Potential association between PSCA rs2976395 functional variant and pancreatic cancer risk.

Correlated regions of systemic interindividual variation (CoRSIV) represent a small proportion of the human genome showing DNA methylation patterns that are the same in all human tissues, are different among individuals, and are partially regulated by genetic variants in cis. In this study we aimed at investigating single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within CoRSIVs and their involvement with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) risk. We analyzed 29,099 CoRSIV-SNPs and 133,615 CoRSIV-mQTLs in 14,394 cases and 247,022 controls of European and Asian descent. We observed that the A allele of the rs2976395 SNP was associated with increased PDAC risk in Europeans (p = 2.81 × 10-5). This SNP lies in the prostate stem cell antigen gene and is in perfect linkage disequilibrium with a variant (rs2294008) that has been reported to be associated with risk of many other cancer types. The A allele is associated with the DNA methylation level of the gene according to the PanCan-meQTL database and with overexpression according to QTLbase. The expression of the gene has been observed to be deregulated in many tumors of the gastrointestinal tract including pancreatic cancer; however, functional studies are needed to elucidate the function relevance of the association.

Comparison of EsophyX2.0 and MUSE systems for transoral incisionless fundoplication: Technical aspects and outcomes up to 3 years.

OBJECTIVES: We compared the efficacy and safety of transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) with the EsophyX2.0 and MUSE systems for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). METHODS: TIF outcomes from prospective protocols (Esophy2.0X: 2007-2012; MUSE: 2015-2019) were retrospectively compared regarding technical success, moderate/severe adverse events, morpho-functional findings up to 1 year, and clinical outcomes up to 3 years. Inclusion criteria were: (i) at least 6-month symptomatic GERD, full/partial response to proton pump inhibitors (PPI), esophagitis, and nonerosive reflux disease/hypersensitive esophagus (both protocols); (ii) hiatal hernia <3 cm (Esophy2.0X) and ≤2.5 cm (MUSE); and (iii) Barrett's esophagus <3 cm (MUSE). RESULTS: In the 50 EsophyX2.0 and 46 MUSE procedures, technical success and adverse event rates were similar, but MUSE-related adverse events (4.4%) were life-threatening. At 12 months, hiatal hernia recurred more frequently after EsophyX2.0 (P = 0.008). At 6 months, significantly fewer total and acid refluxes were reported after both TIF, but not more significantly at 1 year. Symptoms improved after both TIF up to 1 year (P < 0.0001), but to a greater extent in MUSE patients up to 3 years (P < 0.0001 vs. P < 0.01 for EsophyX2.0). The rates of 3-year off-PPI therapy patients were 73.5% in the MUSE and 53.3% in the EsophyX2.0 series (P = 0.069). CONCLUSION: Although no conclusion could be drawn from this limited study, the MUSE technique seemed more effective in the long term in patients with hiatal hernia; however, there were more severe adverse events than with EsophyX2.0.

Polymorphisms in transcription factor binding sites and enhancer regions and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are a powerful tool for detecting variants associated with complex traits and can help risk stratification and prevention strategies against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the strict significance threshold commonly used makes it likely that many true risk loci are missed. Functional annotation of GWAS polymorphisms is a proven strategy to identify additional risk loci. We aimed to investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in regulatory regions [transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) and enhancers] that could change the expression profile of multiple genes they act upon and thereby modify PDAC risk. We analyzed a total of 12,636 PDAC cases and 43,443 controls from PanScan/PanC4 and the East Asian GWAS (discovery populations), and the PANDoRA consortium (replication population). We identified four associations that reached study-wide statistical significance in the overall meta-analysis: rs2472632(A) (enhancer variant, OR 1.10, 95%CI 1.06,1.13, p = 5.5 × 10-8), rs17358295(G) (enhancer variant, OR 1.16, 95%CI 1.10,1.22, p = 6.1 × 10-7), rs2232079(T) (TFBS variant, OR 0.88, 95%CI 0.83,0.93, p = 6.4 × 10-6) and rs10025845(A) (TFBS variant, OR 1.88, 95%CI 1.50,1.12, p = 1.32 × 10-5). The SNP with the most significant association, rs2472632, is located in an enhancer predicted to target the coiled-coil domain containing 34 oncogene. Our results provide new insights into genetic risk factors for PDAC by a focused analysis of polymorphisms in regulatory regions and demonstrating the usefulness of functional prioritization to identify loci associated with PDAC risk.

