Current status and future perspectives for the treatment of resectable locally advanced esophagogastric junction cancer:A narrative review

Incidence rates for esophagogastric junction cancer are rising rapidly worldwide possibly due to the economic development and demographic changes.Therefore,increased attention has been paid to the prevention,diagnosis,and the treatment of esophagogastric junction cancer.Although there are discrepancies in the treatment strategy between Asian and Western countries,surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for esophagogastric junction cancer.Recent developments of perioperative multidisciplinary treatment may lead to better therapeutic effect,higher complete resection rate,and better control of the residual diseases,thus result in prolonged prognosis.In this review,we will focus on the treatment of locally advanced resectable esophagogastric junction cancer,and discuss the current status and future perspectives of the perioperative treatment including chemotherapy,radiation therapy,and immunotherapy,as well as the surgical strategy.Better understanding of the latest treatment strategy and future overlook may enable to standardize and individualize the treatment for esophagogastric junction cancer,thus leading to better prognosis for those patients.

Repeat endoscopic submucosal dissection for recurrent gastric cancers after endoscopic submucosal dissection

AIM:To clarify the safety and efficacy of repeat endoscopic submucosal dissection(re-ESD)for locally recurrent gastric cancers after ESD.METHODS:A retrospective evaluation was performed of the therapeutic efficacy,complications and followup results from ESD treatment for early gastric cancers in 521 consecutive patients with 616 lesions at St.Luke`s International Hospital between April 2004 and November 2012.In addition,tumor size,the size of resected specimens and the operation time were compared between re-ESD and initial ESD procedures.A flex knife was used as the primary surgical device and a hook knife was used in cases with severe fibrosis in the submucosal layer.Continuous variables were analyzed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and are expressed as medians(range).Categorical variables were analyzed using a Fisher’s exact test and are reported as proportions.Statistical significance was defined as a P-value less than 0.05.RESULTS:The number of cases in the re-ESD group and the initial ESD group were 5 and 611,respectively.The median time interval from the initial ESD to re-ESD was 14(range,4-44 mo).En bloc resection with free lateral and vertical margins was successfully performed in all re-ESD cases without any complications.No local or distant recurrence was observed during the median follow-up period of 48(range,11-56 mo).Tumor size was not significantly different between the re-ESD group and the initial ESD group(median 22 mm vs 11mm,P=0.09),although the size of resected specimens was significantly larger in the re-ESD group(median 47 mm vs 34 mm,P<0.05).There was a nonsignificant increase observed in re-ESD operation time compared to initial ESD(median 202 min vs 67 min,respectively,P=0.06).CONCLUSION:Despite the low patient number and short follow-up,the results suggest that re-ESD is a safe and effective endoscopic treatment for recurrent gastric cancer after ESD.

Successful treatment of giant rectal varices by modified percutaneous transhepatic obliteration with sclerosant:Report of a case

We present a female patient with continuous melena, diagnosed with rectal variceal bleeding. She had a history of esophageal varices, which were treated with endoscopic therapy. Five years after the treatment of esophageal varices, continuous melena occurred. Since colonoscopy showed that the melena was caused by giant rectal varices, we thought that they were not suitable to receive endoscopic treatment. We chose the modified percutaneous transhepatic obliteration with sclerosant, which is one of the interventional radiology techniques but a new clinical procedure for rectal varices. After the patient received this therapy, her condition of rectal varices was markedly improved.

Endoscopic band ligation for bleeding lesions in the small bowel

AIM: To investigate the safety and efficacy of endo-scopic band ligation(EBL) for bleeding lesions in the small bowel.METHODS: This is a retrospective study evaluating EBL in six consecutive patients(three males, three fe-males, 46-86 years of age) treated between May 2009 and February 2014: duodenal vascular ectasia; 1, je-junal bleeding diverticulum; 1, ileal Dieulafoy's lesion; 1 and ileal bleeding diverticula; 3. The success of the initial hemostasis was evaluated, and patients were observed for early rebleeding(within 30 d after EBL), and complications such as perforation and abscess for-mation. Follow-up endoscopies were performed in four patients.RESULTS: Initial hemostasis was successfully achieved with EBL in all six patients. Eversion was not sufficient in four diverticular lesions. Early rebleeding occurred three days after EBL in one ileal diverticulum, and arepeat endoscopy revealed dislodgement of the O-band and ulcer formation at the banded site. This rebleeding was managed conservatively. Late rebleeding occurred in this case(13 and 21 mo after initial EBL), and re-EBL was performed. Follow-up endoscopies revealed scar formation and the disappearance of vascular lesions at the banded site in the case with a duodenal bleeding lesion, and unresolved ileal diverticula in three cases. Surgery or transarterial embolization was not required without any complications during the median follow-up period of 45(range, 2-83) mo.CONCLUSION: EBL is a safe and effective endoscopic treatment for hemostasis of bleeding lesions in the small bowel.

