LNR appears to be a good prognostic factor for survival or recurrence after curative resection for ICC.

No abstract

The human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 gene (HER-2) encodes for a membrane-bound tyrosine kinase (Her-2), which is overexpressed in various human cancers. Her-2-targeted therapy has recently been shown to be beneficial for patients with advanced gastric cancer. Her-2 protein expression was investigated in 341 esophageal carcinomas [152 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), 189 adenocarcinomas (AC)], 39 cases of Barrett mucosa, and 11 cases of squamous cell dysplasia. HER-2 gene amplification was assessed by colorimetric in-situ hybridization. Positive Her-2 status was found in 15.3% of ACs and 3.9% of SCCs. Positive Her-2-status was more common in dysplastic Barrett mucosas compared with nondysplastic ones (P=0.04). In 26% of the patients with ACs who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (n=39), the Her-2 status of pretherapeutic biopsies was different compared with subsequent surgical specimens. There was no statistically significant correlation between Her-2 status and patients' survival. Although Her-2 overexpression is rare in SCCs, it is found in 15.3% of ACs, where amplification of HER-2 gene and overexpression of Her-2 protein seem to be early events in carcinogenesis. The evaluation of Her-2 status in tumor biopsies and in particular in the context with possible alterations after neoadjuvant treatment can potentially lead to false Her-2-staging. Although Her-2-overexpression in esophageal cancer seems to have no influence on patients' survival, these subtypes of esophageal ACs have to be considered as targets for an anti-Her-2 therapy.

ICG clearance helps to identify patients with impaired liver function after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and aids in the estimation of the postoperative risk of morbidity after liver resection for colorectal liver metastases.

BACKGROUND:Animal studies have shown cooperative contribution of the Ras/Raf/MAPK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways in glioblastoma formation. However, this joint action has not yet been confirmed in human studies. METHODS: The expression of Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) was examined in 159 patients with high-grade and low-grade gliomas and correlated with previously obtained data on the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a downstream effector of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. RESULTS: RKIP expression was associated with a longer overall survival in high-grade glioma cases without showing a direct or inverse correlation with tyrosine-705 phosphorylation of STAT3 (pSTAT3). Notably, RKIP-positive and pSTAT3 negative cases demarcate a patients group with exceptionally long survival, exceeding the prognostic impact of each single marker. CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study indicated that 1) RKIP expression correlates with tumor grade and is a marker for good prognosis in high-grade gliomas; 2) RKIP expression and lack of pSTAT3 have a cumulative prognostic impact; and 3) RKIP and pSTAT3 are likely to operate independently to influence survival. These findings represented the first human evidence of an additive effect of 2 distinct signaling pathways in high-grade glioma, suggesting that simultaneous inhibition of multiple pathways should be considered as a treatment strategy for these patients.