SIED-GISCOR recommendations for colonoscopy in screening programs: Part I - Diagnostic.

The implementation of FIT programs reduces incidence and mortality from CRC in the screened subjects. The ultimate efficacy for CRC morbidity and mortality prevention in a FIT program depends on the colonoscopy in FIT+ subjects that has the task of detecting and removing these advanced lesions. Recently, there has been growing evidence on factors that influence the quality of colonoscopy specifically withing organized FIT programs, prompting to dedicated interventions in order to maximize the benefit/harm ratio of post-FIT colonoscopy. This document focuses on the diagnostic phase of colonoscopy, providing indications on how to standardise colonoscopy in FIT+ subjects, regarding timing of examination, management of antithrombotic therapy, bowel preparation, competence and sedation.

Imaging in Gastroparesis: Exploring Innovative Diagnostic Approaches, Symptoms, and Treatment.

Gastroparesis (GP) is a chronic disease characterized by upper gastrointestinal symptoms, primarily nausea and vomiting, and delayed gastric emptying (GE), in the absence of mechanical GI obstruction. The underlying pathophysiology of GP remains unclear, but factors contributing to the condition include vagal nerve dysfunction, impaired gastric fundic accommodation, antral hypomotility, gastric dysrhythmias, and pyloric dysfunction. Currently, gastric emptying scintigraphy (GES) is considered the gold standard for GP diagnosis. However, the overall delay in GE weakly correlates with GP symptoms and their severity. Recent research efforts have focused on developing treatments that address the presumed underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of GP, such as pyloric hypertonicity, with Gastric Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (G-POEM) one of these procedures. New promising diagnostic tools for gastroparesis include wireless motility capsule (WMC), the 13 carbon-GE breath test, high-resolution electrogastrography, and the Endoluminal Functional Lumen Imaging Probe (EndoFLIP). Some of these tools assess alterations beyond GE, such as muscular electrical activity and pyloric tone. These modalities have the potential to characterize the pathophysiology of gastroparesis, identifying patients who may benefit from targeted therapies. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current knowledge on diagnostic pathways in GP, with a focus on the association between diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Thermal Ablation in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Immunological consequences of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-local thermal ablation (LTA) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have not been extensively assessed. We aimed to explore EUS-LTA effects on the systemic immune response in PDAC. Peripheral blood was collected from 10 treatment-naïve patients with borderline resectable and locally advanced PDAC, randomly allocated to Nab-paclitaxel plus Gemcitabine chemotherapy (CT-arm, n = 5) or EUS-LTA with HybridTherm Probe plus CT (HTP + CT-arm, n = 5). Twenty healthy donors were included as controls. Flow-cytometry and multiplex assays were used to profile immune cell subsets and measure serum cytokines/chemokines, respectively. At baseline, PDAC patients showed increased circulating monocytes and lower circulating lymphocytes and CD19+ B cells counts compared to healthy controls. After 4 months, CT induced decrease of B regulatory cells, CD4+ cytotoxic T cells and IL-1ß. The addition of EUS-HTP to CT selectively decreased the serum levels of APRIL/TNFSF13 as well as T regulatory cells, total, classic and inflammatory monocytes. Serum levels of APRIL/TNFSF13 and total, classic and inflammatory monocytes counts at baseline were associated with worse overall survival. EUS-HTP has the potential to selectively impact on immune cells and cytokines associated with poor outcomes in PDAC.

