1.Timing, procedures and efficacy of liver transplantation in children with biliary atresia
Xiapukaiti· ; Fulati ; Tuerhongjiang· ; Tuxun ; Hao Wen ; Gang Yao ;
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(1):1-4
Biliary atresia is a category of disease caused by biliary cirrhosis due to progressive fibro-inflammatory obstruction of extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts, and eventually progresses into liver failure. It is a common indication for liver transplantation in children. In this article, the pathogenesis, diagnosis of biliary atresia, timing, procedures and postoperative complications of liver transplantation were illustrated. Meantime, current status and development of pediatric liver transplantation were discussed.
2.Progress and prospect of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(1):5-10
The immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is mainly composed of tumor-associated macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and other cellular components, as well as extracellular components, such as cytokines, growth factors and extracellular matrix, etc. In China, most liver cancer patients are complicated with chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis. Immune microenvironment promotes the incidence and progression of HCC, immune escape and treatment resistance, and exerts immunosuppressive effect. In recent years, significant progress has been made in immunotherapy for systemic treatment of HCC, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, in the KEYNOTE-240 and CheckMate 459 trials, anti-PD-1 therapy with nivolumab or pembrolizumab as a single drug failed to reach the expected overall survival endpoint. At present, it is urgent to deepen the understanding of immune microenvironment of HCC and explore novel therapies to improve clinical efficacy of ICIs. Currently, the combination of ICIs with other therapies (such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies or local therapy) has been proven to improve the efficiency of single ICIs. In this article, research progress in immune microenvironment, immunotherapy and immune combined with targeted therapy for HCC was reviewed.
3.Rethink of hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma in the era of targeted immunotherapy
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(1):11-15
Surgery has been considered as the most effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In spite of almost 100-year development, the survival benefits brought by surgery for HCC patients have not been further improved. In recent years, widespread application of targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors have provided a novel development direction for comprehensive treatment and related research of HCC. With widespread clinical application, the advantages of targeted immune therapy in the treatment of HCC at all stages are constantly presented, which make surgeons rethink whether the original concept of surgery for HCC is still correct. In this article, the problems and potential solutions in hepatectomy for HCC in the era of targeted immunotherapy were in-depth discussed.
4.Surgical interventions for necrotizing pancreatitis-related complications
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):450-
Necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) is a complicated and challenging condition due to the incidence of NP-related complications over the course of disease. As a key role of MDT team, how to properly select the indications and timing of interventions, thereby avoiding insufficient or excessive interventions for patients, has become the key and challenging task in clinical treatment for surgeons. In addition, under the background of diversified intervention models for pancreatitis, how to choose individualized and professional treatment regimens according to the disease progression characteristics of patients, effectively control secondary injury and improve the overall cure rate are also the top priorities of existing treatment for NP. In this article, surgical interventions for NP-related complications were illustrated combined with clinical practice, aiming to improve clinical prognosis of these patients.
5.Progress in transformation therapy for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):456-
Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are heterogeneous neoplasms. NENs arising from the stomach, bowel and pancreas can be divided into high-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NET) and neuroendocrine carcinoma, among which high-differentiated NET can be subdivided into NET G1, G2 and NET G3 according to Ki-67 index, and classified into functional NET and non-functional NET according to the function of hormone secretion. NF-NET is the dominant type, manifested with elusive onset. Many patients have local progression and/or distant metastasis upon diagnosis. Transformation therapy is of significance for patients with advanced NET. In this article, common transformation therapies were summarized based on different biological behaviors of advanced tumors. According to the characteristics of different types of tumors, appropriate treatment approaches were determined. Drug combination therapy should be carried out to achieve precise and individualized treatment when necessary.
