total of 30 consecutive patients with colorectal adenoma, CRA (17 men, 13 women, aged 39–79, mean age 63 ± 9), 30 patients with CRC (23 men, 7 women, aged 38–86, mean age 67 ± 11) and 20 healthy controls (9 men, 11 women, age 23–84, mean age 55 ± 15) were enrolled into prospective study. Mucosal biopsies were taken in the caecum, transverse colon and rectum during pancolonoscopy. Microbiological culture, isolation and identification of bacteria followed. Bacteriocin production was assessed by growth inhibition of indicator strains E. coli K12-Row, E. coli C6 (phi), and Shigella sonnei 17. Identification of bacteriocin-encoding determinants and E. coli phylogroups was performed using PCR methods. Results A total of 622 strains were isolated and further investigated. A significantly higher frequency of simultaneous production of colicins and microcins was revealed in the group of patients with CRC, when compared to patients with CRA, p = 0.031. A significantly higher frequency of E. coli phylogroup D was found in patients with CRC, when compared to controls, p = 0.044. A significantly higher prevalence of bacteriocinogeny was confirmed in patients with advanced adenoma when compared to patients with non-advanced adenoma, p = 0.010. Increasing bacteriocinogeny was associated with an increasing stage of CRC (assessed according to TNM classification). Either E. coli phylogroup B2 or E. coli phylogroup D were isolated in biopsies of patients with right-sided CRC. A statistically higher incidence of E. coli phylogroup B2 was found in patients with right-sided CRC when compared to patients with left-sided CRC, p = 0.028. Conclusions Large intestinal mucosa of patients with more advanced colorectal neoplasia is colonized with more virulent strains of E. coli and higher production of bacteriocins is observed in these patients when compared to those with less advanced colorectal neoplasia. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0733-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction: Since the pioneering work of Fearon and Vogelstein in 1990, detailed mechanisms of colorectal neoplasia have intensively been studied (1). Only recently, however, importance of molecular subtypes for prognosis has been confirmed on large cohorts (2,3). The so-called Jass classification is set to become an part of diagnostics complementary to the companion predictive genotyping (4). The diagnosis is mostly based on examination of tumor tissue from endoscopy. It was an intention of this work to evaluate feasibility of molecular phenotyping in addition to the standard testing performed from the same source material. Patients and Methods: A total of 145 carcinomas (105 fresh biopsies or 40 FFPE sections, all stages) have been acquired over a 3-year period. The molecular subtypes were assigned based upon results of CIMP/MSI/BRAF/RAS (5). To partition the most common type arising from traditional adenoma-carcinoma pathway, we have additionally examined MLH1 methylation and APC and TP53 mutations (6). The methodology was based on previously validated protocols including MS-MLPA for the evaluation of CIMP, PCR fragment analysis MSI and high-sensitive denaturing CE assay (DCE) for somatic mutations in RAS, BRAF, TP53 and APC genes. By extending Jass classification we recognize 6 molecular subtypes with distinct features: CIMP status > negative > TP53 > positive > Traditional CIMP (median prognosis) > positive > MLH1 ------------> negative > KRAS -----------------------> positive > Traditional CIN antiEGFR resistant (median prognosis) -----------------------> negative > APC> positive > Traditional CIN antiEGFR sensitive (median prognosis) ------------> positive > BRAF --------------------> negative> MSI > positive > Familial MSI (good prognosis) --------------------> positive > MSI --------------------------------> negative > Serrated CIMP (poor prognosis) --------------------------------> positive> Serrated CIMP+MSI (best prognosis) Results: A total of 105/105 (100%) of fresh tissue samples and 33/45 (73.3%) of FFPE samples provided high-quality DNA for subsequent completion of the complete molecular testing panel. The distribution of the six types was (i) 3x Serrated CIMP (ii) 9x Serrated CIMP+MSI; (iii) 2x Familial MSI, (iv) 26x Traditional CIN antiEGFR resistant (v) 12x Traditional CIN antiEGFR sensitive and (vi) 18x Traditional CIMP. The remaining 68 carcinomas were resulting from other combinations. Conclusions: Methodology as well as logistics of sample processing has been optimized for use at endoscopy unit. The distribution of Jass molecular subtypes corresponded to the larger foreign cohorts with the dominating contribution from the Traditional CIN/CIMP subtypes. Until CIMP/CIN/MSI panels covering all markers have been developed a multi-tier testing according to the above algorithm is the most cost efficient. Assignment of molecular subtypes by an optimized protocol is useable in clinical management of patients and feasible in routine practice. Supported by IGA Ministry of Health project No. NT 14383 Literature 1. Fearon ER, Vogelstein B. Cell. 1990 Jun 1;61(5):759-67. 2. Phipps AI et al. Gastroenterology 2015; 148: 77-87.e2 3. Sinicrope FA et al. Gastroenterology 2015; 148: 88-99. 4. Modest DP et al. Ann Oncol. 2016 Jun 29. pii: mdw261. [Epub ahead of print] 5. Jass JR. Int J Colorectal Dis 1999; 14: 194-200 6. Kim JH, Bae JM, Cho NY, Kang GH. Oncotarget 2016; Epub ahead of print Citation Format: Marek Minarik, Tereza Halkova, Petra Minarikova, Barbora Belsanova, Stepan Suchanek, Jiri Cyrany, Jan Bures, Miroslav Zavoral, Lucie Benesova. Molecular phenotyping of colorectal tumors in clinical practice: Assignment of extended prognostic subtypes by direct testing of endoscopic specimens. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Colorectal Cancer: From Initiation to Outcomes; 2016 Sep 17-20; Tampa, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B09.

Human intestinal microbiota create a complex polymicrobial ecology. This is characterised by its high population density, wide diversity and complexity of interaction. Any dysbalance of this complex intestinal microbiome, both qualitative and quantitative, might have serious health consequence for a macro-organism, including small intestinal bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SIBO). SIBO is defined as an increase in the number and/or alteration in the type of bacteria in the upper gastrointestinal tract. There are several endogenous defence mechanisms for preventing bacterial overgrowth: gastric acid secretion, intestinal motility, intact ileo-caecal valve, immunoglobulins within intestinal secretion and bacteriostatic properties of pancreatic and biliary secretion. Aetiology of SIBO is usually complex, associated with disorders of protective antibacterial mechanisms (e.g. achlorhydria, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, immunodeficiency syndromes), anatomical abnormalities (e.g. small intestinal obstruction, diverticula, fistulae, surgical blind loop, previous ileo-caecal resections) and/or motility disorders (e.g. scleroderma, autonomic neuropathy in diabetes mellitus, post-radiation enteropathy, small intestinal pseudo-obstruction). In some patients more than one factor may be involved. Symptoms related to SIBO are bloating, diarrhoea, malabsorption, weight loss and malnutrition. The gold standard for diagnosing SIBO is still microbial investigation of jejunal aspirates. Non-invasive hydrogen and methane breath tests are most commonly used for the diagnosis of SIBO using glucose or lactulose. Therapy for SIBO must be complex, addressing all causes, symptoms and complications, and fully individualised. It should include treatment of the underlying disease, nutritional support and cyclical gastro-intestinal selective antibiotics. Prognosis is usually serious, determined mostly by the underlying disease that led to SIBO.