Long-term Follow-up of Patients With Hernia Using the Hernia-Specific Quality-of-Life Mobile App: Feasibility Questionnaire Study.

BACKGROUND: Hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures; however, the long-term outcomes are seldom reported due to incomplete follow-up. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the use of a mobile app for the long-term follow-up of hernia recurrence, complication, and quality-of-life perception. METHODS: A cloud-based corroborative system drove a mobile app with the HERQL (Hernia-Specific Quality-of-Life) questionnaire built in. Patients who underwent hernia repair were identified from medical records, and an invitation to participate in this study was sent through the post. RESULTS: The response rate was 11.89% (311/2615) during the 1-year study period, whereas the recurrence rate was 1.0% (3/311). Causal relationships between symptomatic and functional domains of the HERQL questionnaire were indicated by satisfactory model fit indices and significant regression coefficients derived from structural equational modeling. Regarding patients' last hernia surgeries, 88.7% (276/311) of the patients reported them to be satisfactory or very satisfactory, 68.5% (213/311) of patients reported no discomfort, and 61.1% (190/311) of patients never experienced mesh foreign body sensation. Subgroup analysis for the most commonly used mesh repairs found that mesh plug repair inevitably resulted in worse symptoms and quality-of-life perception from the group with groin hernias. CONCLUSIONS: The mobile app has the potential to enhance the quality of care for patients with hernia and facilitate outcomes research with more complete follow-up.

Deciphering Genetic Alterations of Taiwanese Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma through Targeted Sequencing.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) is the 8th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Taiwan, and its incidence is increasing. The development of PAC involves successive accumulation of multiple genetic alterations. Understanding the molecular pathogenesis and heterogeneity of PAC may facilitate personalized treatment for PAC and identify therapeutic agents. We performed tumor-only next-generation sequencing (NGS) with targeted panels to explore the molecular changes underlying PAC patients in Taiwan. The Ion Torrent Oncomine Comprehensive Panel (OCP) was used for PAC metastatic lesions, and more PAC samples were sequenced with the Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hot Spot (CHP) v2 panel. Five formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) metastatic PAC specimens were successfully assayed with OCP, and KRAS was the most prevalent alteration, which might contraindicate the use of anti-EGFR therapy. One PAC patient harbored a FGFR2 p. C382R mutation, which might benefit from FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. An additional 38 samples assayed with CHP v2 showed 100 hotspot variants, collapsing to 54 COSMID IDs. The most frequently mutated genes were TP53, KRAS, and PDGFRA (29, 23, 10 hotspot variants), impacting 11, 23, and 10 PAC patients. Highly pathogenic variants, including COSM22413 (PDGFRA, FATHMM predicted score: 0.88), COSM520, COSM521, and COSM518 (KRAS, FATHMM predicted score: 0.98), were reported. By using NGS with targeted panels, somatic mutations with therapeutic potential were identified. The combination of clinical and genetic information is useful for decision making and precise selection of targeted medicine.

An examination of surgical and survival outcomes in the elderly (65-79 years of age) and the very elderly (≥80 years of age) who received surgery for gastric cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine surgical and survival outcomes in the elderly (65-79 years of age) and the very elderly (≥80 years of age) who received surgery for gastric cancer.Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the records of patients ≥65 years old who received a gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma. Demographic, clinical, and pathological data were extracted from the medical records. Patients were divided into two groups: those 65-79 years of age and those ≥80 years of age. Data and survival outcomes were compared between the groups.Results: Sixty-four patients were included, 32 males and 32 females. The mean age in the 65-79 years old group was 73.4 ± 4.5 years, and in the ≥80 years group was 85.2 ± 3.4 years (p < .001). Three patients in the older group had chronic kidney disease, as compared to none in the 65-79 years group (p = .04); all other demographic, clinical, tumor, and surgical characteristics were similar between the groups, except for surgical time (all, p > .05). Patients ≥80 years had a higher incidence of pulmonary complications (24% vs 4.7%, p = .03), but there was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality. The ≥80 years group had a higher overall survival, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (42.9% and 34.9%, p = .224).Conclusions: Curative intent resection, gastrectomy with D1+/D2 lymph node dissection is a viable option for elders ≥80 years old with gastric carcinoma.

Heterotopic pancreas involved muscularis propria mimicking mesenchymal tumor in stomach.

Heterotopic pancreas is defined as pancreatic tissue found outside the usual anatomic location of the pancreas. It is often an incidental finding and can be found at various sites in the gastrointestinal tract. It is usually asymptomatic, however, symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or even gastrointestinal bleeding could be possible. In this report, a 38-year-old woman with epigastric fullness and endoscopic impression of the gastric submucosal tumor is described. Preoperative surveys including endoscopic ultrasound and computed tomography suggested gastric mesenchymal tumor such as leiomyoma. A surgical operation was arranged with a diagnosis of the heterotopic pancreas as confirmed by pathological assessment.

Complete remission of pancreatic head desmoid tumor treated by COX-2 inhibitor-a case report.

BACKGROUND: Desmoid tumors (DTs) are non-metastatic, locally aggressive neoplasms with high postoperative recurrence rates. The pancreas is an extremely rare location for DTs. The local control of DTs is challenging. Surgery and radiotherapy are currently the principal treatment modalities for DTs; however, some resections might not be radical, and radiotherapy has several drawbacks. Therefore, many studies have been focusing on the molecular pathways involved in DTs in order to develop molecular-targeted therapies or chemotherapy. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been demonstrated to play a role in the growth of DTs, and the pharmacologic blockade of COX resulted in decreased cell proliferation in desmoid cell cultures in vitro. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we report a 57-year-old woman who presented with recurrent epigastric pain and weight loss. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed an approximately 10-cm mass over the pancreatic head region and dilatation of the pancreatic duct. Tumor biopsy and bypass surgery were performed. A DT was confirmed on pathologic analysis. After resection, we prescribed treatment with the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib. The patient showed complete remission and there was no local recurrence or distant metastasis within the 24-month follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this case study is encouraging, and long-term follow-up studies are required to establish the effect of treatment with celecoxib on the prognosis of DTs.

CARE--pediatric colon adenocarcinoma: a case report and literature review comparing differences in clinical features between children and adult patients.

Colon carcinoma is a rare disease in the pediatric population. Here is a report on a 17-year-old male adolescent with colon adenocarcinoma who presented with recurrent epigastric colic pain for 1 month. Diagnostic laparoscopic surgery revealed a 3.2 × 3 cm tumor at the ascending colon, with serosal involvement and peritoneal metastasis. Clinical differences of colorectal carcinoma among children and adults are reviewed and summarized.

Comparing chronic pain between fibrin sealant and suture fixation for bilayer polypropylene mesh inguinal hernioplasty: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative pain, complications, and recurrence after bilayer polypropylene mesh inguinal hernioplasty using fibrin sealant versus sutures for fixation. METHODS: Patients were assigned randomly to either a mesh fixed with suture group (n = 26) or a mesh fixed with fibrin sealant group (n = 30). Postoperative pain was evaluated with a visual analogue scale at days 1 and 7, and the first, third, and sixth month postoperatively. Complications and hernia recurrence were recorded. RESULTS: At each time point after surgery, visual analogue scale pain scores in the fibrin sealant group were lower but there was no statistically significant difference. There were no differences in complications or hernia recurrence between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Fibrin sealant is associated with similar rates of complications and recurrence as mesh fixation with sutures. There was no statistical difference in pain 6 months postoperatively between the 2 groups.