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Pancreatic cancer comprises different subtypes, where most cases include ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). It is one of the deadliest tumor types, with a poor prognosis. In the majority of patients, the disease has already spread by the time of diagnosis, making full recovery unlikely and increasing mortality risk. Despite developments in its detection and management, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapies as well as advances in immunotherapy, only in about 13% of PDAC patients does the overall survival exceed 5 years. This may be attributed, at least in part, to the highly desmoplastic tumor microenvironment (TME) that acts as a barrier limiting perfusion, drug delivery, and immune cell infiltration and contributes to the establishment of immunologically 'cold' conditions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to unravel the complexity of the TME that promotes PDAC progression and decipher the mechanisms of pancreatic tumors' resistance to immunotherapy. In this review, we provide an overview of the major cellular and non-cellular components of PDAC TME, as well as their biological interplays. We also discuss the current state of PDAC therapeutic treatments and focus on ongoing and future immunotherapy efforts and multimodal treatments aiming at remodeling the TME to improve therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma are aggressive diseases mostly diagnosed at an advanced and inoperable stage. This review presents the value of next-generation sequencing (NGS) when performed on small biopsies—including fine-needle aspiration/biopsy samples, brushings, pancreatic juice and bile, and also blood—in the field of pancreatobiliary neoplasia. NGS could guide physicians while evaluating pancreatic solid and cystic lesions or suspicious biliary strictures, performing surveillance in high-risk individuals, or monitoring the disease and assessing prognosis in already diagnosed cancer patients. Evidence suggests that NGS performed on small biopsies is a robust tool for the diagnosis and pre-operative risk stratification of pancreatic and biliary lesions, whereas it also carries significant prognostic and therapeutic value. However, effective standardization of the pre-analytical and analytical assay parameters used for each clinical scenario is needed to fully implement NGS into routine practice and provide more personalized management in patients with suspected or established pancreatobiliary neoplasia. Pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma are lethal diseases mainly diagnosed at an inoperable stage. As pancreatobiliary surgical specimens are often unavailable for further molecular testing, this review aimed to highlight the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic impact of next-generation sequencing (NGS) performed on distinct small biopsies, including endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspirations and biopsies of pancreatic solid and cystic lesions, biliary duct brushings, and also "liquid biopsies" such as the pancreatic juice, bile, and blood. NGS could clarify indeterminate pancreatic lesions or biliary strictures, for instance by identifying TP53 or SMAD4 mutations indicating high-grade dysplasia or cancer. It could also stratify pancreatic cystic lesions, by distinguishing mucinous from non-mucinous cysts and identifying high-risk cysts that should be excised in surgically fit patients, whereas the combination of cytology, elevated cystic CEA levels and NGS could improve the overall diagnostic accuracy. When NGS is performed on the pancreatic juice, it could stratify high-risk patients under surveillance. On the plasma, it could dynamically monitor the disease course and response to therapy. Notably, the circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels have been associated with staging, grading, and survival. Lastly, NGS has shown potential in identifying potentially actionable molecular alterations. In conclusion, NGS applied on small biopsies could carry significant diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adiposity may be associated with thyroid nodularity. However, its impact on the number of nodules and the risk of malignancy is unclear., Aim: To evaluate the impact of adiposity on thyroid nodules using body mass index (BMI), ultrasonographic (US) data and cytological data., Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 310 patients with thyroid nodules was performed. Patients were categorized based on their BMI, and grayscale US data and fine-needle aspiration cytology results were evaluated., Results: Patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 were found to have a higher number of thyroid nodules compared to those with BMI < 25 kg/m2 (4.25 ± 2.42 vs 3.66 ± 1.93) (P value = 0.05). Patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 had more suspicious and malignant cytology than those with BMI < 25 kg/m2 (P value = 0.029). Patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 had more nodules with intermediate and high suspicion sonographic patterns. However, this did not reach statistical significance., Conclusion: Overweight and obese patients have a trend for more thyroid nodules and have a higher risk of being diagnosed with thyroid malignancy.

Background: The survival of microorganisms on textiles and specifically on healthcare professionals' (HCP) attire has been demonstrated in several studies. The ability of microorganisms to adhere and remain on textiles for up to hours or days raises questions as to their possible role in transmission from textile to skin via HCP to patients., Aim: To evaluate the presence, survival and transmission of different multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) from HCP attire onto skin., Methods: Three MDRB [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) ; carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae , CRKP)] were inoculated on textiles from scrubs (60% cotton-40% polyester) and white coat (100% cotton) at concentrations of 10 8 colony-forming units (CFU), 10 5 CFU, and 10 3 CFU per mL. The inoculation of swatches was divided in time intervals of 1 min, 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 5 h, and 6 h. At the end of each period, textiles were imprinted onto pig skins and each skin square was inverted onto three different selective chromogenic media. Growth from the pig skin squares was recorded for the 3 MDRB at the three above concentrations, for the whole length of the 6-h experiment., Results: MRSA was recovered from pig skins at all concentrations for the whole duration of the 6-h study. VRE was recovered from the concentration of 10 8 CFU/mL for 6 h and from 10 5 CFU/mL for up to 3 h, while showing no growth at 10 3 CFU/mL . CRKP was recovered from 10 8 CFU/mL for 6 h, up to 30 min from 10 5 CFU/mL and for 1 min from the concentration of 10 3 CFU/mL., Conclusion: Evidence from the current study shows that MRSA can persist on textiles and transmit to skin for 6 h even at low concentrations. The fact that all MDRB can be sustained and transferred to skin even at lower concentrations, supports that textiles are implicated as vectors of bacterial spread., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)