Papers by Michele Scopelliti
Transplantation Proceedings, May 1, 2010
Long-term survival rates after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for patients with hepatocel... more Long-term survival rates after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of any size and number may now be predicted using the Metroticket calculator. The aim of this study was to evaluate the minimum post-OLT survival threshold that would justify the selection of a patient with HCC for OLT.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Hilar bile duct strictures are mostly caused by malignant lesions. The morphological appearance o... more Hilar bile duct strictures are mostly caused by malignant lesions. The morphological appearance of perihilar cholangiocarcinomas in various imaging modalities have other malignant and even benign mimics, which pose challenges to an accurate diagnosis and treatment and drive to futile surgery. Herein, we present the case of a 50-year-old woman admitted with jaundice and abdominal pain, elevated bilirubin level, liver function tests and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level. Magnetic resonance cholangio-pancreatography (MR-CP) and the computed tomography with contrast enhancement revealed a suspected extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma of the common bile duct. Further spontaneous resolution of the scenario, confirmed by diagnostic assessment, changed the clinical hypothesis in favor of a non-oncological disease. Indeed, the multidisciplinary evaluation supported a diagnosis of transient cholangitis secondary to non-evident intrahepatic lithiasis rather than cholangiocarcinoma. After a 26-month ...
British Journal of Surgery
Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The a... more Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains...
Journal of Personalized Medicine
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common tumor worldwide and it is characterized in 20–30... more Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common tumor worldwide and it is characterized in 20–30% of cases by liver involvement, which strongly affects the long-term patient outcome. There are many available therapies for liver colorectal metastases (CRLMs); the current standard of care is represented by liver resection, and when feasible, associated with systemic chemotherapy. Microwave thermal ablation (MWA) is a viable option in unresectable patients or to achieve treatment with a parenchymal spearing approach. A literature review was performed for studies published between January 2000 and July 2022 through a database search using PUBMED/Medline and the Cochrane Collaboration Library with the following MeSH search terms and keywords: microwave, ablation, liver metastases, colorectal neoplasm, and colon liver rectal metastases. The recurrence rate and overall patients’ survival were evaluated, showing that laparoscopic MWA is safe and effective to treat CRLMs when resection is n...
International Journal of Colorectal Disease, 2007
B1a lymphocytes (CD5+) are the major contributors of natural antibodies (Ab) implicated in the in... more B1a lymphocytes (CD5+) are the major contributors of natural antibodies (Ab) implicated in the initial protection against several infections. The aim of this study was to assess the expression of these cells in the peripheral blood of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients who underwent restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) and others who were not operated on. The blood concentration of CD5+ B cells was analysed by three-colour flow cytometry. Blood was collected from 38 UC patients, 20 of whom had undergone RPC and compared with the results in 18 healthy controls and in 12 familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients who had undergone RPC. We were interested in evaluating if there was any correlation between B1a blood cell concentration and ESR and CRP levels, clinical, endoscopic and histological activity, perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA) and extra-intestinal symptoms. B1a cell blood concentration was reduced in non-operated UC patients (20.7 +/- 4.6/microl) with respect to that in healthy controls (71.1 +/- 18.0/microl, p < 0.05). It was also lower in UC patients with RPC (24.9 +/- 1.0/microl) compared to RPC for FAP (48.2 +/- 6.2, p < 0.05). B1a cell rate correlated inversely in UC patients with ESR (R = -0.41, p < 0.05) and CRP levels (R = -0.47, p = 0.01). B1a cell concentration was reduced in the blood of patients with UC even after the diseased organ was surgically removed by proctocolectomy. As these cells play an important role in natural immunity against luminal stimuli, consistently lower levels that are found in UC patients could be responsible for the impaired immunologic response to gut antigens in this disease.
Transplantation proceedings, 2011
Hepatic resection is the gold standard of therapy for primary and secondary liver tumors, but few... more Hepatic resection is the gold standard of therapy for primary and secondary liver tumors, but few patients are eligible for this procedure because of the extent of their neoplasms. Improvements in surgical experience of liver transplantation (OLT), hepatic resection and preservation with sub-normothermic machine perfusion (MP) have prompted the development of a new model of large animal autotransplantation.