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy (EVT) versus Self-Expandable Metal Stent (SEMS) for Anastomotic Leaks after Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic treatment of post-esophagectomy/gastrectomy anastomotic dehiscence includes Self-Expandable Metal Stents (SEMS), which have represented the "gold standard" for many years, and Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy (EVT), which was recently introduced, showing promising results. The aim of the study was to compare outcomes of SEMS and EVT in the treatment of post-esophagectomy/gastrectomy anastomotic leaks, focusing on oncologic surgery. METHODS: A systematic search was performed on Pubmed and Embase, identifying studies comparing EVT versus SEMS for the treatment of leaks after upper gastro-intestinal surgery for malignant or benign pathologies. The primary outcome was the rate of successful leak closure. A meta-analysis was conducted, performing an a priori-defined subgroup analysis for the oncologic surgery group. RESULTS: Eight retrospective studies with 357 patients were eligible. Overall, the EVT group showed a higher success rate (odd ratio [OR] 2.58, 95% CI 1.43-4.66), a lower number of devices (pooled mean difference [pmd] 4.90, 95% CI 3.08-6.71), shorter treatment duration (pmd -9.18, 95% CI -17.05--1.32), lower short-term complication (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.18-0.71) and mortality rates (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.24-0.92) compared to stenting. In the oncologic surgery subgroup analysis, no differences in the success rate were found (OR 1.59, 95% CI 0.74-3.40, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, EVT has been revealed to be more effective and less burdened by complications compared to stenting. In the oncologic surgery subgroup analysis, efficacy rates were similar between the two groups. Further prospective data need to define a unique management algorithm for anastomotic leaks.

Ex-vivo investigation of radiofrequency ablation in pancreatic adenocarcinoma after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Objective: Endoscopic ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been investigated for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) but studies are limited and heterogeneous. Computed tomography (CT) scan features may predict RFA response after chemotherapy but their role is unexplored. The primary aim was to investigate the efficacy of ex-vivo application of a dedicated RFA system at three power on surgically resected PDAC in patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The secondary aim was to explore the association between pre-treatment CT-based quantitative features and RFA response. Methods: Fifteen ex-vivo PDAC samples were treated by RFA under US control at three power groups (10, 30, and 50 W). Short axis necrosis diameter was measured by two expert blinded pathologists as the primary outcome. Two radiologists independently reviewed preoperative CT images. Results: Eighty percent of specimens showed coagulative necrosis consisting of few millimeters: 5.7 ± 3.9 mm at 10 W, 3.7 ± 2.2 mm at 30 W, and 3.5 ± 2.4 mm at 50 W (p = 0.3), without a significant correlation between power setting and mean necrosis short axis (rho = -0.28; p = 0.30). Good agreement was seen between pathologists (k = 0.76; 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.98). Logistic regression analysis did not show associations between CT features and RFA response. Conclusions: RFA causes histologically evident damage with coagulative necrosis of a few millimeters in 80% of ex-vivo PDAC samples after chemotherapy and no clinical or pre-operative CT features can predict efficacy. Power settings do not correlate with the histological ablation area. These results are of relevance when employing RFA in vivo and planning clinical trials on its role in PDAC patients.

EUS-guided ablation with the HybridTherm Probe as second-line treatment in patients with locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A case-control study.

Background and Objectives: Data on the clinical efficacy of EUS-guided ablation using the HybridTherm-Probe (EUS-HTP) in locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (LA-PDAC) are lacking. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of EUS-HTP added to chemotherapy (CT) on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of LA-PDAC patients with local disease progression (DP) after first-line therapy, compared to CT alone in controls. Methods: LA-PDAC cases, prospectively treated by EUS-HTP, were retrospectively compared to matched controls (1:2) receiving standard treatment. Study endpoints were the OS and PFS from local DP after first-line therapy, compared through log-rank test calculating hazard ratios and differences in restricted mean OS/PFS time (RMOST/RMPFST) within prespecified time points (4, 6, and 12 months). Results: Thirteen cases and 26 controls were included. Clinical, tumor, and therapy features before and after first-line therapy were case-control balanced. The median OS and PFS were not significantly improved in cases over controls (months: 7 vs. 5 and 5 vs. 3, respectively). At 4 and 6 months, the RMPFST difference was in favor of cases (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.003, respectively). In cases and controls not candidate to further CT (N = 5 and N = 9), the median OS and PFS were not significantly improved in cases over controls (months: 6 vs. 3 and 4 vs. 2, respectively), but the RMPFST difference was in favor of cases at 4 months (P = 0.002). Conclusions: In locally progressive PDAC patients experiencing failure of first-line therapy, EUS-HTP achieves a significantly better RMPFST up to 6 months compared to standard treatment, although without a significant impact on OS.

