During routine computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging studies, small volumes of ascites may be detected in patients without liver cirrhosis or gross peritoneal dissemination of cancer. Additionally, transvaginal ultrasonography of the Douglas pouch makes sampling of peritoneal ascites technically easy. It is often necessary to sample the ascites to rule out peritoneal carcinomatosis...

BACKGROUND Ascites is the most common complication of cirrhosis, associated with an expected survival below 50% after 5 years. Prognosis is particularly poor for patients with refractory ascites and for those developing complications, including spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) and hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). AIM To provide an evidence-based overview of the pathophysiology, diagnosis an...

Malignant ascites is a common complication in the late stages of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) that greatly diminishes the quality of life of patients. Malignant ascites is a known consequence of vascular dysfunction, but current approved treatments are not effective in preventing fluid accumulation. In this study, we investigated an alternative strategy of targeting macrophage functions to r...

A 36-year-old Japanese woman complained of right hypochondralgia followed by ascites. Paracentesis showed a turbid, straw-colored sterile exudate. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen revealed a left periuteric mass and ascites. The mass and ascites spontaneously regressed within a month with no specific treatment. Later, after the patient had been discharged from h...

INTRODUCTION The diagnosis of malignant ascites is a challenging problem in clinical practice, non-invasive techniques should be developed to improve diagnostic accuracy. The diagnostic performances of tumor markers in malignant ascites remained unsettled. Our aim was to evaluate diagnostic performance of tumor markers in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant ascites. MATERIAL AND ME...

Context Peritoneal dissemination is an important prognostic factor for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. For an improved prognosis and quality of life, more effective treatment for ascites is necessary. Case report We describe a seventy-oneyear-old Japanese man with pancreatic adenocarcinoma with malignant ascites who had responded to treatment with Nab-paclitaxel plus gemcita...

PURPOSE Natural killer T (NKT) cells recognize lipid antigen presented by CD1 molecules. NKT cells can both directly, through cytotoxicity, and indirectly, through activation of other effector cells, mediate antitumor immunity. It has been shown, however, that tumor-associated lipids are frequently shed into the tumor microenvironment, which can mediate immunosuppressive activity. Given that ov...

BACKGROUND/AIMS There is no nationwide population-based study for the long-term mortality after single episode of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic patients. Our study showed the short-term and long-term mortalities, and identified the mortality risk of SBP. MATERIALS AND METHODS The National Health Insurance Database, derived from the Taiwan National Health Insurance progr...

Advanced malignant ascites is accompanied by gastrointestinal dysmotility, and patients often feel abdominal pain, abdominal distention, nausea and constipation. Gastrointestinal dysmotility is not only painful for the patients, but it reduces the absorption of nutrients and affects the physical recovery of patients with malignant ascites. It is reported that changes in interstitial cells of Ca...