Synchronous resection of esophageal cancer and other organ malignancies: A systematic review

BACKGROUND Neoplasms arising in the esophagus may coexist with other solid organ or gastrointestinal tract neoplasms in 6%to 15%of patients.Resection of both tumors synchronously or in a staged procedure provides the best chances for long-term survival.Synchronous resection of both esophageal and second primary malignancy may be feasible in a subset of patients;however,literature on this topic remains rather scarce.AIM To analyze the operative techniques employed in esophageal resections combined with gastric,pancreatic,lung,colorectal,kidney and liver resections and define postoperative outcomes in each case.METHODS We conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines.We searched the Medline database for cases of patients with esophageal tumors coexisting with a second primary tumor located in another organ that underwent synchronous resection of both neoplasms.All English language articles deemed eligible for inclusion were accessed in full text.Exclusion criteria included:(1)Hematological malignancies;(2)Head/neck/pharyngeal neoplasms;(3)Second primary neoplasms in the esophagus or the gastroesophageal junction;(4)Second primary neoplasms not surgically excised;and(5)Preclinical studies.Data regarding the operative strategy employed,perioperative outcomes and longterm outcomes were extracted and analyzed using descriptive statistics.RESULTS The systematic literature search yielded 23 eligible studies incorporating a total of 117 patients.Of these patients,71%had a second primary neoplasm in the stomach.Those who underwent total gastrectomy had a reconstruction using either a colonic(n=23)or a jejunal(n=3)conduit while for those who underwent gastric preserving resections(i.e.,non-anatomic/wedge/distal gastrectomies)a conventional gastric pull-up was employed.Likewise,in cases of patients who underwent esophagectomy combined with pancreaticoduodenectomy(15%of the cohort),the decision to preserve part of the stomach or not dictated the reconstruction method(whether by a gastric pullup or a colonic/jejunal limb).For the remaining patients with coexisting lung/colorectal/kidney/liver neoplasms(14%of the entire patient population)the types of resections and operative techniques employed were identical to those used when treating each malignancy separately.CONCLUSION Despite the poor quality of available evidence and the great interstudy heterogeneity,combined procedures may be feasible with acceptable safety and satisfactory oncologic outcomes on individual basis.

Bimatoprost/timolol fixed combination(BTFC) in patients with primary open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension in Greece

AIM：To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the fixed combination of bimatoprost 0.03%and timolol 0.5%（BTFC）in patients in Greece with primary open angle glaucoma（POAG）or ocular hypertension（OHT）whose previous therapy provided insufficient lowering of intraocular pressure（IOP）.·METHODS：A multicenter,prospective,open-label,non-interventional,observational study of the use of BTFC in clinical practice was conducted at 41 sites in Greece.The primary endpoint was the reduction in IOP from baseline at study end,approximately 12wk after initiation of BTFC therapy.·RESULTS：A total of 785 eligible patients were enrolled in the study and 97.6%completed the study.The mean±SD IOP reduction from baseline at 12wk after initiation of BTFC was 6.3±2.8 mm Hg（=764;〈0.001）.In patients（=680）who replaced their previous IOP-lowering monotherapy（a single drug,or a fixed combination of 2drugs in a single ophthalmic drop）with once-daily BTFC,the mean±SD IOP reduction from baseline at 12wk was 6.2±2.8 mm Hg（〈0.001）.IOP was reduced from baseline in 99.2%of patients,and 58.0%of patients reached or exceeded their target IOP.Substantial mean IOP reductions were observed regardless of the previous therapy.BTFC was well tolerated,with 96.0%of patients who completed the study rating the tolerability of BTFC as＂good＂or＂very good.＂Adverse events were reported in 8.3%of patients;only 0.6%of patients discontinued the study due to adverse events.·C ONCLUSION：In clinical practice in Greece,BTFC is well tolerated and effectively lower the IOP in patients with POAG or OHT who requires additional IOP lowering on their previous therapy.

Managing high risk glaucoma with the Ahmed valve implant:20 years of experience

AIM： To estimate the efficacy and safety of the Ahmed implant in patients with high risk for failure after glaucoma surgery.METHODS： In 342 eyes of 342 patients with refractory glaucoma, even with application of medical treatment, the Ahmed valve was introduced for intraocular pressure（IOP） control, in the period of the last 20y. The nature of glaucoma was neovascular in 162 eyes, pseudophakic or aphakic in 49 eyes, inflammatory in 29 eyes and non working previous antiglaucomatic surgical interventions in 102 eyes. RESULTS： Follow-up ranged from 18 to 120m o with a mean follow-up of 63.2m o. IOP before the operation decreased from 31.6±10.4 mmHg to 18.3±5.4 mm Hg（no systemic treatment） at the end of follow up period. When we compared the IOP values before the operation using ANOVA showed statistically significant difference（P〈0.001）. The success rate was 85.2% during the first semester, 76.8% at 12 mo and 50.3% at the end of follow up period（18 to 120 mo after implantation）. Success rate was 25.7% in neovascular glaucoma, 63.2% in aphakic glaucoma and 73.8% in non working previous antiglaucomatic surgical interventions. Complications due to the implant were： serous choroidal detachment in 14.8%, blockage of the tube in 2.8%, malposition of the tube in 4.9%, suprachoroidal hemorrhage in 2.1%, cataract progression in 39.6%（phakic eyes）, shallow anterior chamber in 9.2%, hyphaema in 28.9%, exposure of valve in 2.6%, exposure of tube in 9.3%, hypotony in 4.9% and conjunctival fibrosis in 41.5%.CONCLUSION： Despite the fact that Ahmed valve implant had suchlike results as other implants concerning the IOP control, complications rate due to hypotony or over filtration in the first days after the intervention are not that frequent as with other valve implants.

Relationship between short-wavelength automatic perimetry and Heidelberg retina tomograph parameters in eyes with ocular hypertension

AIMTo compare and correlate optic nerve head parameters obtained by Heidelberg retina tomograph (HRT) with short-wavelength automatic perimetry (SWAP) indices in eyes with ocular hypertension (OHT).METHODSOne hundred and forty-six patients with OHT included in the present study. All subjects had reliable SWAP and HRT measurements performed within a 2wk period. The eyes were classified as normal/abnormal according to visual field criteria and Moorfields regression analysis (MRA). Correlations between visual field indices and HRT parameters were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient (r).RESULTSTwenty-nine eyes (19.9%) had SWAP defects. Twenty-nine eyes (19.9%) were classified as abnormal according to global MRA. Six eyes (4.1%) had abnormal global MRA and SWAP defects. The k statistic is 0.116 (P=0.12) indicating a very poor agreement between the methods. No statistical significant correlation between HRT and SWAP parameters was detected.CONCLUSIONSWAP defects may coexist with abnormalities of optic disc detected by HRT in eyes with OHT. In most eyes, however, the two methods detect different glaucoma properties.