Frank Gansauge

• MD, PhD
• Surgeon, CEO at LDG GmbH

Introduction: Even after surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer the 5-year disease-free survival times (DFS), as well as overall survival rates (OS), are still low and median survival times are below 2 years. Here we retrospectively analyzed the outcome of immunotherapy in the additional adjuvant treatment of pancreatic c...

Purpose: Despite improved diagnostic and therapeutic facilities median survival in pancreatic cancer is still unsatisfactory Here we retrospectively analyzed the outcome of immunotherapy in the additional palliative treatment of pancreatic cancer with long antigen exposition dendritic cell therapy (LANEX-DC®) in 200 patients who were treated at our...

In pancreatic cancer median survival times range around 6, 6 to 6,9 months. Here we retrospectively analyzed the outcome of immunotherapy in the additional palliative treatment of pancreatic cancer with long antigen exposition dendritic cell therapy (LANEX-DC®) in 138 patients who were treated at our institution (intent-to- treat-analysis). Data we...

The new amphiphilic dinucleoside phosphate, 2′-deoxy-5-fluorouridylyl-(3′→5′)-2′-deoxy-5- fluoro-N4-octadecylcytidine (4) was synthesized on a gram scale, using the phosphotriester method, starting from the cytostatic drug 2′-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5FdU) and 2′-deoxy-5-fluoro-N4-octadecylcytidine (1d). In in vitro clonogenic growth assays using the...

INTRODUCTION: After the routine use of ether narcosis and surgical antisepsis, the evolution of surgery experienced fascinating and genuinely surgical technique-related advancements. Surgeons from Germany contributed strongly to the upturn of operative treatment in the second half of the nineteenth century. DISCUSSION: B. von Langenbeck inaugurated...

Infections due to pancreatic necrosis and abscesses are observed in one third of patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Based on results of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, antibiotic prophylaxis in SAP is ineffective for reducing the frequency of infected necrosis and to decrease hospital mortality. Antibiotic treatment...

Cystic neoplastic lesions of the pancreas are found in up to 10% of all pancreatic lesions. A malignant transformation of cystic neoplasia is observed in intraductal papillary mucinous tumor (IPMN) lesions in 60% and in mucinous cystic tumor (MCN) lesions in up to 30%. For cystic neoplasia located monocentrically in the pancreatic head and that do...

Introduction: For treatment of inflammatory and benign neoplastic lesions of the pancreatic head, a subtotal or total pancreatic head resection is a limited surgical procedure with the impact of replacing the application of a Whipple procedure. The objective of this work is to describe the technical modifications of subtotal and total pancreatic h...

Cancers of the pancreas are identified in 11 800 to 13 500 patients each year in Germany. Epidemiological studies prove smoking and chronic alcohol consumption as causes of about 30% of pancreatic cancers. Selective literature review. Only patients within TNM stage I and II have after oncologic tumor extirpation a chance for long term survival. Con...

Cystic neoplastic lesions of the pancreas are now found with increasing frequency. Duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection with segmental resection of the duodenum has been introduced for the surgical treatment of inflammatory and neoplastic lesions. We report the following data from 15 patients treated surgically for cystic neoplastic lesion...

255 M E D I Z I N I n Deutschland werden zwischen 11 800 und 13 500 Neuerkrankungen an Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs pro Jahr registriert (1). Das mittlere Erkrankungsalter liegt für Männer bei 68 Jahren, für Frauen bei 70 Jahren. Frauen erkranken seit einigen Jahren häufiger als Män-ner (1). Die Zunahme der Häufigkeit des Pankreaskarzi-noms in den indu...

Chronic pancreatitis, which is usually caused by chronic alcohol abuse, is primarily a disease of the exocrine compartment of the pancreas. Several pathological concepts have been proposed to explain the morphological changes that occur during the disease. The most widely accepted concept is based on the observation that overconsumption of alcohol...

Pancreatic head resection is a major surgical procedure and even today is linked to considerable risk for severe complications. In high-volume centers, morbidity and mortality after pancreatic head resection decreased to below 5%. In the authors’ monoinstitutional experiences including 1315 patients with malignant lesion and benign tumor, the frequ...

