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Objective We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the impact of intraoperative tumor manipulation on CTCs in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Methods We performed a prospective study on 40 patients with CRC stages I to IV who received curative surgery using the no-touch technique. Flow cytometry was used to identify CTCs in peripheral blood samples (4 mL/sample) collected at two surgical moments: skin incision (T1) and after surgical resection (T2). A threshold of ≥4 CTCs/4 mL blood was established for considering patients CTC positive. Results In the univariate analysis, CTC evaluation at T2 was correlated with female sex, vascular invasion, tumor localization in the colon and metastatic lymph nodes. In the multivariate analysis, only female sex and colon cancer maintained statistical significance. At a medium follow-up of 15 months (1–25 months), the mortality rate was 10% (n = 4), with no significant differences between the overall survival of T1 or T2 CTC-positive and CTC-negative patients. Conclusions Flow cytometry is a feasible CTC identification technique in CRC, and although surgical manipulation has no influence on CTC numbers, CTCs may serve as a prognostic and predictive factor.

Pelvic exenteration (PE) is an extensive surgical procedure for locally advanced primary neoplasia (LAPN) or recurrent neoplasia (RN) that consists in the en bloc removal of the pelvic organs (rectum, internal genital organs and bladder) associated with pelvic lymph nodes. PE is classified into anterior, posterior and total, supra or infralevatorian approaches. Our aim was to evaluate the surgical procedure and the resection margins in correlation with postoperative complications and morbidity rates after PE in patients treated in a single surgical unit. The study group comprised patients diagnosed with different malignancies, surgically treated by using PE procedure, during 2012-2018. The cohort included 121 cases with LAPN (n=98, 80.99%) and RN (n=23, 19%), mostly female (n=114, 94.21%), with a mean age of 61.16 (33-85) years. LAPN had predominantly digestive (n=48, 49.98%) and gynecological (n=28, 28.57%) origins, while the majority of RN cases were cervical cancers (n=9, 39.13%). The univariate analysis showed that the gynecological origin of the tumor (p=0.02), urinary stoma (p=0.02) and posterior PE (PPE) (p=0.004) were significant prognostic factors for postoperative complications. After performing the multivariate analysis, only the gynecological origin (p=0.02) of the tumor and PPE (p=0.03) remained determining factors for postoperative complications. PE is a disabling surgical procedure associated with high postoperative mortality and morbidity, although it is often the only solution for advanced cases. The judicious selection of patients who can benefit from such extensive surgery is compulsory. Our study suggests that the gynecological origin of the tumor and PPE are key factors in postoperative complications.

Introduction: In this study, we aim to identify the impact of neoadjuvant radiation treatment upon the number of harvested and positive lymph nodes in the surgical specimen; in addition, we tried to identify the impact of chemotherapy in association with radiotherapy on said structures. Patients and methods: In the study we included patients treated for rectal cancer within a single oncologic surgical Unit serving the north-eastern part of Romania, over a period of 5 and a half years, between May 2013 and April 2018. Firstly, we compared pathologic lymph node status to pretherapeutic staging. Secondly, we compared lymph node values in relation to the treatment scheme. Results: There was a total of 498 patients treated radically through open surgery for low and mid rectal cancer. We saw a decrease in N staging in 218 cases, 65 remaining stationary and 10 increasing their lymph node staging on the surgical specimen. We identified significant differences between the total number of lymph nodes (17.4 vs 24.2, p 0.001), the number of positive lymph nodes (1.4 vs 3.4, p 0.001) and the ratio between positive and total lymph nodes (0.08 vs 0.14, p 0.001) in patients with and without neoadjuvant treatment respectively. However, there was no statistical difference between patients with and without chemotherapy associated to radiotherapy in the neoadjuvant treatment plan (p=0.539, p=0.58, p=0.575). Conclusion: This study shows there are significant variations according to the application of neoadjuvant treatment, between the numbers of positive and total lymph nodes, as well as the positive/total lymph node ratio.

The pathologist's role in the multidisciplinary treatment of rectal cancer is to evaluate and stage the tumor according to the latest standards, as well as indicate the quality of the surgical act. This study aims to evaluate circumferential and distal resection margins as well as quality of mesorectal resection and correlate them with different clinical, pathological and therapeutic factors.Four hundred ninety-eight patients treated radically for mid and low rectal cancer within one Clinic of Oncological Surgery in Iasi, Romania, were included in this study.The distal resection margin showed significant correlations with the type of surgical intervention, chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant treatment plan and pathological node staging. The circumferential resection margin depended mostly on pathological node staging and the length of the interval between neoadjuvant treatment and surgery. Finally, the aspect of the mesorectum varied according to neoadjuvant treatment and the type of surgical intervention performed.The study reached its aim in providing important data for the expected outcome of the specimen after curative treatment for rectal cancer.

Pancreatogenous hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (PHH) is a rare disorder determined by an abnormally high secretion of insulin in the pancreas, in the absence of other medical or pharmacological factors. Either β-cell tumors (insulinomas) or β-cell hyperplasia (nesidioblastosis) can determine this pathology. Most publications on insulinomas or nesidioblastosis approached these subjects from a clinical point of view. This paper aims to analyze pathological aspects underlying pancreatogenous hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. We present two cases of insulinomas with unusual pancreatic localization and size, one of them showing amyloid deposits in the stroma. In both cases, immunohistochemistry confirmed the clinical and imagistic supposition. The third reported case refers to a 57-year-old patient with nesidioblastosis with isolated disposition of endocrine cells and areas of focal organization, both morphological aspects being extremely rare in adults. Although clinical and laboratory data are usually identical in the two forms of PHH, histopathological and immunohistochemical diagnosis is essential in differentiating insulinomas from nesidioblastosis, as the surgical management is different: enucleation for insulinomas and total or subtotal pancreatectomy for nesidioblastosis.

B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi-l) is a member of polycomb group, which participates in axial patterning, hematopoiesis, cell cycle regulation, and senescence. Overexpression of Bmi-1 has been reported in various human cancers and proved to be associated with poor survival. DISSUCION: Bmi-I is expressed by various tumors and therefore may contribute to malignant transformation. Bmi-I not only can lead mammary epithelial cells to senescence and immortalization, but also plays a key role in breast cancer. A significant correlation was observed between Bmi-1 expression and axillary lymph node metastases in lymph-ductal breast cancer. Bmi-1 is expressed in cervical cancer and correlated with a poorer prognosis, suggesting that this protein participates in the development and progress of cervical cancer. Regarding ovarian cancer, the results of several immunohistochemical studies revealed overexpression of Bmi-1, especially in poorly differentiated ovarian carcinoma. There is a strong correlation between histological grade, clinical stage and its expression.Human genes of polycomb group correlated with various hematological and epithelial cancers identify new mechanisms of malignant transformation and pave the way for developing new cancer treatments and identify new diagnostic markers. Bmi-1 and its expression in tissues taken from patients with cervical, breast and ovarian cancer could be a marker for diagnosis and prognosis, and not least a potential target of antitumor therapy.