Transplantation Proceedings, 2011
The product between donor (D) age and recipient (R) Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scor... more The product between donor (D) age and recipient (R) Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score at the moment of liver transplantation (LT) has been proposed as a potential D-R matching tool to reduce the risk of "futile" LT from using the MELD score as the main allocation tool. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic ability of D-MELD among a cohort of Italian patients already selected for LT on the basis of a D-R matching philosophy. We studied 303 consecutive adult patients undergoing first LT for chronic liver diseases with available D-MELD at the moment of LT from 2003 to 2009. Optimal donors were assigned to more severe cirrhotic patients (MELD ≥20); suboptimal organs were allocated to patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) not responsive to bridging therapies (specific priority score) or other exceptions with MELD <20. A suboptimal donor had age >70 years, severe steatosis by ultrasound, and/or body mass index >30 kg/m(2), partial liver, or hepatitis C (HCV) or B virus positivity. Characteristics of the study group were a median age of 55 years (range, 27-68 years), HCV positivity in 164 patients (54%), HCC in 134 patients (44%), partial liver use in 25 (8%), MELD 15 (range, 6-40), D-age of 56 years (range, 18-87 years), and median D-MELD score 826 (range, 126-2,988). Overall graft survival was 84%, 79%, and 77% at 1, 3, and 5 years after LT, respectively. Logistic regression did not show a significant correlation between graft failure and D-MELD score in the absence of a significant D-MELD cutoff. Cox regression with D-MELD as the continuous variable showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.00; P=NS); and with D-MELD as a dichotomic variable (≥0 to <1,600) an HR of 0.98 (95% CI, 0.63-1.77; P=NS). The prognostic ability of D-MELD fails in OLT centers that use a more complex D-R matching policy.
Transplantation Proceedings, 2009
Background. Tumor progression before liver transplantation (OLT) is the main cause of dropout fro... more Background. Tumor progression before liver transplantation (OLT) is the main cause of dropout from the waiting list (WL) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to show a correlation between adopted dropout criteria and dropout/intention-to-treat survival rates of WL HCC patients. Methods. The study period was 2000 to 2007. The dropout criteria were macroscopic vascular invasion, metastases, or a poorly differentiated tumor. Adult patients with benign chronic liver disease enlisted for primary OLT in the same period represented the control group. Results. Dropout probability of study (n ϭ 128) versus control group (n ϭ 377) subjects was similar: namely, 12% at 1 year in both groups (P ϭ NS). Intention-to-treat survival curve of the HCC group overlapped that of the benign group (5-year survival rates were 73% and 71%, respectively; P ϭ NS). At the time of listing, 103 study group patients were within the Milan criteria (MC): among these patients, 29 (28%) showed tumor progression beyond MC before OLT. Simulating the dropout of these 29 patients at the time of diagnosis of tumor progression, we compared the dropout probability of the 103 patients within MC with that of the control group. As a result, the 1-and 2-year dropout rates became 37% and 53%, respectively, in the study group, which were significantly higher than those in the controls (P Ͻ .01). Conclusion. HCC patients on the WL showed a significantly greater dropout rate than subjects with benign cirrhosis when too restrictive radiologic dropout criteria were used. The adoption of criteria more related to biological aggressiveness of a tumor decreased the dropout risk for HCC patients without impairing their intention-to-treat survival rates.
Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition
Cancers
This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of HCC patients treated with a novel technique—pulsed mi... more This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of HCC patients treated with a novel technique—pulsed microwave ablation (MWA)—in terms of safety, local tumor progression (LTP), intrahepatic recurrence (IHR), and overall survival (OS). A total of 126 pulsed microwave procedures have been performed in our center. We included patients with mono- or multifocal HCC (BCLC 0 to D). The LTP at 12 months was 9.9%, with an IHR rate of 27.8% at one year. Survival was 92.0% at 12 months with 29.4% experiencing post-operative complications (28.6% Clavien–Dindo 1–2, 0.8% Clavien–Dindo 3–4). Stratifying patients by BCLC, we achieved BCLC 0, A, B, C, and D survival rates of 100%, 93.2%, 93.3%, 50%, and 100%, respectively, at one year, which was generally superior to or in line with the expected survival rates among patients who are started on standard treatment. The pulsed MWA technique is safe and effective. The technique can be proposed not only in patients with BCLC A staging but also in the highly se...
A NEW LIVER AUTOTRANSPLANTATION TECHNIQUE USING SUBNORMOTHERMIC MACHINE PERFUSION FOR ORGAN PRESE... more A NEW LIVER AUTOTRANSPLANTATION TECHNIQUE USING SUBNORMOTHERMIC MACHINE PERFUSION FOR ORGAN PRESERVATION IN A PORCINE MODEL: CLINICAL INDICATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF UNRESECTABLE HEPATIC LESIONS WITH CONVENTIONAL SURGERY ! Abstract ! BACKGROUND: Hepatic resection is the gold standard of therapy for primary and secondary liver tumors, but few patients are eligible for this procedure because of the extent of their neoplasms. Improvements in surgical experience of liver transplantation (OLT), hepatic resection and preservation with sub-normothermic machine perfusion (MP) have prompted the development of a new model of large animal autotransplantation. This sperimental model allowed the clinical application of Ex situ ex vivo liver surgery to treat otherwise unresectable liver tumors. METHODS: Landrace pigs were used in this experiment. After intubation, hepatectomy was performed according to the classic technique. The intrahepatic caval vein was replaced with a homologous tract of porc...