The clinical course in acute necrotizing pancreatitis is mainly determined by bacterial infection of pancreatic and peripancreatic necrosis. The effect of two antibiotic regimens for early and late treatment was investigated in the taurocholate model of necrotizing pancreatitis in the rat. Seventy male Wistar rats were divided into five pancreatiti...

We investigated the immune status in 32 pancreatic cancer patients (PC) in comparison with healthy controls (HC). Using flow cytometry, peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were characterized by the expression of surface markers for T helper cells (CD4), T suppressor cells (CD8), B cells (CD19) and NK cells (CD56). The blastogenic response of PBL was...

Recently we have shown that NSC-631570 (Ukrain) is a safe and effective drug in the treatment of unresectable pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the combined treatment with Gemcitabine and NSC-631570 in the adjuvant treatment of resected advanced pancreatic cancer. 30 patients received adjuvant chemothera...

Chronic inflammatory processes induce oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation (LPO), hereby generating DNA-reactive aldehydes such as trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE). Etheno-modified DNA bases are inter alia generated by reaction of DNA with HNE. Using an immunoaffinity-(32)P-postlabeling method, the authors have investigated etheno-DNA adduct leve...

Severe acute pancreatitis is considered to be a subgroup of acute pancreatitis with the development of local and/or systemic complications. A significant correlation exists between the development of pancreatic necrosis, the frequency of bacterial contamination of necrosis and the evolution of systemic complications. Bacterial infection and the ext...

The outcome of severe acute pancreatitis is determined by the development of the systemic inflammatory response and subsequent multiorgan dysfunction. Using the taurocholate-induced model of acute pancreatitis in rats, we investigated the relationship between early polymorphonuclear (PMN)-mediated pancreatic tissue damage and the systemic inflammat...

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are considered to be breast cancer susceptibility genes that may also contribute to pancreatic cancer development because family studies revealed mutation carriers to have an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. However, as demonstrated for breast and ovarian cancer, inactivation of BRCA in sporadic diseases is based on a...

In patients with chronic pancreatitis (cP) with an inflammatory mass in the pancreatic head, the degree of fibrosis in the pancreatic head compared with the tail should be determined and differences in the expression pattern of collagen types I, III, and IV; laminin; vitronectin; and fibronectin should be evaluated. From 12 patients with alcohol-in...

Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is associated with the worst survival of any form of gastrointestinal malignancy. In spite of the progress in surgical treatment, resulting in increasing resection rates and a decrease in treatment-related morbidity and mortality, the true figures of cure are even today below 3%. The dissemination of pancreatic cancer...

Neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy in patients suffering from pancreatic cancer is presently not well established. Neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy is recommended to be applied in 5-8 weeks. The full dose of radiotherapy is between 50 and 54 Gy with 5FU used as radiosensitator. In patients with resectable pancreatic cancer, particularly in UICC-stage II ne...

Die neoadjuvante Chemotherapie bei Pankreaskarzinom ist bisher nicht standardisiert. Die Applikation erfolgt als Radiochemotherapie innerhalb von 5–8 Wochen mit fraktionierter Radiotherapie zwischen 40 und 54 Gy und 5 FU als Radiosensitator.Bei Patienten mit resezierbaren Pankreaskarzinomen (UICC-Stadium II) bewirkt neoadjuvante Radiochemotherapie...

Four advanced pancreatic cancer patients who had exhausted all conventional methods of therapy were treated with Ukrain and gemcitabine. The status of all four patients was improved and clinical signs of partial remission were observed. No severe side effects occurred during the treatment.

Cyclooxygenase enzymes catalyze a critical step in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins, which are important mediators of acute and chronic inflammation. The constitutively expressed cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) appears to regulate many normal physiologic functions in several cell types, whereas the inducible cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) en...

NSC-631570 (Ukrain) is a semisynthetic compound of thiophosphoric acid and the alkaloid chelidonine from the plant Chelidonium majus. It has been used in complementary herbal medicine for more than 20 years for the treatment of benign and malignant tumors. Between August 1999 and June 2001, 90 patients with histologically proven unresectable pancre...

Surgical resection is the only chance for cure of pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the majority of patients have grossly unresectable disease. Patients with stage I or II disease according to the criteria of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) should be considered for potentially curative surgery. The goal of surgery is to remove the ent...

In autoimmune diseases, malignancies, and inflammatory conditions, a correlation of serum levels of CD44, interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2r), and neopterin with disease activity could be shown. To assess the immune parameters in chronic pancreatitis in correlation to clinical data to evaluate the potential role of immune dysfunction as a risk factor. L...

