Barrett食管发育异常的射频消融治疗

Barrett食管由食管黏膜的内腔上皮化生，与食管腺癌风险的增加有关。美国北卡罗莱纳大学医学院食管疾病和吞咽中心的研究人员最近完成了一项多中心随机对照临床试验，评价了内镜下射频消融治疗根治发育异常的Barrett食管以及减少肿瘤发生率的情况，

2例先天性食管狭窄患儿围手术期的护理

先天性食管狭窄临床少见，是食管发育异常产生的不完全梗阻，患儿出生后随年龄增长，增添辅食后，表现为吞咽困难、进食速度慢、呕吐，导致患儿出现营养不良，生长发育滞后，严重者会导致重度营养不良甚至危及生命，目前手术治疗是解决此病的一种有效方法。我科成功护理了2例术后患儿，现将护理体会报道如下。

Cryotherapy in the management of premalignant and malignant conditions of the esophagus

Endoscopic cryotherapy is a relatively new thermal ablative modality used for the treatment of neoplastic lesions of the esophagus. It relies on cycles of rapid cooling and thawing to induce tissue destruction with a cryogen(liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide) leading to intra and extra-cellular damage. Surgical treatment was once considered the standard therapeutic intervention for neoplastic diseases of the esophagus and is associated with considerable rates of morbidity and mortality. Several trials that evaluated cryotherapy in Barrett's esophagus(BE) associated neoplasia showed reasonable efficacy rates and safety profile. Cryotherapy has also found applications in the treatment of esophageal cancer, both for curative and palliative intent. Cryotherapy has also shown promising results as salvage therapy in cases refractory to radiofrequency ablation treatment. Cryoballoon focal ablation using liquid nitrogen is a novel mode of cryogen delivery which has been used for the treatment of BE with dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma. Most common side effects of cryotherapy reported in the literature include mild chest discomfort, esophageal strictures and bleeding. In conclusion, cryotherapy is an effective and safe method for the treatment of esophageal neoplastic processes, ranging from early stages of low grade dysplasia to esophageal cancer.

miRNAs in precancerous lesions of the gastrointestinal tract

In spite of the well-established understanding of the phenotypic lesions occurring in the shift from native epithelia to invasive （adeno） carcinoma, the molecular b/ping of the precancerous changes in the gastrointes- tinal tract remains unreliable. In recent years, no biomarkers have aroused as much interest as the miRNAs, a class of non-coding RNA molecules that function as endogenous silencers of numerous target genes. Aberrant miRNA expression is a hallmark of human disease, including cancer. Unlike most mRNAs, miRNAs are both long-living in vivo and very stable in vitro. Such charac- teristics allow their testing in paraffin-embedded tissue samples, which is essential in the biological profiling of small （phenotypically characterized） preneoplastic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract （as well as in other fields of human pathology）. The upcoming challenge lies in the reliable identification of disease-specific targets of dysregulated miRNAs, to enable miRNA testing in the clinical management of the secondary prevention of gastrointestinal cancer.

Risk of progression of Barrett's esophagus in patients with cirrhosis

To study Barrett’s esophagus (BE) in cirrhosis and assess progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) compared to non-cirrhotic BE controls.METHODSCirrhotic patients who were found to have endoscopic evidence of BE confirmed by the presence of intestinal metaplasia on histology from 1/1/2000 to 12/1/2015 at Cleveland Clinic were included. Cirrhotic patients were matched 1:4 to BE controls without cirrhosis. Age, gender, race, BE length, hiatal hernia size, Child-Pugh (CP) class and histological findings were recorded. Cases and controls without high-grade dysplasia (HGD)/EAC and who had follow-up endoscopies were studied for incidence of dysplasia/EAC and to assess progression rates. Univariable conditional logistic regression was done to assess differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups.RESULTSA total of 57 patients with cirrhosis and BE were matched with 228 controls (BE without cirrhosis). The prevalence of dysplasia in cirrhosis and controls were similar with 8.8% vs 12% with low grade dysplasia (LGD) and 12.3 % vs 19.7% with HGD or EAC (P = 0.1). In the incidence cohort of 44 patients with median follow-up time of 2.7 years [interquartile range 1.0, 4.8], there were 7 cases of LGD, 2 cases of HGD, and 2 cases of EAC. There were no differences in incidence rates of HGD/EAC in nondysplastic BE between cirrhotic cases and noncirrhotic controls (1.4 vs 1.1 per 100 person- years, P = 0.8). In LGD, cirrhotic patients were found to have higher rates of progression to HGD/EAC compared to control group though this did not reach statistical significance (13.7 vs 8.1 per 100 person- years, P = 0.51). A significant association was found between a higher CP class and neoplastic progression of BE in cirrhotic patients (HR =7.9, 95%CI: 2.0-30.9, P = 0.003).CONCLUSIONCirrhotics with worsening liver function are at increased risk of progression of BE. More frequent endoscopic surveillance might be warranted in such patients.