Journal of Personalized Medicine
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease represents an increasing cause of chronic hepatic disease in re... more Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease represents an increasing cause of chronic hepatic disease in recent years. This condition usually arises in patients with multiple comorbidities, the so-called metabolic syndrome. The therapeutic options are multiple, ranging from lifestyle modifications, pharmacological options, to liver transplantation in selected cases. The choice of the most beneficial one and their interactions can be challenging. It is mandatory to stratify the patients according to the severity of their disease to tailor the available treatments. In our contribution, we review the most recent pharmacological target therapies, the role of bariatric surgery, and the impact of liver transplantation on the NAFLD outcome.
Transplantation proceedings, 2009
Prognosis assessment in surgical patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversi... more Prognosis assessment in surgical patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. The most widely used HCC prognostic tool is the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification, but its prognostic ability in surgical patients has not been yet validated. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of known prognostic systems in 400 Italian HCC patients treated with radical surgical therapies.
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 2007
Antitumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) therapy in perianal Crohn&am... more Antitumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) therapy in perianal Crohn's disease (CD) is widely established but recent studies suggest that the underlying fistula tract and inflammation may persist. Treatment with a monoclonal antibody against interleukin (IL)-12 was reported to induce clinical responses and remissions in patients with active CD. The aim of our study was to analyze the cytokine network (TNF-alpha, IL-12, IL-1beta, and IL-6) in 12 patients with chronic perianal CD and a Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) score <150 to exclude active intestinal disease, in 7 patients with indeterminate colitis (IC) after restorative proctocolectomy with perianal complications, in 7 patients with active intestinal CD without perianal manifestations, and in 19 healthy controls. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rank correlation test were used. Serum TNF-alpha levels were significantly higher in patients with IC than perianal CD patients and healthy controls. Serum TNF-alpha levels significantly correlated with perianal CDAI score and with the presence of anal fistulas. Serum IL-12 levels correlated with the presence of anal strictures and were similar in all groups. Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the presence of perianal fistulas and lower in the presence of anal strictures. Our study confirmed that TNF-alpha plays a major role in the perianal and intestinal CD. Furthermore, the significantly higher TNF-alpha serum levels in patients with IC suggest the use of anti-TNF-alpha in such patients. On the contrary, according to our results the efficacy of anti-IL-12 antibodies appears doubtful in chronic perianal CD or IC without anal strictures. The role of IL-6 as a systemic mediator for active chronic inflammation was confirmed and a possible role for its monoclonal antibody was suggested.
Digestive and Liver Disease, 2009
Background. Long-term survival rates after liver transplantation (LT) for patients with hepatocel... more Background. Long-term survival rates after liver transplantation (LT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may be calculated using the Metroticket website calculator (http://89.96.76.14/metroticket/calculator/). There are no studies, however, evaluating the post-LT survival threshold that would justify the selection of a patient with HCC for LT. Methods. We hypothesized that a patient with HCC should receive a LT if his transplant benefit is greater than the cumulative harm to the rest of the waiting list (WL). We created, therefore, a Markov model in collaboration with the University of Michigan. The data sources to construct and validate the model were: the online UNOS web-site, and the University of Padua prospective database on a new LT allocation model. Results. Although our Centre was characterized by a higher proportion of HCC patients in the WL (25% versus 10%) and a lower proportion of high MELD score (>20) non-HCC patients (17% versus 27%) than the average US centre, these proportion were similar among transplanted patients. The calculated harm to the WL was 434 quality-adjusted days of life in Padua, and 957 in US (p < .01). In a clinical scenario of a patient with HCC having a poor survival perspective without LT (5-year survival = 10%), the LT benefit outweighed the harm to the WL when 5-year post-LT survival was higher than 30% in Padua, and 61% in US. Conclusions. In a decision model including the concepts of transplant benefit and harm to the WL, the 5-year post-LT survival threshold to achieve for a patient with HCC is strongly related to local WL characteristics and priority-allocation criteria.
