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The purpose of this research was to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of circulating SFRP5 (cSFRP5) in colorectal cancer (CRC). We evaluated preoperative cSFRP5 levels in CRC patients and controls (n = 208). We found significantly higher cSFRP5 levels in CRC patients compared with non-CRC controls (p < 0.001). Levels of cSFRP5 were significantly lower in CRC patients with either vascular invasion (p = 0.001) or liver metastasis (p = 0.016). High cSFRP5 levels were associated with longer disease-free survival in both univariate (p = 0.024) and multivariate (p = 0.015) analyses. Analysis of an independent tissue cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed significantly lower SFRP5 RNA expression in CRC tumor tissue compared with adjacent normal mucosa (n = 590 vs 47; p < 0.0001). Our findings confirm the role of cSFRP5 as a physiologic tumor suppressor and demonstrate its potential diagnostic and prognostic value in CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Liver resections for non‐colorectal non‐neuroendocrine liver metastases (NCNELM) are gaining popularity. This study examines the outcomes of liver resections in patients with NCNELM in an Australian hospital. Method: A database search identified 21 attempted liver resections on 20 patients (12 men, eight women, mean age: 63.1) from 1998 to 2013. A retrospective analysis considered patient demographics and primary malignancy details. Complication rates were compared to those for colorectal metastases at the same institution. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to plot overall survival. Results: Complete resection was achieved in 16 of the 21 operations with 13 cases having proven metastases (three cases were benign lesions on final histology). Primary cancers were gastric (n = 4), gall bladder/bile duct (n = 3), renal (n = 3), soft tissue sarcoma (n = 3), melanoma (n = 2), pancreatic (n = 2), anal (n = 2), breast (n = 1) and unknown (n = 1). Primary histology types were adenocarcinoma (n = 10), sarcoma (n = 3), renal cell (n = 3), squamous cell (n = 2), melanoma (n = 2) and gastrointestinal stromal tumour (n = 1). There was no peri‐operative mortality. Significant post‐operative complications (Clavien–Dindo Grade III or more) occurred in six patients (28.5%). Overall survival at 2 and 5 years was 46.2% and 30.8%, respectively, for all 21 cases of attempted resection, and 51.9% and 34.6%, respectively, for the 13 cases of complete resection of malignant metastases. Conclusions: This study produced comparable 5‐year survival rates to those reported after liver resection for colorectal metastases and in other studies on NCNELM. Complication rates were comparable to those for colorectal liver metastasis resection at the same institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterial infections are rare in developed countries. Isolated involvement of the liver and biliary tree by mycobacterial infection is extremely rare. We report a case of a 45-year-old Caucasian female presenting with obstructive jaundice with a common bile duct stricture and multiple hypodense liver lesions raising suspicion of a metastatic cholangiocarcinoma. Percutaneous core biopsies of the liver lesions however suggested granulomatous process and histology at surgical excision confirmed this finding. Atypical mycobacteria (M. abcessus) sensitive to Amikacin were cultured from the surgical specimen proving the diagnosis. With the resurgence of tubercular and atypical mycobacterial infections in the developed world, it is important not to overlook these in differential diagnosis of various malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]