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Objetivo: la evolución postoperatoria de los pacientes sometidos a trasplante hepático ortotópico (THO) se encuentra frecuentemente asociada a la aparición de diversas complicaciones tales como disfunción renal, rechazo agudo, infecciones y complicaciones neurológicas. Estas complicaciones constituyen las causas más significativas de morbilidad y mortalidad tempranas en pacientes que reciben un THO. El propósito del presente estudio es la identificación de factores relacionados con las distintas complicaciones postoperatorias del THO. Diseño experimental: se llevó a cabo un estudio prospectivo. Pacientes: se analizaron 78 variables en 32 pacientes consecutivos sometidos a THO. Utilizando un análisis de regresión logística se identificaron aquellos factores asociados de forma independiente con la aparición de complicaciones postoperatorias. Resultados: el análisis multivariante demostró que los niveles pretrasplante en suero de malondialdehído y creatinina estaban asociados con el desarrollo de disfunción renal. Los niveles pretrasplante de hemoglobina y las unidades de plaquetas administradas durante la cirugía fueron factores pronósticos de infecciones. El rechazo agudo fue pronosticado por los niveles séricos de γ-glutamil transpeptidasa y de bilirrubina total. Los niveles pretrasplante de sodio y glutaredoxina en suero estuvieron asociados con complicaciones neurológicas. Conclusiones: proponemos estos marcadores para la identificación de pacientes de alto riesgo, permitiendo una vigilancia y/o tratamiento anticipados que mejorarán la morbilidad y la supervivencia en pacientes sometidos a THO.Objectives: the postoperative evolution of patients submitted to orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) is frequently associated with the appearance of different types of complications such as renal failure, graft rejection, infections, and neurological disorders. These complications are the most significant causes of early morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing OLT. The purpose of the present study was the identification of factors related to the different postoperative complications after OLT. Experimental design: a prospective study was carried out. Patients: seventy-eight variables were analyzed in 32 consecutive patients undergoing OLT. The factors independently associated with the appearance of postoperative complications were identified using a stepwise logistic regression analysis. Results: the multivariate analysis showed that malondialdehyde and creatinine pretransplant serum levels were associated with the development of renal dysfunction. The pretransplant levels of haemoglobin and the units of platelets administered during surgery were prognostic factors of infections. Acute graft rejection was predicted by γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and total bilirubin serum levels. The pretransplant sodium and glutaredoxin levels in serum were associated with neurological complications. Conclusions: we propose these markers for the identification of high-risk patients allowing an early surveillance and/or treatment to improve morbidity and survival in patients submitted to OLT.

Objetivo: analizar los posibles factores pronósticos de supervivencia en tumores estromales gastrointestinales c-kit positivo (GIST), tras citorreducción óptima R0. Pacientes y método: estudio de 35 pacientes intervenidos en nuestra Unidad desde enero 2002 a febrero 2007, con tumores del estroma gastrointestinal CD117/c-kit positivo en los que se alcanzó citorreducción quirúrgica sin residuo tumoral macroscópico. Una base de datos prospectiva nos proporcionó las distintas variables analizadas, de carácter demográfico, anatómico, clínico, histopatológico e inmunohistoquímico, entre otras. El análisis de la supervivencia actuarial se realizó según el método de Kaplan-Meier y el análisis multivariante mediante el método de regresión múltiple de Cox. Resultados: la supervivencia global a 5 años fue del 77%, con una supervivencia media de 52 meses. El riesgo de malignidad según la clasificación de Fletcher y el tamaño tumoral mayor de 10 cm, influyeron significativamente de forma negativa sobre la supervivencia de los pacientes, tras el análisis univariante realizado (p < 0,05). La actividad proliferativa Ki-67 mayor del 50% fue la única covariable con significación estadística en el análisis multivariante. El 20% de los tumores recurrieron. Sólo 3 pacientes metastáticos recibieron tratamiento adyuvante con mesilato de imatinib, todos ellos con Ki-67 > 50% y vivos en la actualidad. Conclusiones: el índice proliferativo Ki-67 podría representar un excelente marcador pronóstico de supervivencia en aquellos pacientes con tumores del estroma gastrointestinal c-kit positivo. Su confirmación y el punto de corte adecuado deberían ser objeto de futuros estudios prospectivos, así como su posible utilidad para seleccionar pacientes candidatos al tratamiento con mesilato de imatinib.Objective: to analyze the different factors predictive of survival associated with optimal R0-cytoreduction in c-kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Methods: thirty-five patients were operated on in our Oncological Surgery Department from January 2002 to February 2007 because of CD117/c-kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and an optimal surgical cytoreduction was obtained without macroscopical residual disease. Demographic, anatomical, clinical, pathological, and immunohistochemical variables were analyzed from a specific database. Survival and multivariate analyses were developed using Kaplan-Meier and multiple Cox regression models, respectively. Results: five-year overall survival was 77% with a mean survival of 52 months. Risk of malignant behaviour according to Fletcher's classification and tumor size higher than 10 cm had a significantly negative influence on overall survival in the univariate analysis (p < 0.05). Proliferative Ki-67 activity higher than 50% was the only statistically significant variable in the multivariate analysis. Twenty percent of tumors recurred. Only 3 patients with metastatic disease received adjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate, all of them with Ki-67 > 50% and currently alive. Conclusions: the poliferative Ki-67 index could represent an excellent predictive factor for survival in patients with c-kit-positive stromal gastrointestinal tumors. Confirmation and an adequate cut-off level should be the main objectives for future prospective studies, mostly focused on the appropriate selection of optimal candidates to imatinib-mesylate-based treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal cancers in the world, with limited options for treatment unless timely diagnosed. Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and persistent heavy alcohol consumption are independent risk factors for HCC development, which may induce a specific protein expression pattern different from those caused separately. The aim of the study was to identify protein biomarkers for the detection of HCC in HCV-infected alcoholic patients with cirrhosis in order to improve survival. We compared protein expression profiles of plasma samples from 52 HCV-infected alcoholic patients with and without HCC, using 2-D DIGE coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. The 2-D DIGE results were analyzed statistically using Decyder software, and verified by western-blot and ELISA. In plasma samples from HCV-infected alcoholic patients, we found significantly differential expression profiles of carboxypeptidase-N, ceruloplasmin (CP), complement component 4a (C4a), fibrinogen-alpha (FGA), immunoglobulin mu chain C region, serum albumin, and serum paraoxonase/arylesterase 1 (PON1). Deregulation of plasma/serum levels of the identified proteins was associated to HCV, ethanol consumption, and/or HCC progression. In the validation through ELISA, C4a serum concentration was increased in HCC patients (2.4±1 ng/mg vs 1.8±0.6 ng/mg; p = 0.029), being the only independent predictor of HCC in the multivariate analysis (OR = 2.15; p = 0.015), with an AUROC = 0.70. The combination of C4a, FGA, CP and PON1 improved slightly the predictive ability of C4a alone (AUROC 0.81). In conclusion, we identified proteins related to acute-phase response, oxidative stress, or immune response, whose differential expression in plasma may be attributed to the presence of HCC. Among them, C4a, and its combination with CP, FGA and PON1, could be considered as potentially reliable biomarkers for the detection of HCC in HCV-infected alcoholic patients.

