Oncological safety of use of ultrasonic activated shears in gastric cancer surgery: Long-term results of randomized controlled trial

Objective： Ultrasonically activated shears （UAS） have been applied in open gastric surgeries with no or little evidence. It was previously reported about the surgical outcome and effectiveness of UAS based on a randomized controlled trial of 256 patients with gastric cancer. We aimed to clarify the long-term oncological safety of the use of UAS in the aspect of overall survival and recurrence.Methods： Gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the conventional surgery group （n=125） or the UAS group （n=128）. Survival, recurrence and long-term postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. The median follow-up period was 56 months.Results： Gastric cancer-related death was higher in patients of the UAS group compared with the conventional group （P=0.019）. Overall survival rates stratified by stage were not significantly different between the two groups （P=0.170）. Disease-free survival rates stratified by stage and recurrence-free survival rates of gastric cancer were similar between the conventional group and the UAS group （P=0.313 and 0.199, respectively）. The postoperative complication rate was not significantly different between the groups （P=1.000）. Conclusions： It is suggested that the use of UAS in gastrectomy for gastric cancer showed oncologically acceptable safety compared with conventional electric instruments even in long-term period.

Pylorus-preserving gastrectomy for early gastric cancer

Pylorus-preserving gastrectomy(PPG)has been widely accepted as a function-preserving gastrectomy for middle-third early gastric cancer(EGC)with a distal tumor border at least 4 cm proximal to the pylorus.The procedure essentially preserves the function of the pyloric sphincter,which requires to preserve the upper third of the stomach and a pyloric cuff at least 2.5 cm.The suprapyloric and infrapyloric vessels are usually preserved,as are the hepatic and pyloric branches of the vagus nerve.Compared with distal gastrectomy,PPG has significant advantages in preventing dumping syndrome,body weight loss and bile reflux gastritis.The postoperative complications after PPG have reached an acceptable level.PPG can be considered a safe,effective,and superior choice in EGC,and is expected to be extensively performed in the future.

Comparison of outcomes between immediate implantbased and autologous reconstruction: 15-year, single-center experience in a propensity score-matched Chinese cohort

Objective:The number of immediate breast reconstruction(IBR)procedures has been increasing in China.This study aimed to investigate the oncological safety of IBR,and to compare the survival and surgical outcomes between implant-based and autologous reconstruction.Methods:Data from patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who underwent immediate total breast reconstruction between 2001 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed.Long-term breast cancer-specific survival(BCSS),disease-free survival(DFS),and locoregional recurrence-free survival(LRFS)were evaluated.Patient satisfaction with the breast was compared between the implantbased and autologous groups.BCSS,DFS,and LRFS were compared between groups after propensity score matching(PSM).Results:A total of 784 IBR procedures were identified,of which 584 were performed on patients with invasive breast cancer(implantbased,n=288;autologous,n=296).With a median follow-up of 71.3 months,the 10-year estimates of BCSS,DFS,and LRFS were 88.9%[95%confidence interval(CI)(85.1%–93.0%)],79.6%[95%CI(74.7%–84.8%)],and 94.0%[95%CI(90.3%–97.8%)],respectively.A total of 124 patients completed the Breast-Q questionnaire,and no statistically significant differences were noted between groups(P=0.823).After PSM with 27 variables,no statistically significant differences in BCSS,DFS,and LRFS were found between the implant-based(n=177)and autologous(n=177)groups.Further stratification according to staging,histological grade,lymph node status,and lymph-venous invasion status revealed no significant survival differences between groups.Conclusions:Both immediate implant-based and autologous reconstruction were reasonable choices with similar long-term oncological outcomes and patient-reported satisfaction among patients with invasive breast cancer in China.

Individualized proximal margin for early gastric cancer patients

There is no robust evidence to define a safe proximal margin by distance for early gastric cancer (EGC). The discussion on resection margin should not only focus on the oncologic safety, but also the postgastrectomy quality of life. The distance 1-10 mm is only acceptable for those endoscopic treatment fit EGC patients. For endoscopic unfit EGC cases, if the borderline of tumor is able to be clearly determined intraoperatively, the distance 1-3 cm is recommended for proximal resection margin. If there is any uncertainty on the tumor borderline, the distance 3-5 cm should be considered for proximal margin. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.