Common variability in oestrogen-related genes and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk in women.

The incidence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is different among males and females. This disparity cannot be fully explained by the difference in terms of exposure to known risk factors; therefore, the lower incidence in women could be attributed to sex-specific hormones. A two-phase association study was conducted in 12,387 female subjects (5436 PDAC cases and 6951 controls) to assess the effect on risk of developing PDAC of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 208 genes involved in oestrogen and pregnenolone biosynthesis and oestrogen-mediated signalling. In the discovery phase 14 polymorphisms showed a statistically significant association (P < 0.05). In the replication none of the findings were validated. In addition, a gene-based analysis was performed on the 208 selected genes. Four genes (NR5A2, MED1, NCOA2 and RUNX1) were associated with PDAC risk, but only NR5A2 showed an association (P = 4.08 × 10-5) below the Bonferroni-corrected threshold of statistical significance. In conclusion, despite differences in incidence between males and females, our study did not identify an effect of common polymorphisms in the oestrogen and pregnenolone pathways in relation to PDAC susceptibility. However, we validated the previously reported association between NR5A2 gene variants and PDAC risk.

A polymorphic variant in telomere maintenance is associated with worrisome features and high-risk stigmata development in IPMNs.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are nonobligatory precursor lesions of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The identification of molecular biomarkers able to predict the risk of progression of IPMNs toward malignancy is largely lacking and sorely needed. Telomere length (TL) is associated with the susceptibility of developing cancers, including PDAC. Moreover, several PDAC risk factors have been shown to be associated with IPMN transition to malignancy. TL is genetically determined, and the aim of this study was to use 11 SNPs, alone or combined in a score (teloscore), to estimate the causal relation between genetically determined TL and IPMNs progression. For this purpose, 173 IPMN patients under surveillance were investigated. The teloscore did not show any correlation, however, we observed an association between PXK-rs6772228-A and an increased risk of IPMN transition to malignancy (HR = 3.17; 95%CI 1.47-6.84; P = 3.24 × 10-3). This effect was also observed in a validation cohort of 142 IPMNs even though the association was not statistically significant. The combined analysis was consistent showing an association between PXK-rs6772228-A and increased risk of progression. The A allele of this SNP is strongly associated with shorter LTL that in turn have been reported to be associated with increased risk of developing PDAC. These results clearly highlight the importance of looking for genetic variants as potential biomarkers in this setting in order to further our understanding the etiopathogenesis of PDAC and suggest that genetically determined TL might be an additional marker of IPMN prognosis.

Transoral incisionless fundoplication with Medigus ultrasonic surgical endostapler (MUSE) for the treatment of gastro-esophageal reflux disease: outcomes up to 3 years.

