Relationship of prognostic factors in stomach cancer with helicobacter pylori: a retrospective study

Background and study aims: The prognostic value of H. pylori, which infects more than half of the human population living in the world and plays a role in gastric cancer pathogenesis, is controversial. Our aim is to investigate the relationship between H. pylori and prognostic factors in gastric cancer. Patients and methods: The data of 110 patients (38 females and 72 males) that underwent surgeries due to gastric cancer between 2014 and 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The relationships between survival (disease-free and overall) and factors such as p53, HER2/neu, Ki-67, neutrophil and platelet lymphocyte ratio (NLR / PLR), histopathological and demographic characteristics were examined. In addition, the results of H. pylori positive and negative groups were compared. Results: Sixty-one (55%) patients were H. pylori negative and 49 (45%) were positive. In multivariate analysis, TNM stage, lymph node capsule invasion and NLR were determined as independent prognostic factors in both disease-free and overall survival. Age>62 and PLR>14.3 were determined as independent predictive factors of poor prognosis in overall survival. In univariate analysis, tumor diameter of >4.3 cm, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, and diffuse p53 expression were determined as predictive factors of poor prognosis in disease-free and overall survival. The effectiveness of these markers in prognosis was not different between H. pylori negative and positive groups. Conclusion: While age, tumor diameter, TNM stage, lymph node capsule invasion, perineural and lymphovascular invasion, diffuse p53, PLR, and NLR were determined as prognostic factors in gastric cancer, these factors were not affected by the presence of H. pylori.

MICROSURGICAL METHODS OF EX VIVO EXAMINATION OF THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

The purpose of the study was ex vivo examination of lymph node perfusion in patients with metastatic breast cancer.Material and Methods. Lymph nodes affected with metastatic breast cancer were examined. These nodes were subsequently subjected to microsurgical dissection with the isolation of the capsule, lymphatic vessels, parenchyma and stroma. All manipulations were performed after preliminary lymph node dissection using an axillary node sample, and the dissection of an isolated lymph node from this region was then performed. A total of 100 breast cancer patients underwent lymph node dissection and microsurgical lymph node dissection. The control group comprised samples taken from women who died in accidents and had no a history of cancer. Lymph nodes and vessels were isolated from the adipose tissue of the axillary region by the sonolipodestruction technique using LySonix 3000® ultrasonic device with PulseSelect™. A detailed examination of lymph nodes was carried out using OPTON microscope – OPMI 6 CFC and a set of microsurgical instruments. Color lymphography of isolated afferent lymphatic vessels with 0.5 % methylene blue solution was performed. Along with color lymphography, digital morphometry of the components of the lymphatic system (Image-Pro Plus 6.0) and microsurgical dissection of the lymph node capsule and lymphangion valves were performed.Results. Data on non-metastatic and metastatic lymph nodes were obtained and digitally recorded. When studying the metastatic blockade of the lymphoid lobule and afferent lymphatic vessels by the method of antegrade color lymphography, we revealed the compensatory development of lymphatic bypass – intracapsular neo-lymphatic microangiogenesis that was confirmed by histological studies.Conclusion. Color lymphography reliably determines the areas and the extent of functional perfusion. Post-radiation changes in tissues markedly change the logistics of lymph flow and regional metastasis. The lymph node capsule with metastases undergoes a pathological transformation characterized by the development of a network of lymphatic capillaries, the severity of which depends on the extent of metastatic block. Lymph node metastasis changes the lymphatic hydrodynamics by changing the number of lymphatic vessels and their diameter.

Endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization-mediated relaxation pathway in bovine mesenteric lymph nodes

In vitro, endothelium-dependent relaxation mechanisms of smooth muscle cells of the bovine mesenteric lymph node capsule have been studied. The addition of L-NAME and indomethacin to physiological saline inhibited the production of endothelium NO and prostacyclin. In this solution, tetraethylammonium chloride and TRAM-34 increased the tone of the precontracted lymph nodes. Thus, in bovine mesenteric lymph nodes there is an relaxation mechanism mediated by endothelial hyperpolarization, realized by activating Ca2+-dependent K+-channels of large- and intermediate conductance.