Explore the vast range of titles available.

Traditionally viewed as poorly plastic, neutrophils are now recognized as functionally diverse; however, the extent and determinants of neutrophil heterogeneity in humans remain unclear. We performed a comprehensive immunophenotypic and transcriptome analysis, at a bulk and single-cell level, of neutrophils from healthy donors and patients undergoing stress myelopoiesis upon exposure to growth factors, transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC-T), development of pancreatic cancer and viral infection. We uncover an extreme diversity of human neutrophils in vivo, reflecting the rates of cell mobilization, differentiation and exposure to environmental signals. Integrated control of developmental and inducible transcriptional programs linked flexible granulopoietic outputs with elicitation of stimulus-specific functional responses. In this context, we detected an acute interferon (IFN) response in the blood of patients receiving HSC-T that was mirrored by marked upregulation of IFN-stimulated genes in neutrophils but not in monocytes. Systematic characterization of human neutrophil plasticity may uncover clinically relevant biomarkers and support the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools.Recent studies suggest that neutrophils can exhibit substantial function diversity. Here, Ostuni and colleagues perform immunophenotyping and transcriptome analysis to characterize the heterogeneity of human neutrophils, both under steady state and upon stress-induced conditions.

BackgroundDecision-making in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas depends on scaling the risk of malignancy with the surgical burden of a pancreatectomy. This study aimed to develop a preoperative, disease-specific tool to predict surgical morbidity for IPMNs.MethodsBased on preoperative variables of resected IPMNs at two high-volume institutions, classification tree analysis was applied to derive a predictive model identifying the risk factors for major morbidity (Clavien–Dindo ≥3) and postoperative pancreatic insufficiency.ResultsAmong 524 patients, 289 (55.2%) underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), 144 (27.5%) underwent distal pancreatectomy (DP), and 91 (17.4%) underwent total pancreatectomy (TP) for main-duct (18.7%), branch-duct (12.6%), or mixed-type (68.7%) IPMN. For 98 (18.7%) of the patients, major morbidity developed. The classification tree distinguished different probabilities of major complications based on the type of surgery (area under the surve [AUC] 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63–0.77). Among the DP patients, the presence of preoperative diabetes identified two risk classes with respective probabilities of 5% and 25% for the development of major morbidity, whereas among the PD/TP patients, three different classes with respective probabilities of 15%, 20%, and 36% were identified according to age and body mass index (BMI). Overall, history of diabetes, age, and cyst size segregated three different risk classes for new-onset/worsening diabetes.ConclusionsIn presumed IPMNs, the disease-specific risk of major morbidity and pancreatic insufficiency can be determined in the preoperative setting and used to personalize the possible surgical indication. Age and overweight status in case of PD/TP and diabetes in case of DP tip the scale toward less aggressive clinical management in the absence of features suggestive for malignancy.

BackgroundData on long-term actual survival in patients with surgically resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the actual 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) and post-recurrence survival (PRS) in patients who underwent pancreatectomy for PDAC.MethodsData from patients who underwent upfront surgical resection for PDAC between 2009 and 2014 were analyzed. Exclusion criteria included PDAC arising in the background of an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. All alive patients had a minimum follow-up of 60 months. Independent predictors of PRS, DSS, and survival > 5 years were searched.ResultsOf the 176 patients included in this study, 48 (27%) were alive at 5 years, but only 20 (11%) had no recurrence. Median PRS was 12 months. In the 154 patients after disease recurrence, independent predictors of shorter PRS were total pancreatectomy, G3 tumors, early recurrence (< 12 months from surgery), and no treatment at recurrence. Median DSS was 36 months. Independent predictors of DSS were CA19-9 at diagnosis > 200 U/mL, total pancreatectomy, N + status, G3 tumors and perineural invasion. Only the absence of perineural invasion was a favorable independent predictor of survival > 5 years.ConclusionMore than one-quarter of patients who underwent upfront surgery for PDAC were alive after 5 years, although only 11% of the initial cohort were cancer-free. Long-term survival can also be achieved in tumors with more favorable biology in an upfront setting followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

