In patients with gastric cancer, surgical resection is the only treatment that can offer cure or increase long-term survival. With the accumulation of experience in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy and the progress in surgical instruments, laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer has gained popularity despite initial concerns regarding safety and oncological adequacy. As a result, laparoscopic technique has been widely applied in gastric cancer. Different meta-analyses showed that laparoscopic procedures are associated with less blood loss but longer operation time. Many studies have reported outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for early gastric cancer, but several authors also have shown that a laparoscopic approach can also be used in cases of advanced gastric cancer. We therefore conducted this study to expand our experience and to evaluate laparoscopic gastrectomy step by step in the light of recent reports while defining key points and surgical technique.
Part of the book: New Horizons in Laparoscopic Surgery
Several biomarkers have been preferred for the early diagnosis of pancreatic adenocancer (PAC), but most are not ready to be included as part of the routine diagnostic algorithm because they still lack sensitivity, specificity or reproducibility. CA19-9 is the most widely used serum-based marker for the diagnosis and follow-up of pancreatic cancer. However, CA19-9 lacks sensitivity for early or small-diameter pancreatic cancers. For more than 3 decades, information on neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume (MPV) has been widely available to health care practitioners, as part of the data provided in the full blood count. However, these biomarkers have more than used in the routine. The present chapter shares the prognostic significance of the hematological parameters in the light of our own findings and recent studies in the literature.
Part of the book: Biomarker