Despite incessant research, colorectal cancer (CRC) is still one of the most common causes of fatality in both men and women worldwide. Over time, advancements in medical treatments have notably enhanced the survival rates of patients with colorectal cancer. Managing metastatic CRC involves a complex tradeoff between the potential benefits and adverse effects of treatment, considering factors like disease progression, treatment toxicity, drug resistance, and the overall impact on the patient’s quality of life. An increasing body of evidence highlights the significance of the cancer stem cell (CSC) concept, proposing that CSCs occupy a central role in triggering cancer. CSCs have been a focal point of extensive research in a variety of cancer types, including CRC. Colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSCs) play a crucial role in tumor initiation, metastasis, and therapy resistance, making them potential treatment targets. Various methods exist for isolating CCSCs, and understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance associated with them is crucial. This paper offers an overview of the current body of research pertaining to the comprehension of CSCs in colorectal cancer.

Introduction: Diaphragmatic injuries are produced by blunt or penetrating thoracoabdominal trauma. They are potentially life-threatening due to the herniation of abdominal organs into the pleural cavities and severe associated lesions. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse the clinical presentation and management of patients admitted with diaphragmatic rupture in our institution. Material and Method: We performed a 5-year retrospective study of patients admitted with acute blunt or penetrating diaphragmatic rupture in the Department of General Surgery of "Bagdasar- Arseni" Emergency Hospital. We have studied sex, age, mechanism of trauma, side-location, timeto-diagnosis, concomitant injuries, surgical treatment and outcome. Results: Fifteen patients (8 males, 7 females, mean age: 42 years) with diaphragmatic rupture (left-side: 13, right-side: 2) following blunt (8 patients) or penetrating (7) trauma were included. Patients with blunt diaphragmatic injury had larger tears and abdominal viscera herniation was observed in 6of these cases. A direct suture was performed for all 15 patients. Laparotomy was the surgical approach preferred in most of the cases. Mortality rate was 20%, mainly caused by severe associated lesions. Conclusion: Although traumatic diaphragmatic lesions are frequently associated with severe cerebral and thoraco-abdominal trauma that is also the main cause of death, a prompt diagnosis and treatment can lead to good outcome.

Introduction: Despite the improvement of early diagnosis methods for multiple pathological entities belonging to the digestive tract, bowel obstruction determined by multiple etiologies represents an important percentage of surgical emergencies. General data: Although sometimes obstructive episodes are possible in the early stages of colorectal cancer, the most commonly installed intestinal obstruction has the significance of an advanced evolutionary stage of neoplastic disease. Development of Obstructive Mechanism: The spontaneous evolution of colorectal cancer is always burdened by complications. The most common complication is low bowel obstruction, found in approximately 20% of the cases of colorectal cancer, and it can occur either relatively abruptly, or is preceded by initially discrete premonitory symptoms, non-specific (until advanced evolutionary stages) and generally neglected or incorrectly interpreted. Success in the complex treatment of a low neoplastic obstruction is conditioned by a complete diagnosis, adequate pre-operative preparation, a surgical act adapted to the case (in one, two or three successive stages), and dynamic postoperative care. The moment of surgery should be chosen with great care and is the result of the experience of the anesthetic-surgical team. The operative act must be adapted to the case and has as its main objective the resolution of intestinal obstruction and only in a secondary way the resolution of the generating disease. Conclusions: The therapeutic measures adopted (medical-surgical) must have a dynamic character in accordance with the particular situation of the patient. Except for certain or probably benign etiologies, the possibility of colorectal neoplasia should always be considered, in low obstructions, regardless of the patient’s age.

Introduction and Literature Review: Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed in an advanced/metastatic stage, as it is a very aggressive type of cancer. The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is extremely unfavorable. The mean survival rate for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma is 3–6 months. Stage IV pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival rate of 1.3% to 13%. This article presents recent data regarding the oncologic management of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Case presentation: We present the case of a female patient who was 49 years old at the time of diagnosis, in June 2021. The patient was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic neoplasm (due to liver metastases). The diagnosis was made by histopathological and immunohistochemical examination, which corroborated imaging investigations. The patient underwent four lines of chemotherapy between July 2021 and July 2024, undergoing partial response to the disease. The patient is a long-term survivor of metastatic pancreatic cancer (3 years in July 2024). Discussions: the peculiarity of this case is long-term survival (3 years and a month at the date when this article is being written) in a patient with pancreatic cancer and liver metastases. Conclusions: histopathological type, good performance status, CEA, and CA tumor markers 19.9 within normal limits may be favorable prognostic factors for long-term survival in metastatic pancreatic carcinoma.

Periampullary duodenal diverticula are associated with the presence of common bile duct stones, being encountered more frequently with the increase of age. We present the case of a 76 years old female patient, who underwents emergency surgery for a perforated lithiasic gangrenous acute cholecystitis and for whom we perform a cholecystectomy and an external biliary drainage using a transcystic tube. Both preoperative and postoperative imaging and endoscopic examinations certify the presence of a periampullary duodenal diverticulum. Postoperative cholangiography performed on the transcystic tube raises the suspicion of retained common bile duct lithiasis. An endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is performed, initially failing to cannulate the common bile duct. A precut sphincterotomy fistula technnique is performed, using as reference a guide inserted on the transcystic tube, with the extraction of biliay sludge from the common bile duct, and with subsequently favorable development. Association between common bile duct lithiasis and a periampullary duodenal diverticulum may represent a therapeutic challenge because of the increased risk of failure of the endoscopic treatment.