BACKGROUND: Transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) with Medigus Ultrasonic Surgical Endostapler (MUSE) is a new intervention for treatment of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). We aimed at assessing the clinical, functional, and endoscopic effects of TIF by MUSE. METHODS: Forty-six patients underwent TIF. Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) consumption, GERD-health-related quality of life (HRQL) and reflux symptom index (RSI) questionnaires, upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, esophageal 24-h pH-impedance recording, and high-resolution manometry (HRM) were done before TIF and scheduled 6 and 12 months later (HRM only at 6-month). PPI consumption and symptoms were then assessed yearly. Data up to 3 years are reported in this study (PP- and ITT-analysis). RESULTS: TIF was successfully performed in 45/46 patients; in one patient esophageal intubation was impossible. Perforation occurred in two cases. One patient required surgery within 6 months. Clinical follow-up was available for 42 patients at 6 months and 1 year, 35 patients at 2 years, and 31 patients at 3 years. At 1, 2, and 3 years, PPI consumption was stopped, respectively, in 64.3%, 62.9%, and 74.2% of cases (ITT-analysis: 58.7%, 56.4%, and 65.7%). GERD-HRQL and RSI scores decreased at least 50%, respectively, in 71.5% and 76.2%, 71.4% and 68.6%, and 67.7% of cases (ITT-analysis: 65.2% and 69.6%, 64.1% and 61.5%, and 60%). A significant improvement of both scores was observed up to 3 years. 6-month and 1-year functional follow-up were possible in 31 and 20 patients. HRM showed significant increase of the median lower esophageal sphincter length and rate of peristaltic waves. Esophageal pH-impedance recording found significantly fewer acid, proximal and total refluxes, and percentage of esophageal pH < 4 total time at 6 months, but not at 1 year. CONCLUSION: TIF by MUSE significantly improved symptoms and PPIs consumption up to 3 years. However, esophagitis still persisted in one-third of cases at 1 year and functional improvement at 6 months was not confirmed at 1 year. Severe complications requiring surgery occurred in two cases. CLINICALTRIALS: GOV: ID: NCT03669874.

Efficacy of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Ablation with the HybridTherm Probe in Locally Advanced or Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial.

Endoscopic ultrasound-ablation with HybridTherm-Probe (EUS-HTP) significantly reduces tumour volume (TV) in locally-advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (LA-PDAC). We aimed at investigating the clinical efficacy of EUS-HTP plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy (HTP-CT and CT arms) in LA- and borderline-resectable (BR) PDAC, with 6-months progression-free survival (6-PFS) rate as primary endpoint. In a phase-II randomized-controlled-trial, 33 LA/BR-PDAC patients per-arm were planned to verify 20% improved 6-PFS rate. Radiological response (Choi criteria), TV and serum CA19.9 were assessed up to 6-months. Seventeen and 20 LA/BR-PDAC patients were randomized to HTP-CT or CT. Baseline and CT-related features were balanced. At 6-months, 6-PFS rate was 41.2% and 30% in HTP-CT and CT arms (p = 0.48), respectively. A decrease ≥50% of serum CA19.9 was achieved in 75% and 64.3% of HTP-CT and CT patients (p = 0.53), respectively. TV reduced up to 6-months in 64.3% and 47.1% of HTP-CT and CT patients (p = 0.35), respectively. Resection rate, PFS-time and overall survival (OS-time) were similar. HTP-CT achieves a non-significant 11.2%, 10.7% and 17.2% improved 6-PFS, CA19.9 decrease ≥50% and TV reduction rates over CT, without any impact on resection rate, PFS-time and OS-time. As the study was underpowered, these results suggest further investigation of EUS-local ablation in selected patients with localized disease after induction CT.

High sensitivity of ROSE-supported ERCP-guided brushing for biliary strictures.

Background and study aims Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) plays a major role in biliary strictures, with brushing being a cheap and fast method to acquire a cytological specimen, despite a sensitivity around 45 %. Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) is widely used for endoscopic ultrasound-acquired cytological specimen adequacy, improving its sensitivity and specificity. Nevertheless, no study has evaluated its role for ERCP-guided brushing. Our aim was to assess the diagnostic yield of ERCP-guided brushing of biliary strictures when supported by ROSE. Patients and methods This was a retrospective single-center study that included patients undergoing ERCP-guided brush cytology supported by ROSE for biliary strictures. Recorded data included patient clinical-radiological and ERCP features. Final diagnosis was determined after surgery, intraductal biopsy or adequate follow-up. The diagnostic yield was calculated and a subgroup analysis for factors associated with false-negative or true-positive results was performed. Results Two hundred six patients were included, 57.3 % males, median age 72 years, 77.2 % having extrahepatic biliary strictures. Of the patients, 99 % had an adequate sample at ROSE after a mean of 2.6 passages. The diagnostic yield was accuracy 83 %, sensitivity 74.6 %, and specificity 98 %, positive and negative predictive values 98 % and 71 % respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.86. A diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma was significantly more frequent among true-positive cases (68 % vs 46.8 %; P  = 0.04). Conclusions This is the first study evaluating the use of ROSE as support for ERCP-guided brushing of biliary strictures, with a sensitivity far higher than those reported for brushing alone and at least comparable to those of more expensive and invasive techniques.

