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Aim: To evaluate a novel grading system to predict lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma (SICRC)., Methods: We analyzed the associations between LNM and various clinicopathological features in 252 patients with SICRC who had undergone radical surgery at the Seoul Saint Mary's hospital between 2000 and 2015., Results: LNM was observed in 31 patients (12.3%). The depth and width of the submucosal invasion, lymphatic invasion, tumor budding, and the presence of poorly differentiated clusters (PDCs) were significantly associated with the incidence of LNM. Using multivariate analysis, the receiver operating characteristic curvewas calculated and the area under curve (AUC) was used to compare the ability of the different parameters to identify the risk of LNM. The most powerful clinicopathological parameter for predicting LNM was lymphatic invasion (difference AUC = 0.204), followed by the presence or absence of tumor budding (difference AUC = 0.190), presence of PDCs (difference AUC = 0.172) and tumor budding graded by the Ueno method (difference AUC = 0.128)., Conclusion: Our results indicate that the tumor budding and the depth multiplied by the width measurements of submucosal invasion can provide important information for patients with SICRC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

Aim: To compare disease-free survival (DFS) between extramural vascular invasion (EMVI)-positive and -negative colon cancer patients evaluated by computed tomography (CT)., Methods: Colon cancer patients (n = 194) undergoing curative surgery between January 2009 and December 2013 were included. Each patient's demographics, cancer characteristics, EMVI status, pathological status and survival outcomes were recorded. All included patients had been routinely monitored until December 2015. EMVI was defined as tumor tissue within adjacent vessels beyond the colon wall as seen on enhanced CT. Disease recurrence was defined as metachronous metastases, local recurrence, or death due to colon cancer. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to compare DFS between the EMVI-positive and -negative groups. Cox's proportional hazards models were used to measure the impact of confounding variables on survival rates., Results: EMVI was observed on CT (ctEMVI) in 60 patients (30.9%, 60/194). One year after surgery, there was no statistically significant difference regarding the rates of progressive events between EMVI-positive and -negative patients [11.7% (7/60) and 6.7% (9/134), respectively; P = 0.266]. At the study endpoint, the EMVI-positive patients had significantly more progressive events than the EMVI-negative patients [43.3% (26/60) and 14.9% (20/134), respectively; odds ratio = 4.4, P < 0.001]. Based on the Kaplan-Meier method, the cumulative 1-year DFS rates were 86.7% (95%CI: 82.3-91.1) and 92.4% (95%CI: 90.1-94.7) for EMVI-positive and EMVI-negative patients, respectively. The cumulative 3-year DFS rates were 49.5% (95%CI: 42.1-56.9) and 85.8% (95%CI: 82.6-89.0), respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that ctEMVI was an independent predictor of DFS with a hazard ratio of 2.15 (95%CI: 1.12-4.14, P = 0.023)., Conclusion: ctEMVI may be helpful when evaluating disease progression in colon cancer patients.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding refers to bleeding that arises from the gastrointestinal tract proximal to the ligament of Treitz. The primary reason for gastrointestinal bleeding associated with hepatocellular carcinoma is rupture of a varicose vein owing to pericardial hypotension. We report a rare case of gastrointestinal bleeding with hepatocellular carcinoma in a patient who presented with recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. The initial diagnosis was gastric cancer with metastasis to the multiple lymph nodes of the lesser curvature. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy, which identified two lesions in the gastric wall. Total gastrectomy and hepatic local excision was then performed. Pathological results indicated that the hepatocellular carcinoma had invaded the stomach directly, which was confirmed immunohistochemically. The patient is alive with a disease-free survival of 1 year since the surgery. Hepatocellular carcinoma with gastric invasion should be considered as a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, especially with lesions located in the left lateral hepatic lobe. Surgery is the best solution.