Risk clinicopathological factors for lymph node metastasis in poorly differentiated early gastric cancer and their impact on laparoscopic wedge resection

AIM:To investigate the predictive factors of lymph node metastasis(LNM) in poorly differentiated early gastric cancer(EGC),and enlarge the possibility of using laparoscopic wedge resection(LWR).METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed 85 patients with poorly differentiated EGC who underwent surgical resection between January 1992 and December 2010.The association between the clinicopathological factors and the presence of LNM was retrospectively analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Odds ratios(OR) with 95%CI were calculated.We further examined the relationship between the positive number of the three significant predictive factors and the LNM rate.RESULTS:In the univariate analysis,tumor size(P = 0.011),depth of invasion(P = 0.007) and lymphatic vessel involvement(P < 0.001) were significantly associated with a higher rate of LNM.In the multivariate model,tumor size(OR = 7.125,95%CI:1.251-38.218,P = 0.041),depth of invasion(OR = 16.624,95%CI:1.571-82.134,P = 0.036) and lymphatic vessel involvement(OR = 39.112,95%CI:1.745-123.671,P = 0.011) were found to be independently risk clinicopathological factors for LNM.Of the 85 patients diagnosed with poorly differentiated EGC,12(14.1%) had LNM.The LNM rates were 5.7%,42.9% and 57.1%,respectively in cases with one,two and three of the risk factors respectively in poorly differentiated EGC.There was no LNM in 29 patients without the three risk clinicopathological factors.CONCLUSION:LWR alone may be sufficient treatment for intramucosal poorly differentiated EGC if the tumor is less than or equal to 2.0 cm in size,and when lymphatic vessel involvement is absent at postoperative histological examination.

Feasibility study on expanded indication for endoscopic submucosal dissection of intramucosal poorly differentiated early gastric cancer

AIM: To identify clinicopathological factors predictive of lymph node metastasis(LNM) in intramucosal poorly differentiated early gastric cancer(EGC), and further to expand the possibility of using endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD) for the treatment of intramucosal poorly differentiated EGC.METHODS: Data for 81 surgically treated patients with intramucosal poorly differentiated EGC were collected, and the association between the clinicopathological factors and the presence of LNM was retrospectively analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Odds ratios(ORs) with 95% confidence intervals(CIs) were calculated. Several clinicopathologic factors were investigated to identify predictive factors for lymph nodes metastasis, including gender, age, family history of gastric cancer, number of tumors, tumor location, ulceration, tumor size, macroscopic type, lymphatic vessel involvement, and signet-ring-cell component.RESULTS: Tumor size(OR = 7.273, 95%CI: 1.246-29.918, P = 0.042), lymphatic vessel involvement(OR = 42.219, 95%CI: 1.923-97.052, P = 0.018) and signet-ring-cell component(OR = 17.513, 95%CI: 1.647-77.469, P = 0.034) that were significantly associated with LNM by univariate analysis, were found to be significant and independent risk factors for LNM by multivariate analysis. However, gender, age, family history of gastric cancer, number, location, ulceration and macroscopic type of tumor were found not to be associated with LNM. Of these 81 patients diagnosed with intramucosal poorly differentiated EGC, 7(8.6%) had LNM. The LNM rates were 9.1%, 22.2% and 57.1%, respectively, in cases with one, two and three of the risk factors. There was no LNM in 54 patients without the three risk clinicopathological factors.CONCLUSION: Tumor size, lymphatic vessel involvement and signet-ring-cell component are independently associated with the presence of LNM in intramucosal poorly differentiated EGC. Thus, these three risk factors may be used as a simple criterion to expand the possibility of using ESD for the treatment of intramucosal poorly differentiated EGC.

Combination of endoscopic submucosal dissection and laparoscopic sentinel lymph node dissection in early mucinous gastric cancer:Role of lymph node metastasis

BACKGROUND Recent evidence showed that combining endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD)and laparoscopic sentinel lymph node dissection may avoid unnecessary gastrectomy in treating early mucinous gastric cancer(EMGC)patients with risks of positive lymph node metastasis(pLNM).AIM To explore the predictive factors for pLNM in EMGC,and to optimize the clinical application of combing ESD and sentinel lymph node dissection in a proper subgroup of patients with EMGC.METHODS Thirty-one patients with EMGC who had undergone gastrectomy with lymph node dissection were consecutively enrolled from January 1988 to December 2016.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the association between the rates of pLNM and clinicopathological factors,providing odds ratio(OR)with 95%confidence interval.And the association between the number of predictors and the pLNM rate was also investigated.RESULTS Depth of invasion(OR=7.342,1.127-33.256,P=0.039),tumor diameter(OR=9.158,1.348-29.133,P=0.044),and lymphatic vessel involvement(OR=27.749,1.821-33.143,P=0.019)turned out to be significant and might be the independent risk factors for predicating pLNM in the multivariate analysis.For patients with 1,2,and 3 risk factors,the pLNM rates were 9.1%,33.3%,and 75.0%,respectively.pLNM was not detected in seven patients without any of these risk factors.CONCLUSION ESD might serve as a safe and sufficient treatment for intramucosal EMGC if tumor size≤2 cm,and when lymphatic vessel involvement is absent by postoperative histological examination.Combining ESD and sentinel lymph node dissection could be recommended as a safe and effective treatment for EMGC patients with a potential risk of pLNM.

Tetramethylpyrazine inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cells in vitro

BACKGROUND Colon cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide,and chemotherapy is a widely used strategy in colon cancer clinical therapy.However,chemotherapy resistance is a major cause of disease recurrence and progression in colon cancer,and thus novel drugs for treatment are urgently needed.Tetramethylpyrazine(TMP),a component of the traditional Chinese medicine Chuanxiong Hort,has been proven to exhibit a beneficial effect in tumors.AIM To investigate the potential anticancer activity of TMP in colon cancer and its underlying mechanisms.METHODS Colon cancer cells were incubated with different concentrations of TMP.Cell viability was evaluated by crystal violet staining assay and cell counting kit-8 assay,and cell apoptosis and cell cycle were assessed by flow cytometry.RESULTS TMP significantly inhibited the proliferation of colon cancer cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner.In addition,flow cytometry revealed that TMP induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase.TMP treatment caused early stage apoptosis in SW480 cells,whereas it caused late stage apoptosis in HCT116 cells.CONCLUSION Our studies demonstrated that TMP inhibits the proliferation of colon cancer cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner by inducing apoptosis and arresting the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase.Our findings suggest that TMP might serve as a potential novel therapeutic drug in the treatment of human colon cancer.

Propofol promotes spinal cord injury repair by bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation

Propofol is a neuroprotective anesthetic. Whether propofol can promote spinal cord injury repair by bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells remains poorly understood. We used rats to investigate spinal cord injury repair using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation combined with propofol administration via the tail vein. Rat spinal cord injury was clearly alleviated; a large number of newborn non-myelinated and myelinated nerve fibers appeared in the spinal cord, the numbers of CM-Dil-labeled bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and fluorogold-labeled nerve fibers were increased and hindlimb motor function of spinal cord-injured rats was markedly improved. These improvements were more prominent in rats subjected to bone marrow mesenchymal cell transplantation combined with propofol administration than in rats receiving monotherapy. These results indicate that propofol can enhance the therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation on spinal cord injury in rats.