Regional chemotherapy of isolated, nonresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLMs) by hepatic artery infusion (HAI) has the advantages of high response rates and the possibility of downstaging and resection of CRLMs. 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine (5-FUDR) has been the drug studied in most Phase II and III trials. The meta-analysis of the Phase III trials...

We recently showed that cyclin D1 is overexpressed in human pancreatic carcinoma cells, and that this overexpression correlates significantly with a poor prognosis. To assess the interrelations of epidermal growth factor (EGF), EGF receptor (EGFR), and cyclin D1 in human pancreatic carcinoma. In pancreatic carcinoma cell lines (BxPC-3, AsPC-1), cel...

Biglycan (PG-I), a component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. To determine possible matrix-tumor interactions, we investigated the effects of PG-I on pancreatic cancer. PG-I expression in cell lines and tissue samples was examined by Northern blot and immunofluorescence. The effect of PG-I on proliferation w...

The hallmark of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is massive acinar cell death by necrosis. However, programmed, apoptotic acinar cell death has also been observed. Little is known about the dynamics, localization, and inductive factors of acinar cell apoptosis in SAP. We therefore induced SAP in rats by retrograde infusion of 3% sodium taurocholate....

The caspases are known to play a crucial role in the triggering and execution of apoptosis in a variety of cell types. We assessed the expression of caspase-1 in 42 pancreatic cancer tissue samples, 38 chronic pancreatitis specimens, and nine normal pancreatic tissues by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. We found a clear overexpressio...

Caspase-1, formerly designated interleukin-1beta converting enzyme, was the first described member of a group of cysteine proteases called caspases. It is suggested that caspases play an important role in apoptosis, but recent observations could show that caspase-1 might also be involved in cellular proliferation. We investigated the expression of...

β-Catenin is a component of the E-cadherin–catenin cell adhesion complex. It plays also a role in intracellular signaling and can function as an oncogene when it binds to the T-cell factor 4 (Tcf4)-binding site in the promoter region of cyclin D1 and transactivates genes after translocation to the nucleus. We evaluated the immunohistochemical expre...

Beta-catenin is a component of the E-cadherin-catenin cell adhesion complex. It plays also a role in intracellular signaling and can function as an oncogene when it binds to the T-cell factor 4 (Tcf4)-binding site in the promoter region of cyclin D1 and transactivates genes after translocation to the nucleus. We evaluated the immunohistochemical ex...

To investigate whether the chronic inflammatory process in patients with chronic pancreatitis affects their immune function. Chronic pancreatitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the exocrine pancreas. In approximately 30% of patients, an inflammatory mass of the pancreatic head is found, representing an indication for surgery. This study compr...

Caspase-1 (interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme) is reported to play an important role in the regulation of apoptosis. We investigated the inhibition of caspase-1 by the cell permeable caspase-1 inhibitor Ac-AAVALLPAVLLALLAP-YVAD.CHO in pancreatic carcinoma cells. Inhibition of caspase-1 induced a non-apoptotic/"necrotic-like" cell death in AsPC-1,...

To evaluate, in an experimental model of acute pancreatitis, the impact of nitric oxide on the disease process and the interaction between nitric oxide and oxygen free radicals. Nitric oxide and oxygen free radicals are involved in the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis. It is well established that oxygen free radicals play an important role in...

In a study for the identification of genomic alterations in pancreatic cancer, representational difference analysis was used and led to the isolation of 2 distinct fragments, deleted on the Y chromosome in the xenografted tumor DNA of a male patient with an adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Loss of Y chromosomal material was further studied in 11 pan...

In a study for the identification of genomic alterations in pancreatic cancer, representational difference analysis was used and led to the isolation of 2 distinct fragments, deleted on the Y chromosome in the xenografted tumor DNA of a male patient with an adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Loss of Y chromosomal material was further studied in 11 pan...

Background: In recent studies we demonstrated the overexpression of cysteine protease ICE (caspase-1) in pancreatic carcinoma tissue and the significant correlation with factors associated with poor prognosis, pointing to possible aspects of ICE in proliferative processes in human pancreatic carcinoma. In this study we investigated the influence of...

