Male sex, low anastomosis, preoperative chemoradiation, advanced tumor stage, perioperative bleeding, and multiple firings of the linear stapler increased the risk of AL after laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer. A diverting stoma might be mandatory in patients with 2 or more of the risk factors identified in this analysis.

Tumor-specific mesorectal excision was performed safely and effectively using the da Vinci Surgical System and the perioperative outcomes were acceptable.

No significant differences were found in the 5-year overall, disease-free survival and local recurrence rates between robotic and laparoscopic surgical procedures. We concluded that robotic surgery for rectal cancer failed to offer any oncologic or clinical benefits as compared with laparoscopy despite an increased cost.

R-TME for rectal cancer is associated with earlier recovery of normal voiding and sexual function compared to patients who underwent L-TME, although this result needs to be verified by larger prospective comparative studies.

No abstract

Notes on 113 fungal taxa are compiled in this paper, including 11 new genera, 89 new species, one new subspecies, three new combinations and xx reference specimens. A wide geographic and taxonomic range of fungal taxa are detailed. In the Ascomycota the new genera Angustospora (Testudinaceae), Camporesia (Xylariaceae), Clematidis, Crassiparies (Pleosporales genera incertae sedis), Farasanispora, Longiostiolum (Pleosporales genera incertae sedis), Multilocularia (Parabambusicolaceae), Neophaeocryptopus (Dothideaceae), Parameliola (Pleosporales genera incertae sedis), and Towyspora (Lentitheciaceae) are introduced. Newly introduced species are Angustospora nilensis, Aniptodera

Liver metastasis is one of the major causes of death in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. To understand this process, we investigated whether the gene expression profiling of matched colorectal carcinomas and liver metastases could reveal key molecular events involved in tumor progression and metastasis. We performed experiments using a cDNA microarray containing 17,104 genes with the following tissue samples: paired tissues of 25 normal colorectal mucosa, 27 primary colorectal tumors, 13 normal liver and 27 liver metastasis, and 20 primary colorectal tumors without liver metastasis. To remove the effect of normal cell contamination, we selected 4,583 organ-specific genes with a false discovery rate (FDR) of 0.0067% by comparing normal colon and liver tissues using significant analysis of microarray, and these genes were excluded from further analysis. We then identified and validated 46 liver metastasis-specific genes with an accuracy of 83.3% by comparing the expression of paired primary colorectal tumors and liver metastases using prediction analysis of microarray. The 46 selected genes contained several known oncogenes and 2 ESTs. To confirm that the results correlated with the microarray expression patterns, we performed RT-PCR with WNT5A and carbonic anhydrase II. Additionally, we observed that 21 of the 46 genes were differentially expressed (FDR 5 2.27%) in primary tumors with synchronous liver metastasis compared with primary tumors without liver metastasis. We scanned the human genome using a cDNA microarray and identified 46 genes that may play an important role in the progression of liver metastasis in CRC. ' 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: colorectal cancer; liver metastasis; gene expression profiling; cDNA microarray Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths, and it causes death primarily through liver metastasis.1 Recent progress in diagnosis and treatment has enabled clinicians to save the lives of many patients at early stages of the disease, but the prognosis for patients with advanced disease or systemic metastasis is still very poor. About 30% of recurrent CRC patients have liver metastasis, and more than 70% of them are not candidates for the curative resection.2 Therefore, predicting the metastatic potential of a primary tumor could help in improving patient survival by identifying those who should receive intensive postoperative follow-up and adjuvant chemotherapy.Most cancers, including CRC, might have a single clonal origin at the initial stage of the disease, but a malignant tumor contains multiple cell populations with different properties, such as growth rate, karyotype, immunogenicity, sensitivity to various drugs and the ability to invade and develop metastases.3 This heterogeneity is the major obstacle to effective treatment of CRC because of the variation in clinical patterns and treatment efficacies. Cells that have acquired the ability to regulate their adhesion or motility are of special concern because of their high potential to initiat...

Total mesorectal excision with pelvic autonomic nerve preservation showed relative safety in preserving sexual and voiding function. The International Prostate Symptom Score and International Index of Erectile Function questionnaires were useful in assessing urinary and sexual function.