ABSTRACT
Growth factors represent a family of important biological molecules that can also be critical in the pathogenesis of various gastrointestinal cancers. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the systemic levels of selected growth factors - hepatocyte, vascular-endothelial, fibroblast, and insulin-like 1 growth factors (HGF, VEGF, FGF, and IGF-1, respectively), as well as granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in 75 patients with different gastric neoplasms (carcinomas, gastrointestinal stromal tumors - GISTs, neuroendocrine neoplasms - NENs, and lymphomas) and 40 healthy volunteers. Patients with gastric carcinoma or other types of gastric neoplasms had higher HGF and IGF-1 levels than healthy individuals (P < 0.05 in all cases). In comparison to healthy control subjects, systemic VEGF concentrations were elevated in patients with gastric carcinoma (P < 0.05), but not in individuals with other types of gastric malignancies. No statistically significant differences were observed between the analyzed groups in terms of FGF and G-CSF levels. When patients with gastric carcinoma were subdivided according to the Japanese classification system, significantly elevated levels of HGF, VEGF, and IGF-1 concentrations were observed in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma (extending beyond the submucosal layer of the stomach). Only the systemic levels of HGF were associated with tumor node metastasis - TNM staging, the absolute numbers of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells, and very small embryonic/epiblast-like stem cells circulating in patients with gastric carcinoma. ROC curves analyses demonstrated that AUC values of systemic levels of examined growth factors ranged from 0.40-0.65 (P > 0.06 in all cases). In conclusion, patients with gastric malignancies showed a systemic biochemical imbalance in multiple growth factors, which appears to be associated with clinical presentation of these neoplasms in humans. However, none of the growth factors examined here seem to be suitable diagnostic biomarkers for detecting or differentiating different types of gastric malignancies in humans.
ABSTRACT
Endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) performed via retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a widely accepted method of treatment of obstructive jaundice. However, in some patients (around 15% of cases) due to various reasons proper cannulation of the biliary tract cannot be achieved, and these individuals are most commonly qualified for transcutaneous drainage or surgical intervention. Unfortunately, both of these procedures are accompanied with high rate of complications. In this paper we report a case of a patient suffering from non-operative, rarely occurring tumor of the papilla of Vater (rhabdomyosarcoma), who was treated with novel endoscopic procedure for obstructive jaundice. This patient presented indications for biliary drainage, however, the endoscopic intervention using classical retrograde access was technically impossible. Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided needle puncture was performed to visualize from the duodenal bulb the bile duct, that was amputated in its distal parts by the tumor mass. A guidewire was inserted through the needle, dilated, prosthesis was successfully inserted and normal gall flow was achieved. Authors have not observed any complications after this intervention. To our best knowledge, we are the first who performed such endoscopic procedure in Poland.