Objective: the goal of this research has been to evaluate the survival, in long and short term, of the patient receiving liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the risk of post-transplant tumor relapse and factors related to this complication. Design: retrospective study of a consecutive series of patients having had liver transplant for HCC. Patients and methodology: transplant patients for HCC from 1989 to November 2003. Patients were selected due to general limitations of nodule size and quantity, which were subsequently published as Milan criteria. Also, criteria agreed in the Conference of Barcelona were followed in the pre-transplant diagnosis. Results: the survival of this 81 patients group was of the 80, 61 and 52% for 1, 5 and 10 years respectively. In the 32% of the cases the HCC was an incidental finding in the explant. In the 12.3%, the tumor relapse was verified. The multivariate research identified the size of the nodule (OR = 1,7944) (IC 95% = 1,1332-2,8413) and the vascular invasion (OR = 6,6346) (IC 95% = 1,4624-30,1003) as risk factors of relapse. Conclusions: the liver transplant in selected patients with HCC has good results in medium and long term. The risk of post-transplant tumor relapse becomes notably reduced and is associated with the size of the nodule and the microscopic vascular invasion.Objetivo: el objetivo de este estudio ha sido evaluar la supervivencia a corto y largo plazo del paciente trasplantado de hígado por hepatocarcinoma (CHC), el riesgo de recidiva tumoral postrasplante y los factores asociados a esta complicación. Diseño: estudio restrospectivo de una serie consecutiva de pacientes trasplantados de hígado por hepatocarcinoma. Pacientes y métodos: enfermos trasplantados por hepatocarcinoma desde el año 1989 hasta noviembre de 2003. Los pacientes fueron seleccionados con unos límites generales de tamaño y número de nódulos que fueron posteriormente publicados como criterios de Milán. En su diagnóstico pretrasplante se siguieron asimismo criterios consensuados en la Conferencia de Barcelona. Resultados: la supervivencia de este grupo de 81 pacientes trasplantados por hepatocarcinoma fue del 80, 61 y 52%, a los 1, 5 y 10 años respectivamente. En el 32% de los casos el CHC fue un hallazgo incidental en el explante. En el 12,3% se constató recidiva tumoral. El estudio multivariante identificó como factores de riesgo de recidiva el tamaño del nódulo (OR = 1,7944) (IC 95% = 1,1332-2,8413) y la invasión vascular (OR = 6,6346) (IC 95% = 1,4624-30,1003). Conclusiones: el trasplante de hígado en pacientes seleccionados con CHC obtiene buenos resultados a medio y largo plazo. El riesgo de recidiva tumoral postrasplante se ha reducido notablemente y está asociado con el tamaño del nódulo y con la invasión vascular microscópica.

We studied the determinants of hemodynamics and analyzed the incidence, risk factors, and clinical impact of pulmonary homograft dysfunction following Ross surgery, after a 20-year follow-up at our referral center. From 1997 to 2017, a total of 142 patients underwent surgery using the Ross procedure. The development of moderate-severe stenosis (peak transhomograft pressure gradient 36 mm Hg or greater) and surgical or percutaneous Ross homograft reinterventions were evaluated by echocardiography in the immediate postoperative period and at annual intervals. After 20 years of follow-up, 31% of patients had moderate-severe homograft stenosis, and 9.1% had had to undergo one or two reinterventions, of which, six were valve replacements and seven were percutaneous interventions. At 1, 5, and 20 years, 89.4%, 74.6%, and 69% of these patients, respectively, were free from moderate-severe stenosis; and 99.3%, 95.7%, and 90.9%, respectively, had freedom from homograft reintervention. The pediatric group had a higher risk factor for homograft stenosis (hazard ratio 3.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.56 to 7.20, P =.002), whereas donor age behaved as a protective factor (hazard ratio 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 0.99; P =.044). Pulmonary homograft stenosis tended to appear in the first year (10.6%) or at 5 years (25.4%). Pulmonary homografts implanted in the Ross procedure offer satisfactory long-term results, but the level of homograft dysfunction is not negligible. Young recipient and donor age were associated with a higher rate of homograft stenosis during follow-up. Moreover, homograft dysfunction usually occurred during the first few years of follow-up, and may have been related to immune responses. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]