The time course and relationship between circulating and local cytokine concentrations, pancreatic inflammation, and organ dysfunction in acute pancreatitis are largely unknown. In a prospective clinical study, we measured the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, interleukin 1 beta...

Recent studies have demonstrated that various tumors express enhanced levels of the radical scavenger glutathione (GSH). Moreover, there are grounds for claiming that GSH plays a crucial role in cell proliferation and tumor resistance. In the current study, we investigated the relation between cell growth and GSH levels in the pancreatic adenocarci...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have demonstrated that various tumors express enhanced levels of the radical scavenger glutathione (GSH). Moreover, there are grounds for claiming that GSH plays a crucial role in cell proliferation and tumor resistance. In the current study, we investigated the relation between cell growth and GSH levels in the pancreatic...

Soluble CD44standard (sCD44s) and CD44v6 (sCD44v6) cannot only be detected in sera of patients with pancreatic carcinoma but also of healthy blood donors. To investigate whether sCD44s and sCD44v6 are derived from white blood cells, we stimulated whole blood with phytohemagglutinin and interleukin-2, which induced expression of CD44v6 only on monoc...

The acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) is currently the serum variable of choice for an early, accurate, and cost-effective severity assessment of acute pancreatitis in the daily clinical routine. Serum amyloid A (SAA) proteins comprise a family of apolipoproteins that constitute another major acute-phase reactant and thus could be a pot...

Oxidative stress is an important factor in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis, as shown in vivo by the beneficial effects of scavenger treatment and in vitro by the potential of free radicals to induce acinar cell damage. However, it is still unclear whether oxygen free radicals (OFR) act only as mediators of tissue damage or represent the init...

GASTROENTEROLOGY 2000;118:626-629

Objective: Infection of pancreatic necrosis (IN) has a major impact on management and outcome in acute pancreatitis (AP). Currently, guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is the only means for an accurate diagnosis of IN. Procalcitonin (PCT), a 116 amino acid pro-peptide of calcitonin has been found in high concentrations in patients with sepsis. In...

Infection of pancreatic necrosis (IN) has a major impact on management and outcome in acute pancreatitis (AP). Currently, guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is the only means for an accurate diagnosis of IN. Procalcitonin (PCT), a 116 amino acid pro-peptide of calcitonin has been found in high concentrations in patients with sepsis. In the present...

Einleitung: Tumor-infiltrierende Lymphozyten zeigen meist eine deutlich reduzierte Immunantwort. Für dieses Fehlen einer effektiven Antwort wird, unter anderem, eine verminderte Expression der CD3-Zeta-Kette des T-Zellrezeptor-Komplexes verantwortlich gemacht. Wir untersuchten, ob Pankreaskarzinomzellen in der Lage sind über lösliche Faktoren eine...

Hintergrund: Aus Pflanzen gewonnene Chemotherapeutika werden in der modernen Onkologie eingesetzt. NSC-631570 ist eine halbsynthetische Verbindung des Alkaloid-Derivates Chelidonin aus Chelidonium majus. Methoden: Das zytostatische Potential von NSC-631570 zu untersuchen wurden die Zellinien Jurkat,THP-1,MIA PaCa2,BxPC3 and AsPC1 mit zunehmenden Ko...

Using a retrograde infusion sodium taurocholate pancreatitis model in the rat treatment with oxygen radical scavengers or monoclonal anti-ICAM-1 antibody decreased tissue damage and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) infiltration. Scavengers or anti-ICAM-1 treatment attenuated the activating capacity of blood PMNs following zymosan stimulation. The...

It is suggested that interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE) and ICE-related proteases play an important role in programmed cell death (apoptosis). We investigated ICE expression in the human pancreatic carcinoma cell line AsPC-1 after stimulation with epidermal growth factor and found a time-dependent expression of active ICE induced by epiderma...

The clinical benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer patients is still questionable. Phase II studies using radiochemotherapy based on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) provided evidence of an increase in median survival times. Because palliative chemotherapy by celiac artery infusion (CAI) led to an increase in survival in pancreatic cancer, we...

The FRAP-p70s6K signaling pathway was found to be constitutively phosphorylated/active in MiaPaCa-2 and Panc-1 human pancreatic cancer cells and a pancreatic cancer tissue sample as judged by the retarded electrophoretic mobility of the two major FRAP downstream targets, p70s6K and 4E-BP1. Treatment of cells with rapamycin, a selective FRAP Inhibit...