BackgroundThe prognostic role of resection margins in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is debated. This study aimed to investigate the impact that global and individual resection margin status after pancreatic head resection for PDAC has on disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).MethodsSurgical specimens of pancreaticoduodenectomy/total pancreatectomy performed for PDAC were examined with a standardized protocol. Surgical margin status (biliary, pancreatic neck, duodenal, anterior and posterior pancreatic, superior mesenteric vein groove and superior mesenteric artery margins) was classified as the presence of malignant cells (1) directly at the inked surface (R1 direct), (2) within less than 1 mm (R1 ≤ 1 mm), or (3) with a distance greater than 1 mm (R0). Patients with a positive neck margin at the final histology were excluded from the study.ResultsOf the 362 patients included in the study, 179 patients (49.4 %) had an R0 resection, 123 patients (34 %) had an R1 ≤ 1 mm resection, and 60 patients (16.6 %) had an R1 direct resection. The independent predictors of DFS were R1 direct resection (hazard ratio [HR], 1.49), R1 ≤ 1 mm resection (HR, 1.38), involvement of one margin (HR, 1.36), and involvement of two margins or more (HR, 1.55). When surgical margins were analyzed separately, only R1 ≤ 1 mm superior mesenteric vein margin (HR, 1.58) and R1 direct posterior margin (HR, 1.69) were independently associated with DFS.ConclusionsPositive R status is an independent predictor of DFS (R1 direct and R1 ≤ 1 mm definitions) and of DSS (R1 direct). The presence of multiple positive margins is a risk factor for cancer recurrence and poor survival. Different surgical margins could have different prognostic roles.

Background Benign insulinoma is the most common functioning neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas, and its incidence is estimated at 0.4%. The treatment of choice is organ-preserving resection. The aim of this study was to compare short-term and long-term outcomes of minimally invasive laparoscopic or robotic enucleation (MIC-EN) and open enucleation (O-EN) for sporadic benign insulinoma. Methods A retrospective bi-institutional analysis of 71 patients who underwent an enucleation for sporadic benign insulinoma between 2003 and 2016 was performed. Patients were analyzed according to intention-to-treat principle. Results Fifteen (21%) patients underwent MIC-EN (three robotic and 12 laparoscopic) and 56 (79%) patients O-EN. In all MIC-EN patients, the insulinoma was localized by preoperative imaging compared to only 62.5% (35 of 56) patients in the O-EN group ( p  = 0.005). Three of the MIC-EN patients (20%) with insulinomas in the pancreatic head had to undergo a conversion. Excluding conversions, MIC-EN procedures were shorter (145 vs 180, p  = 0.036) compared to O-EN surgery. Late complications and pathological data did not differ between groups, excluding margin status R1 MIC-EN (26.7%) compared to O-EN (10.7%, p  = 0.115). After a median follow-up of 75 (range 1–151) months, all patients were alive, but four (5.6%) patients (one after MIC-EN and three after O-EN) developed a functional recurrence. No patient with a R1 resection had a disease recurrence. Conclusions MIC-EN for benign sporadic insulinoma is a safe procedure with at least similar short-term and long-term postoperative outcomes as the open technique. Thus, preoperatively localized benign insulinoma should be approached laparoscopically, if technically feasible.

