Recent developments and innovations in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer has an important place in the worldwide incidence of cancer and cancer-related deaths. It can metastasize to the lymph nodes in the early stages, and lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor. Surgery is a very important part of gastric cancer treatment. A D2 lymphadenectomy is the standard surgical treatment for cT1N+ and T2-T4 cancers, which are potentially curable. Recently, the TNM classification system was reorganized, and the margins for gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy were revised. Endoscopic, laparoscopic and robotic treatments of gastric cancer have progressed rapidly with development of surgical instruments and techniques, especially in Eastern countries. Different endoscopic resection techniques have been identified, and these can be divided into two main categories: endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection. Minimally invasive surgery has been reported to be safe and effective for early gastric cancer, and it can be successfully applied to advanced gastric cancer with increasing experience. Cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermıc intraperıtoneal chemotherapy were developed as a combined treatment modality from the results of experimental and clinical studies. Also, hyperthermia increases the antitumor activity and penetration of chemotherapeutics. Trastuzumab which is a monoclonal antibody interacts with human epidermal growth factor (HER) 2 and is related to gastric carcinoma. The anti-tumor mechanism of trastuzumab is not clearly known, but mechanisms such as interruption of the HER2-mediated cell signaling pathways and cell cycle progression have been reported previously. H. pylori is involved in 90% of all gastric malignancies and Japanese guidelines strongly recommend that all H. pylori infections should be eradicated regardless of the associated disease. In this review, we present innovations discussed in recent studies.

Current status of diagnosis and treatment of hepatic echinococcosis

Echinococcus granulosus(E.granulosus) and Echinococcus multilocularis(E.multilocularis) infections are the most common parasitic diseases that affect the liver.The disease course is typically slow and the patients tend to remain asymptomatic for many years.Often the diagnosis is incidental.Right upper quadrant abdominal pain,hepatitis,cholangitis,and anaphylaxis due to dissemination of the cyst are the main presenting symptoms.Ultrasonography is important in diagnosis.The World Health Organization classification,based on ultrasonographic findings,is used for staging of the disease and treatment selection.In addition to the imaging methods,immunological investigations are used to support the diagnosis.The available treatment options for E.granulosus infection include open surgery,percutaneous interventions,and pharmacotherapy.Aggressive surgery is the first-choice treatment for E.multilocularis infection,while pharmacotherapy is used as an adjunct to surgery.Due to a paucity of clinical studies,empirical evidence on the treatment of E.granulosus and E.multilocularis infections is largely lacking;there are no prominent and widely accepted clinical algorithms yet.In this article,we review the diagnosis and treatment of E.granulosus and E.multilocularis infections in the light of recent evidence.