To identify the impact of treatment factors on overall survival in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. We performed a follow-up study on 38 patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas treated from 1984 to 1998. 18/38 patients were resected. Irradiated volume included the primary tumor (or tumor bed) and regional lymph nodes. Thirty-seven patients...

Since celiac artery infusion (CAI) led to an increase in survival in palliative chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer, we treated 26 patients with adjuvant CAI following resection for advanced pancreatic cancer. Catheters were placed angiographically into the celiac artery and remained there for five consecutive days. One cycle of chemotherapy consiste...

To identify the impact of treatment factors on overall survival in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. Patients andMethods: We performed a follow-up study on 38 patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas treated from 1984 to 1998. 18/38 patients were resected. Irradiated volume included the primary tumor (or tumor bed) and regional lymph nodes. T...

Genetic diseases such as familial polyposis, human non-polyposis colon carcinoma and the multiple endocrine neoplasia are already diagnosed using molecular biology techniques. Clearly, the surgeon of today must develop a firm grasp of the biologic mechanisms controlling cell growth, differentiation, and protein biosynthesis to keep up with progress...

The results of this study show that routine measurements of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) cannot improve screening for pancreatic cancer despite the frequently present tissue overexpression. Both values fail to reveal this malignancy in a serum test. Patients with chronic pancreatitis exhibit no or very...

This study was designed to evaluate prospectively oncological factors determining survival after resection of tumors of the papilla, comparing local and radical oncological resection. We hypothesized that, in malignant lesions of the ampulla, the T and N stages are major determinants of the patient's long-term outcome. The frequency of malignant le...

We previously demonstrated the increased expression of angiogenin (ANG) in pancreatic cancer and its relation to cancer aggressiveness; however, the expression patterns and the roles of angiogenin in chronic pancreatitis are still unknown. We investigated the expression of ANG both in the tissues and in the sera of chronic pancreatitis patients (pu...

Although expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression has been demonstrated in many human malignancies, very little is known about the ICAM-1 expression in human pancreatic cancer. We have examined ICAM-1 expression in pancreatic cancer cell lines and the induction of ICAM-1 in these cells by flow cytometry. The degree of bas...

Neopterin has been recognized as a valid marker for cellular immune activation. Raised neopterin levels indicate the stimulation of macrophages and indirectly T-cell activation. So far no data is available on serum neopterin in pancreatic cancer patients. In this prospective clinical study serum neopterin values were evaluated in 83 patients with a...

We investigated whether endogenously or exogenously produced nitric oxide (NO) can inhibit cellular glutathione reductase (GR) via the formation of S-nitrosothiols to decrease cellular glutathione (GSH) and increase oxidative stress in RAW 264.7 cells. The specificity of this inhibition was demonstrated by addition of a NO-synthase inhibitor, and m...

Although expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression has been demonstrated in many human malignancies, very little is known about the ICAM-1 expression in human pancreatic cancer. We have examined ICAM-1 expression in pancreatic cancer cell lines and the induction of ICAM-1 in these cells by flow cytometry. The degree of bas...

A retrospective evaluation of embolotherapy in patients with arterial liver hemorrhages was carried out. Twenty-six patients, ranging in age from 10 days to 77 years with active arterial liver hemorrhages, underwent non-surgical embolotherapy. Bleeding was attributed to trauma (n = 21), tumor (n = 3), pancreatitis (n = 1), or unknown cause (n = 1)....

Cellular nitric oxide (NO) synthesis determines whether NO has cytoprotective or cytotoxic effects at anatomic sites; thus it is important to identify potential NO synthase isoforms in tumor tissue and tumor cell lines which might be involved in tumor development or destruction. Incubation of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines (AsPc-1, BxPc...

ICE (Interleukin-1β-Converting Enzyme) ist eine Cysteinprotease, die durch proteolytische Spaltung das inaktive pro-Interleukin-1β (pro-IL-1β) in das aktive IL-1β überführt [1]. Das Zytokin IL-1β ist für seine proinflammatorische Wirkung bekannt und ist unter anderem auch in der Pathophysiologie des Diabetes mellitus involviert. Neue Forschungserge...

