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Recent reports suggested that direct acting antivirals (DAAs) might favor hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In study 1, we studied the proangiogenic liver microenvironment in 242 DAA‐treated chronic hepatitis C patients with advanced fibrosis. Angiopoietin‐2 (ANGPT2) expression was studied in tissue (cirrhotic and/or neoplastic) from recurrent, de novo, nonrecurrent HCC, or patients never developing HCC. Circulating ANGPT2,vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and C‐reactive protein (CRP) were also measured. In study 2, we searched for factors associated with de novo HCC in 257 patients with cirrhosis of different etiologies enrolled in a dedicated prospective study. Thorough biochemical, clinical, hemodynamic, endoscopic, elastographic, and echo‐Doppler work‐up was performed in both studies. In study 1, no patients without cirrhosis developed HCC. Of 183 patients with cirrhosis, 14 of 28 (50.0%) with previous HCC recurred whereas 21 of 155 (13.5%) developed de novo HCC. Patients with recurrent and de novo HCCs had significantly higher liver fibrosis (LF) scores, portal pressure, and systemic inflammation than nonrecurrent HCC or patients never developing HCC. In recurrent/de novo HCC patients, tumor and nontumor ANGPT2 showed an inverse relationship with portal vein velocity (PVv; r = –0.412, P = 0.037 and r = –0.409, P = 0.047 respectively) and a positive relationship with liver stiffness (r = 0.526, P = 0.007; r = 0.525, P = 0.003 respectively). Baseline circulating VEGF and cirrhotic liver ANGPT2 were significantly related (r = 0.414, P = 0.044). VEGF increased during DAAs, remaining stably elevated at 3‐month follow‐up, when it significantly related with serum ANGPT2 (r = 0.531, P = 0.005). ANGPT2 expression in the primary tumor or in cirrhotic tissue before DAAs was independently related with risk of HCC recurrence (odds ratio [OR], 1.137; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.044‐1.137; P = 0.003) or occurrence (OR, 1.604; 95% CI, 1.080‐2.382; P = 0.019). In study 2, DAA treatment (OR, 4.770; 95% CI, 1.395‐16.316; P = 0.013) and large varices (OR, 3.857; 95% CI, 1.127‐13.203; P = 0.032) were independent predictors of de novo HCC. Conclusion: Our study indicates that DAA‐mediated increase of VEGF favors HCC recurrence/occurrence in susceptible patients, that is, those with more severe fibrosis and splanchnic collateralization, who already have abnormal activation in liver tissues of neo‐angiogenetic pathways, as shown by increased ANGPT2. (Hepatology 2018; 00:000‐000).

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a malignancy of the exocrine pancreas with the worst prognosis among all solid tumours, and soon to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. A more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease is crucial to the development of diagnostic tools as well as to the identification of more effective therapies. High-frequency mutations in PDA occur in “undruggable” genes, and molecular subtyping based on bulk transcriptome analysis does not yet nominate valid therapeutic intervention strategies. Genome-wide sequencing studies have also demonstrated a considerable intra- and inter-patient’s genetic heterogeneity, which further complicate this dire scenario. More than in other malignancies, functionalization of the PDA genome and preclinical modelling at the individual patient level appear necessary to substantially improve survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients. Traditional human PDA models, including monolayer cell cultures and patient-derived xenografts, have certainly led to valuable biological insights in the past years. However, those model systems suffer from several limitations that have contributed to the lack of concordance between preclinical and clinical studies for PDA. Pancreatic ductal organoids have recently emerged as a reliable culture system to establish models from both normal and neoplastic pancreatic tissues. Pancreatic organoid cultures can be efficiently generated from small tissue biopsies, which opens up the possibility of longitudinal studies in individual patients. A proof-of-concept study has demonstrated that patient-derived PDA organoids are able to predict responses to conventional chemotherapy. The use of this three-dimensional culture system has already improved our understanding of PDA biology and promises to implement precision oncology by enabling the alignment of preclinical and clinical platforms to guide therapeutic intervention in PDA.

We report a female newborn with type II mucolipidoses. This condition is characterized clinically by Hurler like features, progressive psychomotor retardation and death during the first or second year of life. Most cases present during the first year of life, with poor weight gain and coarse facies features. The cause of this rare autosomal recessive hereditary disease is the deficiency of the enzyme N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase, required for the synthesis of mannose-6-phosphate, the ligand that allows the transport of acid hydrolases into lysosomes. The patient had clinical features commonly found in mucolipidosis II, including disproportionate dwarfism, retarded psychomotor development, coarse facies features, gibbous and restricted joint mobility. The diagnosis was proved by an extremely elevated activity of lysosomal enzymes in the serum, secondary to non-regulated secretion and subsequent intracellular depletion of these proteins. The child suffered recurrent pneumonia and died at 22 months of age (Rev Méd Chile 2003; 131: 314-9).