Comprehensive review on endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition techniques for solid pancreatic tumor

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is speculated to become the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality by 2030,a high mortality rate considering the number of cases.Surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatment options,but they are burdensome for patients.A clear histological diagnosis is needed to determine a treatment plan,and endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)-guided tissue acquisition(TA)is a suitable technique that does not worsen the cancer-specific prognosis even for lesions at risk of needle tract seeding.With the development of personalized medicine and precision treatment,there has been an increasing demand to increase cell counts and collect specimens while preserving tissue structure,leading to the development of the fine-needle biopsy(FNB)needle.EUS-FNB is rapidly replacing EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration(FNA)as the procedure of choice for EUS-TA of pancreatic cancer.However,EUS-FNA is sometimes necessary where the FNB needle cannot penetrate small hard lesions,so it is important clinicians are familiar with both.Given these recent developments,we present an up-to-date review of the role of EUS-TA in pancreatic cancer.Particularly,technical aspects,such as needle caliber,negative pressure,and puncture methods,for obtaining an adequate specimen in EUS-TA are discussed.

Comprehensive review on small common bile duct stones

Common bile duct stones are among the most common conditions encountered by endoscopists.Therefore,it is well researched;however,some items,such as indications for endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation(EPBD),safety of EPBD and endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients receiving dual antiplatelet therapy or direct oral anticoagulant,selection strategy for retrieval balloons and baskets,lack adequate evidence.Therefore,the guidelines have been updated with new research,while others remain unchanged due to weak evidence.In this review,we comprehensively summarize the standard methods in guidelines and new findings from recent studies on papillary dilation,stone retrieval devices,difficult-to-treat cases,troubleshooting during the procedure,and complicated cases of cholangitis,cholecystolithiasis,or distal biliary stricture.

Efficacy of 5-Fluorouracil and High-Concentration Cisplatin Suspended in Lipiodol by Short-Term Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis

Background: Since advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is potentially fatal, and patients’ quality of life (QOL) often deteriorates during their treatment, improving the prognosis and QOL of patients given chemotherapy is very important. In addition, cost-effective treatments are highly desirable when chemotherapy must be given repeatedly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and high-concentration cisplatin by short-term hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (3-day FPL) in advanced HCC patients. Methods: Thirty patients with unresectable advanced HCC were enrolled. The patients underwent hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy via the implanted port system with 5-FU on days 1 - 3 and a fine-powder formulation of cisplatin in suspended pre-warmed lipiodol on day 2 every 4 to 10 weeks. Tumor response was assessed one month later with CT. Results: All patients had evidence of portal vein invasion (Vp2-4). Four patients achieved a complete response (CR), 8 patients achieved a partial response (PR), and 7 patients had stable disease (SD). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 198 days and 452 days, respectively. The OS was significantly longer in the successful disease control group (CR, PR, and SD) than in the progressive disease group (P < 0.005). Conclusions: Three-day FPL was effective and tolerable in advanced HCC patients due to its shorter time of administration than conventional FP therapy. Therefore, repetitive 3-day FPL appears useful and contributes to improving the prognosis and QOL of patients with advanced HCC. In addition, this protocol is a cost-effective treatment.

Clinical features and progress of ischemic gastritis with high fatalities: Seven case reports

BACKGROUND Ischemic gastritis is a clinically rare and highly fatal disease that occurs when the hemodynamics of a patient with vascular risk is disrupted.Early diagnosis and treatment are possible only with upper endoscopy after symptom appearance.We report seven cases of ischemic gastritis and its clinical features,prognosis,and indicators that may help in early detection.CASE SUMMARY Of the seven patients,six had vascular risk and five died within 2 wk of diagnosis.Their symptoms included hematemesis and hypotension.Although surgery is a choice for radical treatment,not all patients were tolerant.For such patients,conservative treatment was selected,but all of them died.In contrast,patients who underwent repeat endoscopy showed improved mucosal findings,suggesting that this improvement may not affect prognosis.Some ischemic changes such as wall thickening,mural emphysema,and fluid retention in the stomach were observed before diagnosis through endoscopy and computed tomography(CT).The CT scan can be effective for early detection,and improvement in circulatory failure and aggressive treatment may save the lives of patients with this disease.CONCLUSION The characteristic CT findings enable early detection of ischemic gastritis.Early diagnosis increases the chance of survival if early therapeutic intervention and improvement of circulatory dynamics can be achieved in this highly fatal disease.

Intraoperative Open-Cavity Implant for Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Using High-Dose Rate Multicatheter Brachytherapy in Japanese Breast Cancer Patients: A Single-Institution Registry Study

Background: Previous research has compared the efficacies of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) and wholebreast irradiation (WBI). APBI immediately after surgery may provide more benefit after intraoperative insertion of catheters. Although balloon catheter-based APBI is available in the US, it is difficult in Japanese women, who have relatively small breasts. With the applicators being implanted during tumor removal, APBI can be started immediately after surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of APBI using the intraoperative open-cavity implant technique. Method: Patients (age≥40 years) with invasive breast cancer (diameter≤3 cm) were enrolled. Before lumpectomy, the insertion of applicators and delivery doses were simulated by computed tomography (CT). After confirmation of free margins and negative sentinel nodes (SNs) using frozen section analysis, applicators were inserted. Postoperative CT-based dose distribution analysis was performed using dose-volume histograms. APBI was started on the day of surgery, delivering 32 Gy in 8 fractions over the following 5-6 days, and it covered a distance of 2 cm from tumor margins. This observational study was approved by the institutional review board of our hospital. Results: From October 2008 to July 2012, 157 women (160 lesions) were enrolled (age 55.0 years, <40:9, SN+: 25, for patients’ request). The mean number of applicators used was 6.4 (2-15) and mean planning target volume was 35.8 cm3 (6.5-137.1 cm3). All radiotherapy-related toxicities were mild. However, 12 patients (7.5%) experienced wound breakdown because of surgical site infection. Two patients developed ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (1 marginal, 1 at a distant site). Conclusions: Despite the small number of participants and a short follow-up period, our results suggest that this technique could be helpful in establishing clinical safety and efficacy.

Sentinel-Node-Driven Personalized Radiation Techniques Ranging from Partial Breast Irradiation to Regional Nodal Radiation after Breast-Conserving Surgery

Background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by whole breast irradiation (WBI) has become the standard of care for treating patients with early-stage breast cancer. Recently, various radiation techniques followed by BCS have been reported. We have been investigating “personalized radiotherapy after BCS” ranging from accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) to WBI with regional nodal irradiation (RNI) based on the axillary node status. In this study, we compared different cohorts that received personalized radiotherapy. Method: Of 317 consecutive patients who underwent BCS followed by radiotherapy since November 2007, 187 who received APBI and 122 who received WBI were analyzed. Results: The local-only recurrence rate was 1.1% in the APBI group and 3.3% in the WBI group, and the regional-only recurrence rate was 1.1% for APBI and 0.8% for WBI. Conclusions: The clinical efficacy of APBI for local control after BCS was comparable to that of WBI ± RNI. Although this study was based on a small number of patients with a short follow-up period, the feasibility of breast-conserving therapy using multicatheter brachytherapy to achieve acceptable clinical outcomes was demonstrated.