Patients with pancreatic cancer expect an extremely low 5-year survival rate of 1%. Resection of the primary tumour at an early stage may offer the only chance for cure, although this treatment result is rare, since only 5% of resected patients live beyond 5 years after surgery with curative intent. The overall fatal outcome of this disease is due...

Soluble interleukin-2-receptor-α (sIL-2Rα) serum concentrations were examined in chronic pancreatitis patients, patients with cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas, patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and healthy blood donors. sIL-2Rα serum concentrations in pancreatic cancer patients were significantly higher than those of normal control sub...

Gallstone ileus is a rare disorder, which, because it is often misdiagnosed preoperatively, may become life-threatening. The classic triad of Rigler (aerobilia, small bowel ileus and a calcified, dystopic stone) is visualized on abdominal plain films in only 14-35% of cases. Further work-up includes ultrasound, upper gastrointestinal series with wa...

Recent studies have shown that several splice variants of CD44, might be involved in tumor progression. Since chronic pancreatitis is suggested to be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer we investigated the splice pattern of CD44 in chronic pancreatitis to elucidate the role of CD44 in pancreas tumorigenesis. The expression of CD44-isoforms was exam...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule with various biological activities including DNA damage. In the present study, we examined the influence of endogenously produced NO on human pancreatic cell lines. In response to cytokine stimulation (tumor necrosis factor alpha, IFN-gamma, and interleukin 1beta), human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines expr...

Gallstone ileus is a rare disorder. which, because it is often misdiagnosed preoperatively, may become life-threatening. The classic triad of Rigler (aerobilia, small bowel ileus and a calcified, dystopic stone) is visualized on abdominal plain films in only 14-35% of cases. Further work-up includes ultrasound, upper gastrointestinal series with wa...

We investigated the expression of interleukin 1beta-converting enzyme (ICE; caspase-1) in human adenocarcinomas of the pancreas. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses revealed an overexpression of ICE in 71 and 80% of tumor cells, respectively. Also, on a mRNA level, ICE mRNA was overexpressed in 45% of the cases, as compared to normal pan...

In order to improve the dismal prognosis of patients suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer we treated 20 patients with adjuvant regional chemotherapy following resection of the tumor. All tumors were classified UICC stage III (TxN1M0). Regional chemotherapy consisted of Mitoxantrone 10 mg/m2 day 1, Folinic Acid 170 mg/m2 and 5-FU 600 mg/m2 days...

During the last decade, many molecular alterations have been described for pancreatic carcinomas. However, the clinical and prognostic value of these alterations has been discussed and is controversial. An immunohistochemical study was performed in 82 cases of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Using specific antibodies, expression of EGF, EGF-recepto...

Carcinoma located in the uncinate process (CUP) of the pancreatic head is considered to be rare. Exact epidemiological data, however, are not available because the series published so far consist of fewer than ten patients. The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the clinical appearance of CUP and to compare findings with those of pat...

Cystic neoplasms of the pancreas account for only 1% of primary pancreatic lesions. However, patients with these tumors are diagnosed more frequently. Up to now, nonsurgical management is still the established form of treatment of benign cystic tumours of the pancreas. Between 1987 and 1996 we treated 51 patients with serous and mucinous cystadenom...

Background: During the last decade, many molecular alterations have been described for pancreatic carcinomas. However, the clinical and prognostic value of these alterations has been discussed and is controversial. Methods: An immunohistochemical study was performed in 82 cases of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Using specific antibodies, expres...

This study investigated a total number of 120 colorectal malignant tumor tissues by applying a new quantitative luminometric assay (LIA)-mat, immunohistochemistry (IHC) (n=100), PCR/SSCP (n=42), and sequencing (n=7). Sera were collected from 235 patients suffering from colorectal carcinoma in addition to 195 healthy individuals as a control group....

The activation of the K-ras gene at codon 12 is thought to be an early genetic event in the multistep pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer. Since the risk of pancreatic cancer is significantly elevated in subjects with chronic pancreatitis, the aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of K-ras mutations in chronic pancreatitis. Pancreat...

In the present study we investigated the prognostic relevance of molecular and immunological changes in pancreatic carcinoma. 82 tissue specimens of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were stained immunohistochemically with following factors: p53, p21WAF1, Cyklin D, EGF, EGF-R, cERB-B2, CD95, BCL-2 and Cathepsin D. We further determined the serum level...