Background Investigations of colorectal carcinogenesis have mainly focused on examining neoplastic tissue. With our aim of identifying potentially cancer-predisposing molecular compositions, we chose a different approach by examining endoscopically normal appearing colonic mucosa of patients with and without colorectal neoplasia (CRN). Directed by this focus, we selected 18 genes that were previously found with altered expression in colorectal cancer affected mucosa. Methods Biopsies of colonic mucosa were sampled from 27 patients referred for colonoscopy on suspicion of colorectal disease. Of these, 14 patients had present or previous CRN and the remaining 13 patients served as controls. Using qPCR and Western blot technique, we investigated mRNA and protein expressions. Expressions were investigated for selected kinases in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK), the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt, and the Wnt/β-catenin pathways as well as for selected phosphatases and several entities associated with prostaglandin E2 (PGE 2 ) signaling. Colonic mucosal contents of PGE 2 and PGE 2 metabolites were determined by use of ELISA. Results We found up-regulation of ERK1 , ERK2 , Akt1 , Akt2 , PLA2G4A , prostanoid receptor EP3 and phosphatase scaffold subunit PPP2R1B mRNA expression in normal appearing colonic mucosa of CRN patients compared to controls. Conclusion Present study supports that even normal appearing mucosa of CRN patients differs from that of non-CRN patients at a molecular level. Especially expression of ERK1 mRNA was increased ( p = 0.007) in CRN group. ERK1 may therefore be considered a potential candidate gene as predictive biomarker for developing CRN. Further validation in larger cohorts are required to determine such predictive use in translational medicine and clinics.

were divided into low(<150) and high(150) PLR and low(<45) and high(45) PNI groups. We compared the mean OS, RFS as well as morbidity rates between the groups with high and low scores. Results: The median age of patients was 66 years (range 18-87). 116 (87.9%) patients were male. 74 (56.1%) were Hepatitis B carriers and 5 (3.8%) were Hepatitis C carriers. The mean operating time was 312 minutes and mean blood loss was 808mls.There was no statistically significant difference in OS between low and high PLR (29.97 months vs 25.87 months, p = 0.341), nor was there any statistically significant difference in RFS (25.06 months vs 18.56 months, p = 0.081).There was also no statistically significant difference in RFS between low and high PNI (26.89 months vs 29.22 months, p = 0.616), nor was there any statistically significant difference in RFS (20.89 months vs 23.60 months, p = 0.516).Morbidity rates of wound infection, bile leak, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, liver failure and development of intraabdominal collections were compared between the groups but these results were also not statistically significant. Conclusions: Preoperative PLR and PNI do not predict overall survival and recurrence-free survival after surgical resection for HCC, nor do they predict the rate of morbidity following surgery.

liver resections is technically challenging, but reduces the surgical trauma and stress response and allows for quicker healing [6]. The use of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) is rapidly increasing due to multiple studies finding LLR to be associated with lower blood loss and shorter length of stay while showing oncologic outcomes similar to open liver resection (OLR) [7]. Recommendations for laparoscopic liver resection, stated in the report from the second international consensus conference held in Morioka 2014, concluded that minor LLR (≤ 2 segments) is now considered standard practice while major LLRs (≥ 3 segments) are still innovative procedures in the exploration phase [8]. Prospective randomized controlled trials for comparison of LLR and OLR of colorectal liver metastases has yet to be published but study protocols for randomized controlled trials do exist [9,10]. The aim of this study is to analyze the safety and feasibility of minor laparoscopic resection of CRLM. Methods PatientsLaparoscopic and open liver resections performed for all indications at a single high volume hepato-pancreato-biliary centre during the time period of July 2009 to November 2014 were retrieved from the database. The search provided a total of 1467 consecutive patients including 64 minor LLRs performed for CRLM. Patients with hepatic lesions of non-colorectal origin were excluded. A control group of 64 minor OLRs for CRLM were then selected by head-tohead matching with the 64 laparoscopically resected patients on the following matching criteria based on the clinical risk score proposed by Fong [11]: positive node of primary, disease free interval < 1 year, preoperative CEA > 200 ng/ml, number of metastases, size of largest tumour and presence of extrahepatic disease. Patients with tumours located in the anterior or the left lateral segments were preferably selected for laparoscopic resection. Because oncologic outcomes had the higher priority, recurrence prognostic measures have been emphasized on behalf of more technical aspects such as specific tumour location. Patients were further matched by number of liver segments involved in the resections, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) [12], prior liver resection, gender and age. Short term outcomes included resection margin positivity, blood loss, operative time, blood transfusions, length of stay and complications. Complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification for surgical