BACKGROUND Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a well established tumor suppressor gene. Recently, increasing studies investigated the association between PTEN IVS4 polymorphism (rs3830675) and risk of various types of cancer. However, the results from the individual studies were controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to elucidate whether PTEN IVS4 polymorphism was associated wit...

Probiotics attracted great interest throughout the last decade. A keyword search for ‘probiotic or lactic acid bacteria’ in the PubMed database reveals more than 3000 papers during the last 10 years and more than 400 papers in 2001. The aim of the present review is to update studies concerning the use of probiotics in treating gastrointestinal diseases as well as to highlight more recently unde...

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is accepted as minimally invasive therapy for early stage digestive tract tumors. It has allowed the achievement of histologically curative en-bloc resection of early stage digestive tract tumors regardless of size, including the resection of previously non-resectable tumors. Although numerous electrosurgical knives have been developed for ESD, technical d...

The relationship between biliary tract inflammation (BTI) and digestive system cancers is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between BTI and the risks of digestive system cancers.Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance claims data, information on a cohort of patients diagnosed with BTI (n = 4398) between 2000 and 2009 was collected. A comparison cohort of sex-, age-, and i...

The human intestinal microflora is a complex microbial ecosystem that plays a critical role in the overall health of an individual. This issue will examine the benefits of the “friendly bacteria” that colonize the gastrointestinal tract, various factors that can disturb the normal GI environment, and the wide variety of health problems that can develop when the intestinal microflora is upset. A...

The inulin-type fructans are non-digestible oligosaccharides that are fermented in the gastrointestinal tract of farm animals and pets. This review focuses on the various effects of inulin-type fructans in pigs, poultry, calves and companion animals. Effects of the inulin-type fructans on gut microflora, digestion and availability of nutrients, gut morphology, fermentation characteristics and a...

The majority of workers are agreed that the digestion of carbohydrate in the rumen is brought about by the micro-organisms living there, and furthermore, that the microflora plays a much larger part in these processes than the microfauna, for if the Protozoa are removed by drenching with dilute copper sulphate, the digestive processes continued unhampered (see Van der Wath, 1942). The precise r...

The growth physiology of Escherichia coli during colonization of the intestinal tract was studied with four animal models: the streptomycin-treated mouse carrying a reduced microflora, the monoassociated mouse with no other microflora than the introduced strain, the conventionalized streptomycin-treated mouse, and the conventionalized monoassociated mouse harboring a full microflora. A 23S rRNA...