The molecular mechanisms underlying the serrated pathway of colorectal tumourigenesis, particularly those related to traditional serrated adenomas (TSAs), are still poorly understood. In this study, we analysed genetic alterations in 188 colorectal polyps, including hyperplastic polyps, sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/Ps), TSAs, tubular adenomas, and tubulovillous adenomas by using targeted next-generation sequencing and reverse transcription-PCR. Our analyses showed that most TSAs (71%) contained genetic alterations in WNT pathway components. In particular, PTPRK-RSPO3 fusions (31%) and RNF43 mutations (24%) were frequently and almost exclusively observed in TSAs. Consistent with the WNT pathway activation, immunohistochemical analysis showed diffuse and focal nuclear accumulation of β-catenin in 53% and 30% of TSAs, respectively. APC mutations were observed in tubular and tubulovillous adenomas and in a subset of TSAs. BRAF mutations were exclusively and frequently encountered in serrated lesions. KRAS mutations were observed in all types of polyps, but were most commonly encountered in tubulovillous adenomas and TSAs. This study has demonstrated that TSAs frequently harbour genetic alterations that lead to WNT pathway activation, in addition to BRAF and KRAS mutations. In particular, PTPRK-RSPO3 fusions and RNF43 mutations were found to be characteristic genetic features of TSAs. Copyright © 2016 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The corneal epithelial barrier function is impaired in diabetic patients. Diabetic patients with higher serum HbA1c levels are more predisposed to impaired barrier function in the corneal epithelium.

BackgroundAssessment of preoperative general condition to predict postoperative outcomes is important, particularly in older patients who typically suffer from various comorbidities and exhibit impaired functional status. In addition to various indices such as Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), National Institute on Aging and National Cancer Institute Comorbidity Index (NIA/NCI), Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 (ACE-27), and American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification (ASA-PS), controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score is recently gaining attention as a tool to evaluate the general condition of patients from a nutritional perspective. However, the utility of these indices in older patients with colorectal cancer has not been compared.MethodsThe study population comprised 830 patients with Stage I - IV colorectal cancer aged 75 years or older who underwent surgery at the National Cancer Center Hospital from January 2000 to December 2014. Associations of each index with overall survival (OS) (long-term outcome) and postoperative complications (short-term outcome) were examined.ResultsFor the three indices with the highest Akaike information criterion values (i.e., CONUT score, CCI and ACE-27), but not the remaining indices (NIA/NCI and ASA-PS), OS significantly worsened as general condition scores decreased, after adjusting for known prognostic factors. In contrast, for postoperative complications, only CONUT score was identified as a predictive factor (≥4 versus 0–3; odds ratio: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.13–3.13; P = 0.016).ConclusionFor older patients with colorectal cancer, only CONUT score was a predictive factor of both long-term and short-term outcomes after surgery, suggesting that CONUT score is a useful preoperative risk assessment index.

The results suggest that the soft-shell technique is safe and effective in protecting corneal endothelial cells during cataract surgery in patients with a hard lens nucleus.