Search

The article details a study which compared the postoperative and long-term results of different pancreatic resections for benign disease. The authors examined the early postoperative outcome and long-term functional results in a consecutive series of patients who underwent pancreatic resections such as pancreaticoduodenectomy, left pancreatectomy and atypical resection (enucleation and middle pancreatectomy) for benign neoplasms at a referral centre.

Coatis (genus Nasua) occupy a large range of forested habitats. The aim of this study was to describe the use of habitat by Nasua nasua in a continuous pluvial tropical Atlantic forest area, the Carlos Botelho State Park (CBSP) in south-eastern Brazil. Use of space by N. nasua in the CBSP was characterized by an average home range area for one group of 445 ha by the minimum convex polygon method and 544 ha by the fixed kernel method, which was used across 2 months; the use of trees for foraging and travelling was superior to that reported for N. nasua and Nasua narica until now, being higher in the drier season. The home range of three coati groups shifted during the 3 years of this study; the home range of one habituated group changed by 91%. The proportion of ground foraging increased with the higher availability of soil invertebrates during the rainy season, but cannot be explained solely on the basis of resource availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: To describe perfusion CT features of locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and to evaluate correlation with tumor grading. Methods: Thirty-two patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma were included in this study. Lesions were evaluated by P-CT and biopsy after patient''s informed consent. P-CT parameters have been assessed on a large single and on 6 small intratumoral ROIs. Values obtained have been compared and related to the tumor grading using Mann–Whitney U test. Sensibility, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy in predicting tumor grading have been calculated for cut-off values chosen by using ROC curves. Results: Out of 32 lesions, 12 were classified as low grade and 20 as high grade. A statistically significant difference between high and low grade neoplasms were demonstrated for PEI and BV parameters. PEI and BV cut-off values were respectively 17.8HU and 14.8ml/100g. PEI identified high grade neoplasms with a 65% sensitivity, 92% specificity, 93% PPV, 61% NPV and 75% accuracy. BV identified high grade neoplasms with a 80% sensitivity, 75% specificity, 84% PPV, 69% NPV, 78% accuracy. Considering both PEI and BV, P-CT identified high grade lesions with a 60% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% PPV, 60% NPV and 75% accuracy. Conclusions: PEI and BV perfusion CT parameters proved their efficiency in identifying high grade pancreatic adenocarcinoma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of our study was to determine whether the enhancement pattern of pancreatic adenocarcinoma at contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is related to patient prognosis after resection. CEUS of 42 resected adenocarcinomas were retrospectively reviewed. Tumors were divided into two groups: group A=poorly vascularized (presence of avascular areas) or group B=well vascularized (absence of avascular areas). All lesions were resected and underwent pathological examination assessing tumor differentiation as: undifferentiated (poorly differentiated) or differentiated (moderately and well differentiated). Mean vascular density (MVD) was also evaluated. CEUS enhancement and pathology were correlated (Spearman''s test). Survival was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed with the Cox regression model. There were 30 differentiated and 12 undifferentiated adenocarcinomas at pathology. At CEUS, 10 lesions were poorly vascularized, whereas 32 lesions were well vascularized. Positive correlation was observed between CEUS groups and tumoral differentiation (rs=0.51; p =0.001) and between CEUS and MVD (rs=0.74; p <0.0001). Median survival in patients with group A vascularization at CEUS was significantly lower than in group B (p =0.015). Cox proportional hazard model revealed the presence of poorly vascularized tumor at CEUS (p=0.0001) as a predictor of higher mortality. In conclusion, CEUS enables accurate depiction of the vascularization of adenocarcinoma, with positive correlation to histology grade and MVD. (E-mail: mirko.donofrio@univr.it) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]