Management of gastric fundal varices without gastro-renal shunt in 15 patients

AIM:To examine the portal hemodynamics of gastric fundal varices (GV) without gastro-renal shunt (GRS), and to retrospectively investigate the effects of various kinds of treatment on eradication. METHODS: Ninety-four liver cirrhosis patients at high- risk of GV were treated in our hospital and enrolled in this study. We retrospectively examined their characteristics, liver function, and portal hemodynamics of GV. We performed balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) at first. If it was not technically possible to perform BRTO, endoscopic injection sclerotherapy using α-cyanoacrylate glue (CA) or percutaneous transhepatic obliteration (PTO) was performed. RESULTS: Among the 94 patients, a GRS was present in 79 (84.0%), and absent in the remaining 15 (16.0%). The subphrenic vein was connected to the inferior vena cava as the drainage vein in 13 (86.7%) out of the 15 cases without GRS. We performed BRTO in 6 patients, CA in 4 patients and PTO in 5 patients. The eradication rate was 100% for each procedure, but the rate of early recurrence within 6 mo was 16.7% for BRTO, 50.0% for CA and 40.0% for PTO, respectively. CONCLUSION: We should examine the hemodynamics before treatment of GV irrespective of the existence of GRS. If this hemodynamic examination reveals that the drainage vein connects directly to the inferior vena cava in GV without GRS, BRTO may be an effective treatment for GV with GRS.

Carcinoembryonic antigen-producing adrenal adenoma resected using combined lateral and anterior transperitoneal laparoscopic surgery

A 74-year-old woman presented with symptoms consistent with hyperadrenocorticism and hyperca- techolaminism. She had a cushingoid appearance and her cortisol level was elevated. Her serum dopamine and noradrenalin levels were also elevated. Computed tomography detected a left adrenal mass measuring 3.5 cm × 3.0 cm in diameter. Metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy was negative. Unexpectedly, the serum Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level waselevated. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography showed increased uptake in the adrenal tumor only, with a maximum standardized uptake value of 2.8. Selective venography and blood sampling revealed that the concentrations of cortisol, catecholamines and CEA were significantly elevated in the vein draining the tumor. A diagnosis of CEA-producing benign adenoma was made. After preoperative management, we performed a combined lateral and anterior transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenectomy. Her vital signs remained stable during surgery. Histopathological examination revealed a benign adenoma. Her cortisol, catecholamine and CEA levels normalized immediately after surgery. We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first case of CEA-producing adrenal adenoma, along with a review of the relevant literature, and discuss our laparoscopic surgery techniques.

Foreign body granulomas mimic peritoneal dissemination caused by incarcerated femoral hernia perforation:A case report

BACKGROUND Foreign body granuloma(FBG)is a well-known type of granulomatous formation,and intraabdominal FBG(IFBG)is primarily caused by surgical residues.Multifocal IFBGs caused by gastrointestinal perforation is an extremely rare and interesting clinicopathological condition that resembles peritoneal dissemination.Here,we present a case of IFBGs mimicking peritoneal dissemination caused by bowel perforation and describe the value of intraoperative pathological examinations for rapid IFBG diagnosis.CASE SUMMARY An 86-year-old woman with an incarcerated femoral hernia was admitted to the hospital and underwent operation.During the operation,the incarcerated ileum was perforated during repair due to hemorrhage necrosis,and a small volume of enteric fluid leaked from the perforation.The incarcerated ileum was resected,and the femoral hernia was repaired without mesh.Four months later,a second operation was performed for an umbilical incisional hernia.During the second operation,multiple small,white nodules were observed throughout the abdominal cavity,resembling peritoneal dissemination.The results of peritoneal washing cytology in Douglas’pouch and the examination of frozen nodule sections were compatible with IFBG diagnosis,and incisional hernia repair was performed.CONCLUSION IFBGs can mimic malignancy.Intraoperative pathological examinations and operation history are valuable for the rapid diagnosis to avoid excessive treatments.

Computed Tomography Using a Low Tube Voltage Technique for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Computed tomography (CT) is commonly used to assess for cerebral hemorrhage and acute ischemic stroke. We investigated the accuracy of CT using a low tube voltage technique in acute ischemic stroke. We compared the standard deviation (SD), contrast between gray and white matter, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between three groups (120 kV 500 mAs, 100 kV 850 mAs, and 100 kV 750 mAs using hybrid iterative reconstruction) in 50 patients without lesions, and visual evaluation using the normalized rank approach was also performed. The mean value of SD was 4.02, 4.22, and 4.04, respectively, and the contrast between gray and white matter was 7.08, 8.66, and 8.68 HU, respectively;in addition, the CNR was 1.77, 2.06, and 2.15, respectively. The difference between the 100 kV and 120 kV groups was significant (p 0.01). Visual evaluation showed a significant difference between the 100 and 120 kV groups (p 0.05).