Management of esophageal mucosa with high-grade dysplasia

Objective:Early detection and treatment in patients with esophageal cancer is the most effective way to improve the prognosis. Patients with high-grade dysplasia(HGD) in esophageal mucosa might be involved with early esophageal cancer,but the management of the disease is controversial. The purpose of our study was to explore the management of esophageal mucosa with HGD. Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 10 patients with HGD in esophageal mucosa,who underwent esophagectomy in Cancer Hospital of Fudan University from 1999 to 2006. The surgical approach,postoperative morbidity,in-hospital complications and pathological results of the patients were analyzed. Basing on our data together with other studies,we aimed at looking for an appropriate management for patients with HGD. Results:Of the 10 patients who received esophagectomy,the pathological results showed that 2(20%) cases were in situ carcinoma and 8(80%) cases were invasive cancer with no regional lymph nodes involved. 30-day mortality was 0. One patient experienced cervical anastomotic leakage,but healed in 2 weeks. There was no pulmonary complication. Conclusion:Most patients with HGD actually have occult carcinoma. High percentage of patients with HGD would develop into cancer during their lifetime. Esophagectomy is now a selective approach for the treatment of the patients with HGD.

Progression from low-grade dysplasia to malignancy in patients with Barrett's esophagus diagnosed by two or more pathologists

AIM To evaluate annual incidence of low grade dysplasia(LGD) progression to high grade dysplasia(HGD) and/or esophageal adenocarcinoma(EAC) when diagnosis was made by two or more expert pathologists.METHODS Studies evaluating the progression of LGD to HGD or EAC were included. The diagnosis of LGD must be made by consensus of two or more expert gastrointestinal pathologists. Articles were searched in Medline, Pubmed, and Embase. Pooled proportions were calculated using fixed and random effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the I2 statistic. RESULTS Initial search identified 721 reference articles, of which 53 were selected and reviewed. Twelve studies(n = 971) that met the inclusion criteria were included in this analysis. Among the total original LGD diagnoses in the included studies, only 37.49% reached the consensus LGD diagnosis after review by two or more expert pathologists. Total follow up period was 1532 patient-years. In the pooled consensus LGD patients, the annual incidence rate(AIR) of progression to HGD and or EAC was 10.35%(95%CI: 7.56-13.13) and progression to EAC was 5.18%(95%CI: 3.43-6.92). Among the patients down staged from original LGD diagnosis to No-dysplasia Barrett's esophagus, the AIR of progression to HGD and EAC was 0.65%(95%CI: 0.49-0.80). Among the patients down staged to Indefinite for dysplasia, the AIR of progression to HGD and EAC was 1.42%(95%CI: 1.19-1.65). In patients with consensus HGD diagnosis, the AIR of progression to EAC was 28.63%(95%CI: 13.98-43.27). CONCLUSION When LGD is diagnosed by consensus agreement of two or more expert pathologists, its progression towards malignancy seems to be at least three times the current estimates, however it could be up to 20 times the current estimates. Biopsies of all Barrett's esophagus patients with LGD should be reviewed by two expert gastroenterology pathologists. Follow-up strict surveillance programs should be in place for these patients.