Immunomolecular Investigation of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes (16, 18) and P63 Expression in Patients with Malignant and Non-malignant Colorectal Tumors

Cancer of the colon (colorectal cancer, or CRC) is the third most frequent malignancy in the world and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death. Recent research has focused on the link between high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and the onset/development of several different types of cancer in humans. As a result, scientists are now paying more attention to HPV and CRC. In a variety of malignant tumors, P63 is overexpressed. This includes non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast carcinoma, as well as lung, bladder, and prostate cancers. However, in accordance with the existence of many P63 isoforms in malignant tumors, the actions of P63 in these malignancies remain a source of debate. P63 immunohistochemistry expression in CRC tissues is being investigated as a possible etiological link between high-risk HPV types and CRC. This retrospective study intended to investigate if there was an etiological link between high-risk HPV types and CRC. It has utilized 92 chosen formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue block samples. The collected samples were divided into 62 blocks of colorectal adenocarcinoma mass tissues and 30 non-malignant colorectal tissues used as a control group. Chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) was employed to discover HPV DNA16/18 in colorectal tissues. The overall proportion of positive HPV16/18 DNA- CISH detection in the mass CRC group was 44.4%, whereas HPV16/18 DNA was obtained at 80.0% in the non-malignant control group. The overall proportion of positive P63-ISH detection in the CRC group was also 70.4%, whereas P63 was 73.3% in the non-malignant control group. The link between HPV infection and P63 expression in CRC might point to the importance of these molecules in the progression of CRC.

[Clinical pathway evaluation for left colectomy in abdominal surgery]

At the end of 2008, a left colectomy clinical pathway was implemented at Clinique Saint-Joseph (CHC) in Liège (Belgium). A sample of 213 patients with benign or malignant pathology requiring laparoscopic left colon resection was included in this clinical pathway during the years 2009 to 2015. We focused on the compliance with the protocol, on the complication rate and the incidence of re-hospitalization within 30 days after surgery. In comparison with a historical control group, we observed that the compliance was excellent (superior to 80 %) from 2009 to 2015. The re-hospitalization did not differ though the complication rate decreased. Although the hospital stay was not our primary objective, it decreased significantly from 8 to 4 days (average). This analysis leads to the conclusion that the introduction of a clinical pathway, when it is well prepared and brings together all the implicated persons with the same goal, is directly beneficial to the patient and the quality of its management.