T-cell avidity is a major determinant of Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) efficacy for cancer treatment. However, high-avidity tumor-specific T cells can rarely be isolated from cancer patients, highlighting the need for strategies to enhance the cytotoxic capacity of low-avidity cells. Here, we rescue the anti-tumor functions of low-avidity T cells against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) by knocking-out TIGIT, a key inhibitory molecule expressed on exhausted CD8 + T cells infiltrating gastrointestinal tumors. We uncover that TIGIT disruption by base editing boosts the intracellular signal transduction derived from a weak T cell receptor (TCR) engagement enforcing cytoskeletal rearrangements, thus increasing T cell avidity and stabilizing the immunological synapse. Accordingly, TIGIT disruption enables low-avidity T cells to exert robust degranulation, comparable to that of high-avidity T cells, and potent and durable anti-tumor capacity in vivo in male mice. These results highlight TIGIT knockout as a potential strategy to enhance low-avidity T cell function and broaden the repertoire of TCR engineered T cells in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and other solid malignancies. Anti-tumor functions of low-avidity T cells are often suboptimal. Here the authors show that genetic disruption of TIGIT in TCR-engineered T cells enhances their anti-tumor activity against pancreatic and other gastrointestinal cancers by increasing TCR signal strength.

BackgroundPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the USA. A wealth of evidence has demonstrated the chemopreventive activity of aspirin, statins, and metformin against PDAC. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of aspirin, statins, and metformin on disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in a large population of PDAC patients undergoing pancreatic resection.Patients and MethodsAll patients who underwent pancreatic resections between January 2015 and September 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The potentially “chemopreventive agents” considered for the analysis were aspirin, statins, and metformin. Drug use was defined in case of regular assumption at least 6 months before diagnosis and regularly after surgery along the follow-up period.ResultsA total of 430 patients were enrolled in this study, with median DFS and DSS of 21 months (IQR 13–30) months and 34 (IQR 26–52) months, respectively. On multivariable analysis, use of aspirin was associated with better DFS (HR: 0.62; p = 0.038). Metformin was associated with better DFS, without reaching statistical significance (p = 0.083). Use of statins did not influence DFS in the studied population. Aspirin, metformin, and statins were not associated with better DSS on multivariable analysis. Factors influencing DSS were pT3/pT4, N1, N2, no adjuvant treatment, G3, and ASA score > 3.ConclusionsThe results suggest that chronic use of aspirin is associated with increased DFS but not with better DSS after surgical resection in patients with PDAC.

Objectives Malignant double obstruction, defined as the simultaneous presence of biliary and gastric outlet obstruction, represents a challenging clinical scenario. Previous retrospective experiences have demonstrated shorter dysfunction‐free survival (DyFS) of endoscopic ultrasound‐guided choledochoduodenostomy (EUS‐CDS) versus EUS‐hepaticogastrostomy (EUS‐HGS) in this setting, but no prospective evidence is available. Methods Twenty consecutive patients with malignant double obstruction, treated with EUS‐gastroenterostomy (and EUS‐guided biliary drainage, following a previously failed ERCP, were enrolled in a prospective observational study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04813055) comparing EUS‐CDS versus EUS‐HGS. Efficacy and safety were evaluated, with Biliary Dysfunctions as the primary outcome and DyFS using Kaplan‐Meier estimates as a primary measure. Results Twenty patients (75% with pancreatic cancer, 50% with metastatic disease) with EUS‐gastroenterostomy were included (seven EUS‐CDS and 13 EUS‐HGS). No significant difference was detected at baseline. Technical success was 100% in both groups. EUS‐CDS compared to EUS‐HGS showed similar clinical success (100% vs. 92.3%, p = 0.5), a higher rate of post‐procedural adverse events (42.9% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.067, mostly related to severe/fatal cholangitis in the EUS‐CDS group) and a higher rate of biliary dysfunctions during follow‐up (71.4% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.002). DyFS was significantly shorter in the EUS‐CDS group (39 [15–62] vs. 268 [192–344] days, p = 0.0023), with a 30‐days DyFS probability of 57.1% vs. 100% (hazard ratio = 7.8 [1.4–44.2]). Conclusions In this prospective comparison of patients with malignant double obstruction undergoing EUS‐gastroenterostomy, treating jaundice with EUS‐CDS versus EUS‐HGS resulted in a reduced probability of survival without biliary events and an increased risk of biliary dysfunctions (number needed to harm = 1.8), with detection of severe/fatal cholangitis.