Background The aim of this study was to review changes in surgical treatment for colorectal cancer during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at a tertiary hospital in Korea.
Methods In total, 757 patients who underwent colorectal cancer surgery at Kosin University Gospel Hospital between January 2019 and December 2021 were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups based on the dates of the COVID-19 pandemic: the pre-pandemic group (321 cases, January 2019 to February 2020) and the pandemic group (436 cases, March 2020 to December 2021). Medical records were reviewed retrospectively to compare surgical treatment patterns.
Results No significant differences were found in the diagnostic process (asymptomatic vs. symptomatic), preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen level (<10 ng/dL vs. ≥10 ng/dL), or cases of obstruction or perforation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined organ resection was more frequent in the pandemic group (6.2% vs. 13.5%; p=0.06), while stages 0 and 1 cancer were significantly less frequent in the pandemic group (25.8% vs. 18.3%; p=0.008).
Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic, operations for early-stage colorectal cancer (stages 0 and 1) decreased, while combined organ resections increased. These changes in surgical treatment for colorectal cancers are likely to impact oncologic outcomes. Further long-term follow-up studies are necessary to assess the effects of the pandemic on colorectal cancer outcomes.
The increasing global prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) is strongly associated with the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). Obesity and MetS detrimentally impact the treatment outcomes of CRC and share similar mechanisms that contribute to the development of CRC. Increased insulin resistance in patients with obesity is linked to CRC, and altered levels of sex hormones and adipokines affect cell growth and inflammation. Obesity and MetS also alter the gut microbiome. Bile acids, which are crucial for lipid metabolism, are elevated in patients with obesity. Moreover, specific bile acids are associated with colonic damage, inflammation, and the development of CRC. Obesity and MetS increase the risk of postoperative complications and affect the response to chemotherapy. The promotion of weight loss and the resolution of MetS can reduce the occurrence of CRC and increase treatment efficacy. Therefore, it is imperative to implement appropriate management strategies to address obesity and MetS with the aim of improving the prognosis and reducing the incidence of CRC. Moreover, additional research should be conducted to determine the optimal timing for tailored CRC screening in patients with obesity or MetS. In this review, we explore the impact of obesity and MetS on the development of CRC and examine potential strategies to mitigate CRC risk in individuals with obesity and MetS.
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Drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia (DITP) is a very rare disease, with an estimated annual incidence of 10 cases per million. Oxaliplatin and irinotecan are widely used as chemotherapy for high-risk stage II and III colorectal cancer, and DITP has been reported to occur in patients using those agents. To treat unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer, bevacizumab is used in combination with oxaliplatin or irinotecan, and there have been a few reports of DITP cases in patients receiving that regimen. In this report, we describe a 68-year-old male patient with metastatic colon cancer (KRAS mutant type) to the liver and lung who developed acute immune-mediated thrombocytopenia due to bevacizumab-FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) therapy. During treatment, he showed purpura in his lower extremities on 21st cycle day 2. Lab work revealed a platelet count of less than 2,000/mL, reflecting a decrease from 135,000/mL at the start of the cycle 1 day prior. He did not have any other types of cytopenia or significant changes in laboratory findings. We diagnosed DITP due to bevacizumab-FOLFOX, and the patient did not show isolated thrombocytopenia after switching to Ziv-aflibercept-FOLFIRI (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan).
Background Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Colorectal cancer that has recurred and metastasized to other organs also has a very poor prognosis. According to recent studies, the long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) retrotransposon open reading frame (ORF) is located in the intron of the c-Met proto-oncogene, which is involved in cancer progression and metastasis, and regulates its expression. However, no study has compared the expression patterns of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met, which are closely related to cancer progression and metastasis, and their correlation in primary and recurrent cancers.
Methods In the present study, we compared the expression patterns of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met in both primary and recurrent colorectal cancer tissues from 10 patients. Expression patterns and correlations between LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met proto-oncogene proteins were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining using both LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met antibodies.
Results The expression patterns of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met showed significant individual differences, and the expression of both proteins was correlated in all colorectal cancer patients. However, the expression levels of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met were not significantly different between primary and recurrent colorectal cancers.
Conclusions The protein expression levels of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met were correlated, but did not change significantly in cases of recurrent colorectal cancer in the same patient.
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Functional Analysis of Membrane-Associated Scaffolding Tight Junction (TJ) Proteins in Tumorigenic Characteristics of B16-F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells Eun-Ji Ko, Do-Ye Kim, Min-Hye Kim, Hyojin An, Jeongtae Kim, Jee-Yeong Jeong, Kyoung Seob Song, Hee-Jae Cha International Journal of Molecular Sciences.2024; 25(2): 833. CrossRef