Exploring chemotherapy holiday and drugs re-challenge in advanced pancreatic cancer patients.

PURPOSE: We aimed to explore the role of drugs re-challenge at the disease progression after a chemotherapy-free interval for pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the outcome of re-treatments at the progression in two cohorts of advanced PDAC patients who had disease control (DC) and a treatment holiday ≥ 3 months after upfront chemotherapy. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2019, 66 advanced PDAC patients (cohort A) had DC with nab-paclitaxel-based chemotherapy (i.e. AG or PAXG = cisplatin, nab-paclitaxel, gemcitabine, capecitabine). At the time of progressive disease (PD), 34 patients were re-treated with AG (A1) and 32 were treated with other regimens (A2). The median (m) duration of chemotherapy holiday was 6.1 and 5.9 months in A1 and A2, respectively. Partial response (PR) and stable disease (SD) were found in 14 (41%) and 12 (35%) of patients in A1 and in 8 (25%) and 6 (19%) patients in A2. CA19-9 response was recorded in 23/33 evaluable patients (70%) in A1 and in 5/20 (25%) in A2. mPFS2 and mOS2, defined as the time between the second line of treatment start and the disease progression or death, were 4.8 and 12.2 months in A1 and 3.9 and 8.4 months in A2, respectively. Similarly, between 2006 and 2013, 64 patients (cohort B) had DC with upfront PEFG/PEXG/PDXG regimens (epirubicin or docetaxel, cisplatin, gemcitabine, capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil) and were re-treated at PD with either 4-drug (B1; N = 30) or other regimens (B2; N = 34), yielding a mOS2 of 10.9 and 7.2 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data endorse the strategy of resuming prior drugs after a chemotherapy holiday ≥ 3 months in advanced PDAC patients who achieved a  durable disease control after upfront treatments.

RNA Extraction from Endoscopic Ultrasound-Acquired Tissue of Pancreatic Cancer Is Feasible and Allows Investigation of Molecular Features.

Transcriptome analyses allow the distinguishing of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) subtypes, exhibiting different prognoses and chemotherapy responses. However, RNA extraction from pancreatic tissue is cumbersome and has been performed mainly from surgical samples, which are representative of < 20% of cases. The majority of PDAC patients undergo endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA), but RNA has been rarely extracted from EUS-TA with scanty results. Herein, we aimed to determine the best conditions for RNA extraction and analysis from PDAC EUS-TA samples in order to carry out molecular analyses. PDAC cases underwent diagnostic EUS-TA, with needles being a 25G fine needle aspiration (FNA) in all patients and then either a 20G lateral core-trap fine needle biopsy (FNB) or a 25G Franseen FNB; the conservation methods were either snap freezing, RNALater or Trizol. RNA concentration and quality (RNA integrity index; RIN) were analyzed and a panel of genes was investigated for tissue contamination and markers of molecular subtype and aggressivity through qRT-PCR. Seventy-four samples from 37 patients were collected. The median RNA concentration was significantly higher in Trizol samples (10.33 ng/uL) compared with snap frozen (0.64 ng/uL; p < 0.0001) and RNALater (0.19 ng/uL; p < 0.0001). The RIN was similar between Trizol (5.15) and snap frozen samples (5.85), while for both methods it was higher compared with RNALater (2.7). Among the needles, no substantial difference was seen in terms of RNA concentration and quality. qRT-PCR analyses revealed that samples from all needles were suitable for the detection of PDAC subtype markers (GATA6 and ZEB1) and splice variants associated with mutational status (GAP17) as well as for the detection of contaminating tissue around PDAC cells. This is the first study that specifically investigates the best methodology for RNA extraction from EUS-TA. A higher amount of good quality RNA is obtainable with conservation in Trizol with a clear superiority of neither FNA nor FNB needles. RNA samples from EUS-TA are suitable for transcriptome analysis including the investigation of molecular subtype and splice variants expression.

