Evaluation of transarterial chemoembolization combined with percutaneous ethanol ablation for large hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM： To assess the effects of combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization （TACE） and percutaneous ethanol ablation （PEA） in patients with large hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）.METHODS： A total of 63 patients with unresectable large HCC were treated with TACE followed by PEA. The largest dimension of the tumors ranged from 5.3 cm to 17.8 cm. The survival rates, acute effects, toxicity and prognostic factors were analyzed.RESULTS： The cumulative survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 59.4%, 28.4% and 15.8%, respectively （a median survival of 27.7 too）. Tumor area was reduced by more than 50% in 30 （47.6%） cases. In 56 cases with increased α-fetoprotein （AFP） values, AFP level was declined by more than 75%. The combined thera- py was generally well tolerated. Only two patients died from variceal bleeding associated with the therapy. The Cox proportional hazards model showed that the num- ber of tumors, the tumor margin and the ethanol dose were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION： The combined TACE and PEA therapy is a promising approach for unresectable large HCC.

Radiofrequency ablation as a treatment for hilar cholangiocarcinoma

AIM: To explore the role of radio-frequency ablation (RFA) as a treatment for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. METHODS: Eleven patients with obstructive cholestasis underwent Computed Tomography (CT) examination, occupying lesions were observed in the hepatic hilar region in each patient. All lesions were confirmed as cholangioadenocarcinoma by biopsy and were classified as type or by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography. Patients were treated with multiple electrodes RFA combined with other adjuvant therapy. The survival rate, change of CT attenuation coefficient of the tumor and tumor size were studied in these patients after RFA. RESULTS: In a follow-up CT scan one month after RFA, a size reduction of about 30% was observed in six masses, and two masses were reduced by about 20% in size, three of the eleven masses remained unchanged. In a follow-up CT scan 6 mo after RFA, all the masses were reduced in size (overall 35%), in which the most significant size reduction was 60%. The survival follow-up among these eleven cases was 18 mo in average. Ongoing follow-up showed that the longest survival case was 30 mo and the shortest case was 10 mo. CONCLUSION: RFA is a microinvasive and effective treatment for hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Research on focal nodular hyperplasia with MSCT and postprocessing

AIM： To investigate and evaluate the pathological features and diagnostic value of focal nodular hyperplasia （FNH） with multiection spiral computed tomography （MSCT） and postprocessing. METHODS： A total of 25 patients with FNH who had undergone MSCT and postprocessing were included in the investigation. All patients had been pathologically or clinically confirmed with FNH. A number of 75 cases of hepatic carcinomas, hemangiomas and adenomas were randomly selected at a same period for a comparative study. RESULTS： There was a single focus in 22 cases and multiple foci in 3 cases. On the plain scan, 17 lesions showed hypodensity, 7 isodensity and 4 hyperdensity （the case with fatty liver）. With contrast, 28 lesions were enhanced evenly or in the nodules in the arterial phase; 13 lesions still showed hyperdensity, 11 lesions isodensity and 4 lesions hypodensity in the parenchymatous phase; in the delayed phase only 5 lesions showed hyperdensity but 9 lesions showed isodensity or slight hypodensity and 14 lesions showed hypodensity. Twelve lesions of 28 had central asteroid scars. Thickened feeding arteries in postprocessing were seen in 24 lesions, and were integrated into the parenchymatous lesions with a gradual and smooth course. On the contrary, there were no artery penetrated into the lesion found in any of comparative hepatic tumors. CONCLUSION： Doctors could make a correct diagnosis and differentiation of FNH on evaluation of the characteristic appearance on MSCT with postprocessing,

鼻咽癌放疗后内镜超声引导下咽后淋巴结细针抽吸术:一种新型准确诊断技术

背景与目的鼻咽癌(nasopharyngeal carcinoma,NPC)患者接受放射治疗后普遍出现咽后淋巴结(retropharyngeal lymph nodes,RLNs)增大。病理学检查结果决定了对增大RLNs最佳治疗方案的选择。然而,在临床上RLN取样难度大。我们最近开发了一种内镜超声引导下细针抽吸(endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration,EUS-FNA)的新型微创技术,可取到足够的RLN组织用以病理学或细胞学诊断。方法纳入30例经核磁共振成像(magnetic resonance imaging,MRI)检测疑似放疗后出现RLN转移的NPC患者。EUS探头经鼻孔置入鼻咽,然后使用EUS扫描咽后间隙并在颈动脉鞘前定位RLN,随后进行EUS-FNA。对EUS-FNA法从RLN组织取样的安全性和有效性进行评估。结果采用EUS-FNA法成功地对所有患者进行了组织取样。在30例患者中,23例经1次EUS-FNA取样后通过病理学或细胞学检查确认了活检组织中存在癌细胞。有7例患者经1次EUS-FNA活检后未确认存在癌细胞,随后再次采用EUS-FNA活检重新分析,又有2例被确认存在癌细胞;另外5例未确认存在癌细胞的患者密切随访3个月,每月进行1次MRI。随访3个月后,3例患者由于RLNs直径保持稳定或减小而被认为未患肿瘤;剩余2例表现出疾病进展的患者进行了第3次EUS-FNA活检,进一步确认为癌细胞阳性。本文所报道的整个队列中,EUS-FNA过程无任何严重并发症发生。结论采用EUS-FNA法对疑似NPC复发患者的RLNs取样是一种安全有效的诊断方法。

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration of retropharyngeal lymph nodes after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a novel technique for accurate diagnosis

Background:Enlarged retropharyngeal lymph nodes(RLNs)are very common in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)undergoing radiotherapy.The most suitable treatment option for enlarged RLNs depends on the pathological results.However,RLN sampling is difficult and imminent in the clinic setting.We recently developed a novel minimally invasive technique termed endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration(EUS-FNA)for sam-pling RLN tissues sufficient for pathological or cytological diagnosis.Methods:We enrolled 30 post-radiotherapy patients with NPC with suspected RLN metastasis detected via mag-netic resonance imaging(MRI).The EUS probe was introduced into the nasopharynx via the nostrils,and EUS was then used to scan the retropharyngeal space and locate the RLN in the anterior carotid sheath.EUS-FNA was subsequently performed.The safety and efficacy of using EUS-FNA to sample the RLN tissues were assessed.Results:Strips of tissue were successfully sampled from all patients using EUS-FNA.Of the 30 patients,23 were confirmed to have cancer cells in the biopsied tissues via pathology or cytology examinations with 1 EUS-FNA biopsy session.The seven cases without confirmed cancer cells were subsequently reanalyzed by using another EUS-FNA biopsy session,and two more cases were confirmed possessing cancer cells.The other five patients without con-firmed cancer cells were closely followed with MRI every month for 3 months.After follow-up for 3 months,three patients were still considered cancer-free due to the presence of RLNs with stable or shrinking diameters.The rest two patients who showed progressive disease underwent a third EUS-FNA biopsy procedure and were further confirmed to be cancer cell-positive.In the whole cohort reported here,the EUS-FNA procedure was not associated with any severe complications.Conclusion:EUS-FNA is a safe and effective diagnostic approach for sampling tissues from the RLNs in patients with suspected recurrent NPC.