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.

The application of indocyanine green in guiding prostate cancer treatment

Objective:Indocyanine green(ICG)with near-infrared fluorescence absorption is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for clinical applications in angiography,blood flow evaluation,and liver function assessment.It has strong optical absorption in the near-infrared region,where light can penetrate deepest into biological tissue.We sought to review its value in guiding prostate cancer treatment.Methods:All related literature at PubMed from January 2000 to December 2020 were reviewed.Results:Multiple preclinical studies have demonstrated the usefulness of ICG in identifying prostate cancer by using different engineering techniques.Clinical studies have demonstrated the usefulness of ICG in guiding sentinel node dissection during radical prostatectomy,and possible better preservation of neurovascular bundle by identifying landmark prostatic arteries.New techniques such as adding fluorescein in additional to ICG were tested in a limited number of patients with encouraging result.In addition,the use of the ICG was shown to be safe.Even though there are encouraging results,it does not carry sufficient sensitivity and specificity in replacing extended pelvic lymph node dissection during radical prostatectomy.Conclusion:Multiple preclinical and clinical studies have shown the usefulness of ICG in identifying and guiding treatment for prostate cancer.Larger randomized prospective studies are warranted to further test its usefulness and find new modified approaches.