Necrosis volume and Choi criteria predict the response to endoscopic ultrasonography-guided HybridTherm ablation of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Background and study aims Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided ablation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with HybridTherm-Probe (EUS-HTP) is feasible and safe, but the radiological response and ideal tool to measure it have not been investigated yet. The aims of this study were to: 1) assess the radiological response to EUS-HTP evaluating the vital tumor volume reduction rate, Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST1.1) and Choi criteria; 2) determine the prognostic predictive yield of these criteria. Patients and methods A retrospective analysis was performed of patients with locally advanced PDAC after primary treatment or unfit for chemotherapy prospectively treated by EUS-HTP. Computed tomography scan was performed 1 month after EUS-HTP to evaluate: 1) vital tumor volume reduction rate (VTVRR) by measuring necrosis and tumor volumes through a computer-aided detection system; and 2) RECIST1.1 and Choi criteria. Results EUS-HTP was feasible in 22 of 31 patients (71 %), with no severe adverse events. Median post-HTP survival was 7 months (1 - 35). Compared to pre-HTP tumor volume, a significant 1-month VTVRR (mean 21.4 %) was observed after EUS-HTP ( P  = 0.005). We identified through ROC analysis a VTVRR > 11.46 % as the best cut-off to determine post-HTP 6-month survival outcome (AUC = 0.733; sensitivity = 70.0 %, specificity = 83.3 %). This cut-off was significantly associated with longer overall survival (HR = 0.372; P  = 0.039). According to RECIST1.1 and Choi criteria, good responders to EUS-HTP were 60 % and 46.7 %, respectively. Good responders according to Choi, but not to RECIST1.1, had longer survival (HR = 0.407; P  = 0.04). Conclusions EUS-HTP induces a significant 1-month VTVRR. This effect is assessed accurately by evaluation of necrosis and tumor volumes. Use of VTVRR and Choi criteria, but not RECIST 1.1 criteria, might identify patients who could benefit clinically from EUS-HTP.

Systematic review of endoscopy ultrasound-guided thermal ablation treatment for pancreatic cancer.

The development of curvilinear-array EUS and EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has led these approaches to become interventional procedures rather than purely diagnostic, as a minimally invasive antitumor therapeutic alternative to radiological and surgical treatments. The possibility to accurately position needle devices and to reach a deep target like the pancreas gland under real-time imaging guidance has expanded the use of EUS to ablate tumors. Currently, a variety of probes specifically designed for EUS ablation are available, including radiofrequency, hybrid cryothermal ablation (combining radiofrequency with cryotechnology), photodynamic therapy, and laser ablation. To date, several studies have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of these ablation techniques in the pancreatic setting, but only a few small series on pancreatic thermal ablation under EUS guidance are available. EUS-guided thermal ablation is primarily used for pancreatic cancer. It is well suited to this disease because of its superior anatomical access compared with other imaging modalities and the dismal prognosis despite improvements in chemoradiotherapy and surgery in the management of pancreatic cancer. Other targets are pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and pancreatic cystic neoplasms, which are curable by surgical resection, but some patients are poor surgical candidates or prefer conservative management. This is a literature review of previously published clinical studies on EUS-guided thermal ablative therapies. Data on the long-term efficacy of EUS-guided antitumor thermal ablation therapy and large prospective randomized studies are still needed to confirm the real clinical benefits of these techniques for the management of pancreatic neoplasms.