The Liver and Hepatobiliary System Metabolic Functions of the Liver Carbohydrate, Protein, and Lipid Metabolism Drug and Hormone Metabolism Bile Production and Cholestasis Cholestasis Bilirubin Elimination Tests of Hepatobiliary Function Disorders of the Liver Hepatitis Acute Viral Hepatitis Chronic Hepatitis Intrahepatic Biliary Disorders Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Primary Sclerosing Cholangiti...

Biliary tract cancers, broadly described as malignancies that arise from the biliary tract epithelia, are usually divided into two major clinical phenotypes: cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer, differing in etiopathogenesis, risk factors, and perhaps molecular and genetic signatures. Atypical symptoms and lack of tumor biomarkers make it difficult to diagnose in early stages. At the time...

Reprints available directly from the publisher Photocopying permitted by license only This study was designed to investigate issues concerning "in-apparent carcinoma" of the gallbladder and the effectiveness of a radical second operation in the treatment of inapparent carcinoma. Ninety-eight patients with inapparent carcinoma were analyzed according to the "pT" category of TNM (tumor, nodes, an...

BACKGROUND Glutathione is a tripeptide composed of glutamate, cysteine and glycine, accomplishing a broad range of vital functions. Synthesis of glutathione and cysteine is performed mainly in the liver, whereas most other tissues are supplied with these thiols via sinusoidal efflux into the blood. Since canalicular efflux also occurs, thiols may be present in human bile. However, thiol composi...

PURPOSE Mutations in the p53 gene are reported in 50~90% of gallbladder and bile duct cancer, and have been implicated in chemoresistance. We undertook this study to determine whether the introduction of the wild type p53 gene into GBCE (human gallbladder cancer cell line with a heterozygous p53 mutation) by an adenoviral vector could increase the sensitivity of the cell to 5-FU, a commonly use...

Squamous-cell gallbladder carcinoma is a very rare cancer with very few therapeutic data available in the literature. We describe a case of this rare disease with a good response under Gemcitabine and Cisplatin after several previous lines of chemotherapy, in an 80-year-old man. In our case, the disease was resistant to FOLFOX, FOLFIRI and Paclitaxel but an impressive partial response was shown...

Surgical treatment remains the only curative treatment for gallbladder cancer. However, even after liver resection, locoregional failure seems to be a significant problem. While there is no Level I evidence, multiple studies have shown benefit for adjuvant radiation in high-risk patients. After extensive liver resection, tolerance to conventional chemoradiation may be limited by potential liver...

A 64-year-old woman was admitted with mild right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Her physical examination revealed a moderately nourished female with normal vital sign and no evidence of jaundice or anemia. Preoperative diagnosis was choledochal cyst with anomalous union of pancreaticobiliary duct (AUPBD), long Y-shaped type and gallbladder (GB) cancer. An extended cholecystectomy, excision of t...

Objective: We compared the influence of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with oral anticancer drugs (S-1 or uracil-tegafur [UFT]) and the influence of surgery alone on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with biliary tract cancer. Methods: This retrospective study included 108 patients with gallbladder cancer (n=22) or bile duct cancer (n=86), who underwent cura...

Background: Cancer as the second leading cause of death following cardiovascular diseases has always been a threat to human life and due to its peculiar nature and lack of a favorable treatment, it is considered as a research priority in all communities. Understanding the geographical distribution of the incidence of various tumors, constitutes the first step in health and treatment planning. T...