Transplantation proceedings, 2009
Organ transplant recipients show an increased incidence of cancer ranging from 4% to 16% owing to... more Organ transplant recipients show an increased incidence of cancer ranging from 4% to 16% owing to several causes: immunosuppression, viral infection, individual predisposition, and so on.
Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation, 2011
This work is the first report of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy applied as a life-saving s... more This work is the first report of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy applied as a life-saving surgical treatment for severe acute pancreatitis occurring in a sequential liver- and kidney-transplanted patient who had percutaneous biliary drainage for obstructive "late-onset" jaundice. Surgical exploration with necrosectomy and sequential laparotomies was performed because of increasing intra-abdominal pressure with hemodynamic instability and intra-abdominal multidrug-resistant sepsis, with increasingly difficult abdominal closure. Repeated laparotomies with VAC therapy (applying a continuous negative abdominal pressure) enabled a progressive, successful abdominal decompression, with the clearance of infection and definitive abdominal wound closure. The application of a negative pressure is a novel approach to severe abdominal sepsis and laparostomy management with a view to preventing compartment syndrome and fatal sepsis, and it can lead to complete abdominal wound clos...
Liver Transplantation, 2013
Antioxidant agents have the potential to reduce ischemia/reperfusion damage to organs for liver t... more Antioxidant agents have the potential to reduce ischemia/reperfusion damage to organs for liver transplantation (LT). In this prospective, randomized study, we tested the impact of an infusion of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) during liver procurement on post-LT outcomes. Between December 2006 and July 2009, 140 grafts were transplanted into adult candidates with chronic liver disease who were listed for first LT, and according to a sequential, closed-envelope, single-blinded procedure, these patients were randomly assigned in a 1/1 ratio to an NAC protocol (69 patients) or to the standard protocol without NAC [71 patients (the control group)]. The NAC protocol included a systemic NAC infusion (30 mg/kg) 1 hour before the beginning of liver procurement and a locoregional NAC infusion (300 mg through the portal vein) just before cross-clamping. The primary endpoint was graft survival. The graft survival rates at 3 and 12 months were 93% and 90%, respectively, in the NAC group and 82% and 70%, respectively, in the control group (P ¼ 0.02). An adjusted Cox analysis showed a significant NAC effect on graft survival at both 3 months [hazard ratio ¼ 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) ¼ 1.01-2.93, P ¼ 0.04] and 12 months (hazard ratio ¼ 1.73, 95% CI ¼ 1.14-2.76, P 0.01). The incidence of postoperative complications was lower in the NAC group (23%) versus the control group (51%, P < 0.01). In the subgroup of 61 patients (44%) receiving suboptimal grafts (donor risk index > 1.8), the incidence of primary dysfunction of the liver was lower (P ¼ 0.09) for the NAC group (15%) versus the control group (32%). In conclusion, the NAC harvesting protocol significantly improves graft survival. The effect of NAC on early graft function and survival seems higher when suboptimal grafts are used. contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content and the acquisition of data.
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 2007
Antitumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) therapy in perianal Crohn&amp;amp;amp;amp;am... more Antitumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) therapy in perianal Crohn&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (CD) is widely established but recent studies suggest that the underlying fistula tract and inflammation may persist. Treatment with a monoclonal antibody against interleukin (IL)-12 was reported to induce clinical responses and remissions in patients with active CD. The aim of our study was to analyze the cytokine network (TNF-alpha, IL-12, IL-1beta, and IL-6) in 12 patients with chronic perianal CD and a Crohn&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease activity index (CDAI) score &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;150 to exclude active intestinal disease, in 7 patients with indeterminate colitis (IC) after restorative proctocolectomy with perianal complications, in 7 patients with active intestinal CD without perianal manifestations, and in 19 healthy controls. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s rank correlation test were used. Serum TNF-alpha levels were significantly higher in patients with IC than perianal CD patients and healthy controls. Serum TNF-alpha levels significantly correlated with perianal CDAI score and with the presence of anal fistulas. Serum IL-12 levels correlated with the presence of anal strictures and were similar in all groups. Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the presence of perianal fistulas and lower in the presence of anal strictures. Our study confirmed that TNF-alpha plays a major role in the perianal and intestinal CD. Furthermore, the significantly higher TNF-alpha serum levels in patients with IC suggest the use of anti-TNF-alpha in such patients. On the contrary, according to our results the efficacy of anti-IL-12 antibodies appears doubtful in chronic perianal CD or IC without anal strictures. The role of IL-6 as a systemic mediator for active chronic inflammation was confirmed and a possible role for its monoclonal antibody was suggested.
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Papers by Michele Scopelliti