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Background: Portal vein embolization (PVE) and PVE with autologous mesenchymal stem cell application (PVE-MSC) increases future liver remnant volume (FLRV). The aim of this study was to compare both methods from the aspect of FLRV growth, progression of colorectal liver metastases (CLM), CLM resectability and long-term results., Patients and Methods: Fifty-five patients with CLM and insufficient FLRV were included in the study. FLVR growth and CLM volume were evaluated using computed tomography. Liver resection was performed in patients with FLVR >30% of total liver volume., Results: In the PVE (N=27) group, FLRV growth was observed in 23 patients (85.2%) and in 100% of patients in the PVE-MSC (N=28) group (p<0.05). The rapidity of FLRV and CLM growth did not differ between groups. R0 resection was performed in 14 (51.8%) and 24 (85.7%) patients from the PVE and PVE-MSC (p<0.02) groups, respectively. The 3-year overall and progression-free survival rates were 85.75% and 9.3% in the PVE group and 68.7% and 17.1% in the PVE-MSC group, respectively (p<0.67 and p<0.84, respectively)., Conclusion: PVE-MSC allows for more effective growth of FLRV and resectability of CLM compared to PVE. The two methods do not differ in their long-term results., (Copyright© 2018, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: Minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) can influence the results of therapy. With the aim of evaluating the potential role of pre-transplant MRD, we studied the impact of pre-transplant MRD level on the outcome of alloHSCT in patients with AML in complete remission (CR)., Patients and Methods: From 2/2005 to 9/2014, 60 patients with a median age of 54 years (range=30-66 years) with normal karyotype-AML harboring nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutation [53% Fms-related tyrosine kinase receptor 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3/ITD)-positive] in first (n=45) or second (n=15) CR underwent myeloablative (n=16) or reduced-intensity (n=44) alloHSCT (27% related, 73% unrelated). The MRD level was determined from bone marrow samples using real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of NPM1 mutations before starting the conditioning regimen., Results: The estimated probabilities of 3-year relapse, event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) for the whole cohort were 28%, 54%, and 59%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that only age over 63 years and high MRD level affected alloHSCT outcome. Pre-transplant MRD level of 10 mutant copies of NPM1 per 10,000 Abelson murine leukemia viral oncogene homolog 1 (ABL) copies had the strongest statistical significance, and detection of higher MRD level (>10 NPM1-mutant copies) before alloHSCT was associated with increased overall mortality (hazard ratio=3.71; 95% confidence interval=1.55-9.06; p=0.004). The estimated probabilities of 3-year relapse, EFS, and OS were 6%, 72%, and 75% for patients with a low level of MRD and 48%, 35%, and 40% for patients with a higher level., Conclusion: Our data showed that the pre-transplant level of MRD in patients with normal karyotype AML harboring NPM1 mutation in CR provides important prognostic information, which as an independent prognostic factor predicts transplant results., (Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)

Background: Liver metastases occur in 60-80% of patients with colorectal carcinoma. The only potentially curative method is surgical resection, with an operability of 20-25%. The main reason for such low resectability is insufficient future liver remnant volume (FLRV). Portal vein embolization (PVE) alone is associated with failure in up to 40% of patients. A new method that could lead to acceleration of FRLV growth appears to be combination of PVE and application of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The aim of our study was to evaluate the importance of growth factors and interleukins for FLRV growth after PVE and HSC application and also their possible effect on growth of colorectal liver metastases., Patients and Methods: From June 2010 to July 2014, PVE was combined with application of adult HSCs in 16 primarily inoperable patients with colorectal liver metastases. We determined the serum levels of growth factors [hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binging protein 3 (IGF-BP3), epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor (TGFα), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)] and interleukins (IL2, -6, -8 and -10) at given time intervals by immunoanalytic methods. The growth of FLRV was evaluated by multidetector computed tomography at intervals of 1 week until sufficient growth of FLRV., Results: We were able to perform radical surgery in 13 primarily inoperable patients (81.4%). The average FLRV growth was 23.1% (range=21.9-38.6%); from an initial FLRV of 30.5% (range=20.6-39%) to 40.1% (range=29-48%) before resection. The combination of levels of EGF, HGF, VEGF, IGF, TGFα and IL2,-6,-8 appears to be crucial for predicting operability. IL8 was statistically significant for the growth of colorectal liver metastases, and TGFα, IL2, and IL8 are important for a longer disease-free interval., (Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)

Background: Insufficient future liver remnant volume (FLRV) is the main cause of low resectability of liver metastases from colorectal cancer (CLMs). One option for enhancing FLVR growth is the use of portal vein embolisation (PVE) with the application of autologous haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)., Patients and Methods: PVE with the application of HSCs was used in 11 patients (group 1) with primarily non-resectable CLMs due to insufficient FLRV without signs of extrahepatic metastases. The control group (group 2) consisted of 14 patients in whom only PVE was performed. We evaluated the product quality, FLRV growth, CLM volume, median survival and progression-free survival (PFS)., Results: Product quality was achieved in all collections. In all group-I patients, sufficient FLRV growth occurred within three weeks. In the first and second weeks, FLRV increased optimally in most patients (p<0.006). In 13 out of the 14 group-2 patients, optimum FLVR growth was observed within three weeks following PVE (p<0.002). More rapid FLVR growth was observed in group 1 patients (p<0.01). CLM volume was significantly increased in both the group-2 (p<0.0005) and group-1 (p<0.008) patients at the time of liver resection. There was no significant difference in the growth of the CLM volume between the groups (p<0.18). The median survival was 7.3 and 6.8 months for group 1 and 2 patients, respectively, and the two-year PFS was 28% and 22% (p<0.18), respectively., Conclusion: PVE with HSC application is a promising method for effectively stimulating FLRV growth in patients with primarily non-resectable CLMs., (Copyright© 2014 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)