Meta-analysis comparison of endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation and endoscopic sphincteropapillotomy

AIM: To assess endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (EPBD) and endoscopic sphincteropapillotomy (EST) for common bile duct (CBD) stone removal using a meta-analysis. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials published from 1990 to 2012 comparing EPBD with EST for CBD stone removal were evaluated. This meta-analysis was performed to estimate short-term and long-term com-plications of these two treatments. The fixed random effect model or random effect model was established to analysis the data. Results were obtained by analyz-ing the relative risk, odds ratio, and 95%CI for a given comparison using RevMan 5.1. Statistical significance was defined asP < 0.05. Risk of bias was evaluated us-ing a funnel plot. RESULTS: Of the 1975 patients analyzed, 980 of them were treated with EPBD and 995 were treated with EST. Of the patient population, patients in the EPBDgroup were younger (OR=-1.16, 95%CI:-1.49 to 0.84, P<0.01). There were no significant differences in gender proportion, average size of stones, number of gallstones, previous cholecystectomy, the incidence of duodenal diverticulum, CBD diameter or the total follow-up time between EST and EPBD groups. Com-pared with EST, the total stone clearance in the EPBD group decreased (OR=0.64, 95%CI: 0.42 to 0.96,P=0.03), the use of stone extraction baskets significantly increased (OR=1.91, 95%CI: 1.41 to 2.59, P<0.01), and the incidence of pancreatitis significantly increased (OR=2.79, 95%CI: 1.74 to 4.45, P<0.0001). The incidence of bleeding (OR=0.12, 95%CI: 0.04 to 0.34, P<0.01) and cholecystitis (OR=0.41, 95%CI: 0.20 to 0.84, P=0.02) significantly decreased. The stone re-currence rate also was significantly reduced in EPBD (OR=0.48, 95%CI: 0.26 to 0.90, P=0.02). There were no significant differences between the two groups with the incidence of stone removal at first attempt, hours of operation, total short-term complications and infection, perforation, or acute cholangitis. CONCLUSION: Although the incidence of pancreatitis was higher, the overall stone clearance rate and risk of bleeding was lower with EPBD compared to EST.

CARMA3/NF-κB signaling contributes to tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma and is inhibited by sodium aescinate

BACKGROUND Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a very malignant tumor in the world. CARMA3 plays an oncogenic role in the pathogenesis of various tumors. However, the function of CARMA3 in HCC has not been fully clarified. AIM To study the biological function of CAEMA3 in HCC. METHODS Tissue microarray slides including tissues form 100 HCC patients were applied to access the expression of CARMA3 in HCC and its clinical relevance. Knockdown and overexpression of CARMA3 were conducted with plasmid transfection. MTT, colony formation, and apoptosis assays were performed to check the biological activity of cells. RESULTS Higher expression of CARMA3 in HCC was relevant to poor prognostic survival (P < 0.05). Down-regulation of CARMA3 inhibited proliferation and colony formation and induced apoptosis in HCC cell lines, while increasing its expression promoted tumorigenesis. We also found that sodium aescinate (SA), a natural herb extract, exerted anti-proliferation effects in HCC cells by suppressing the CARMA3/nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway. CONCLUSION Overexpression of CARMA3 in HCC tissues correlates with a poor prognosis in HCC patients. CARMA3 acts pro-tumorigenic effects partly through activation of CARMA3/NF-κB. SA inhibits HCC growth by targeting CARMA3/NF-κB.

Advances in liver transplantation for unresectable colon cancer liver metastasis

It is estimated that 50%of patients with colorectal cancer will develop liver metastasis.Surgical resection significantly improves survival and provides a chance of cure for patients with colorectal cancer liver metastasis(CRLM).Increasing the resectability of primary unresectable liver metastasis provides more survival benefit for those patients.Considerable surgical innovations have been made to increase the resection rate and decrease the potential risk of hepatic failure postoperation.Liver transplantation(LT)has been explored as a potential curative treatment for unresectable CRLM.However,candidate selection criteria,chemotherapy strategies,refined immunity regimens and resolution for the shortage of grafts are lacking.This manuscript discusses views on surgical indication,peritransplantation anti-tumor and anti-immunity therapy and updated advances in LT for unresectable CRLM.A literature review of published articles and registered clinical trials in PubMed,Google Scholar,and Clinicaltrials.gov was performed to identify studies related to LT for CRLM.Some research topics were identified,including indications for LT for CRLM,oncological risk,antitumor regimens,graft loss,administration of anti-immunity drugs and solutions for graft deficiency.The main candidate selection criteria are good patient performance,good tumor biological behavior and chemosensitivity.Chemotherapy should be administered before transplantation but is not commonly administered posttransplantation for preventive purposes.Mammalian target of rapamycin regimens are recommended for their potential oncological benefit,although there are limited cases.In addition to extended criterion grafts,living donor grafts and small grafts combined with two-stage hepatectomy are efficient means to resolve organ deficiency.LT has been proven to be an effective treatment for selected patients with liver-only CRLM.Due to limited donor grafts,high cost and poorly clarified oncological risks,LT for unresectable CRLM should be strictly performed under a well-organized study plan in selected patients.Some vital factors,like LT indication and anti-tumor and anti-immune treatment,remain to be confirmed.Ongoing clinical trials are expected to delineate these topics.