6.Clinical application of robot-assisted organ function-preserving pancreatectomy
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):461-
Surgical resection is the most effective treatment for benign and low-grade malignant pancreatic tumors. However, classical pancreatectomy constantly requires simultaneous resection of organs surrounding pancreatic tissues, which has the disadvantages of severe trauma, high-risk complications and poor long-term quality of life. In order to preserve organ function as much as possible, multiple organ-preserving pancreatectomy have been widely applied in clinical practice, which mainly include tumor enucleation, central pancreatectomy, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy and duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection, etc. In recent years, with the advancement of minimally invasive technologies, robotic organ-preserving pancreatectomy has also been carried out in clinical setting. In this article, clinical application status of robotic organ function-preserving pancreatectomy was mainly illustrated.
7.Timing and selection of surgical treatments for chronic pancreatitis
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):466-
Chronic pancreatitis is a refractory disease that severely affects the quality of life of patients. At present, the step-by-step approach of "medicine-endoscopy-surgery" is the main mode of treatment for this disease. However, with deepening understanding of the disease, especially in-depth study of its mechanism of pain, traditional treatment strategy has also undergone novel changes. The concept and practice of early surgery have shown unique advantages in the full-course treatment of chronic pancreatitis. In this article, focusing on the efficacy of early surgical intervention and the selection of surgical approaches, the significance and value of early surgery were deeply discussed, and the optimal treatment combining with suitable surgical approaches for patients with chronic pancreatitis under different circumstances was summarized.
8.Causes, diagnosis and treatment of postoperative pancreatic hemorrhage
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):472-
Hemorrhage is a threatening complication after pancreatic surgery, which severely affects the life of patients due to rapid onset and difficult diagnosis. According to different types of diseases, the sites and approaches of pancreatic surgery, and the causes of postoperative pancreatic hemorrhage (PPH) significantly differ. With the improvement of surgical methods and rapid development of interventional techniques, surgeons have more options to treat postoperative bleeding. Corresponding measures should be taken to manage perioperative bleeding for pancreatic surgery. The diagnosis should be made based on laboratory and imaging examinations. Preoperative reduction of jaundice, transfusion of frozen plasma, platelets and vitamin K can be performed to improve coagulation function. Precise intraoperative operation can avoid vascular injury. Appropriate suturing, bandage and sealer should be adopted to achieve precise hemostasis. Postoperatively, the drainage tube should be maintained patent to avoid abdominal infection caused by delayed detection of bleeding or poor drainage of pancreatic fistula. Abdominal ultrasound and CT scan should be performed timely to identify pancreatic fistula and deliver drainage treatment. Extensive attention should be diverted to the phenomenon of sentinel bleeding. Effective measures should be taken to reduce the occurrence of PPH. In this article, the definition, causes, diagnosis and treatment of PPH were reviewed, aiming to provide further reference for clinical practice.
9.Research progress in neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):481-
Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) is a category of highly heterogeneous tumors. Surgery is the only treatment option that offers the potential to cure pNENs. Neoadjuvant therapy enables patients with locally advanced pNENs or liver metastases to obtain the chance of reoperation. Neoadjuvant therapies for pNENs mainly include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, somatostatin analogues, and peptide receptor-radionuclide therapy, etc. CAPTEM regimen and platinum-based chemotherapy regimen are commonly used in chemotherapy. Somatostatin analogues and peptide receptor-radionuclide therapy are primarily given for individuals with high expression of somatostatin receptor. Targeted therapy is mainly delivered for locally advanced well-differentiated pNENs. These regimens can be adopted alone or combined to enhance clinical efficacy. At present, high-level evidence-based medicine evidence is lacking in the selection of treatment regimens, and systematic evaluation is also lacking in comparison of the clinical efficacy among different protocols.
10.Diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma
Chinese Journal of Hepatic Surgery(Electronic Edition) 2024;13(4):487-
Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC) is a malignant epithelial tumor arising from pancreatic epithelium, which is rare in clinical practice due to low incidence, and it has no specific clinical
manifestations. Previous studies have reported that PACC accounts for merely 1%-2% of exocrine pancreatic tumors and 0.44% of pancreatic malignant tumors. This disease is challenging to diagnose, has low resection rates, and easily metastasizes. However, the prognosis is better than that of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.Understanding and mastering clinical diagnosis and treatment of PACC can improve diagnostic rate and
clinical prognosis.