Minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer: A comparison between robotic, laparoscopic and open surgery

AIM To investigate the role of minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer and determine surgical, clinical, and oncological outcomes.METHODS This is a propensity score-matched case-control study, comparing three treatment arms: robotic gastrectomy(RG), laparoscopic gastrectomy(LG), open gastrectomy(OG). Data collection started after sharing a specific study protocol. Data were recorded through a tailored and protected web-based system. Primary outcomes: harvested lymph nodes, estimated blood loss, hospital stay, complications rate. Among the secondary outcomes, there are: operative time, R0 resections, POD of mobilization, POD of starting liquid diet and soft solid diet. The analysis includes the evaluation of type and grade of postoperative complications. Detailed information of anastomotic leakages is also provided.RESULTS The present analysis was carried out of 1026 gastrectomies. To guarantee homogenous distribution of cases, patients in the RG, LG and OG groups were 1:1:2 matched using a propensity score analysis with a caliper = 0.2. The successful matching resulted in a total sample of 604 patients(RG = 151; LG = 151; OG = 302). The three groups showed no differences in all baseline patients characteristics, type of surgery(P = 0.42) and stage of the disease(P = 0.16). Intraoperative blood loss was significantly lower in the LG(95.93 ± 119.22) and RG(117.91 ± 68.11) groups compared to the OG(127.26 ± 79.50, P = 0.002). The mean number of retrieved lymph nodes was similar between the RG(27.78 ± 11.45), LG(24.58 ± 13.56) and OG(25.82 ± 12.07) approach. A benefit in favor of the minimally invasive approaches was found in the length of hospital stay(P < 0.0001). A similar complications rate was found(P = 0.13). The leakage rate was not different(P = 0.78) between groups.CONCLUSION Laparoscopic and robotic surgery can be safely performed and proposed as possible alternative to open surgery. The main highlighted benefit is a faster postoperative functional recovery.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy and colorectal cancer:From physiology to surgery

The pursuit of this paper is to collect principal reviews and systematic reviews about hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy(HIPEC) and cytoreductive surgery(CRS) used in colorectal cancer(CRC).We focus on principal biological aspects of CRC,hyperthermia effects,and surgical procedures.We searched PubMed/MEDLINE for the principal reviews and systematic reviews published from 2010 to 2021 regarding the bimodal treatment(CRS + HIPEC) against local and advanced CRC.In the literature,from several studies,it seems that the efficacy of bimodal treatment with an accurate CRS can extend overall survival.Despite these studies,there are not still any straight guidelines more detailed and scheduled about the use of combined treatment in patients with CRC.Even if the concept is still not very clear and shared,after a careful evaluation of the published data,and after some technical and pathophysiological descriptions,we concluded that it is possible to improve the overall survival and quality of life and to reduce the tumor relapse in patients affected by locally advanced(pT4) CRC with peritoneal metastases.

Current position of ALPPS in the surgical landscape of CRLM treatment proposals

The Authors summarize problems,criticisms but also advantages and indications regarding the recent surgical proposal of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation(PVL)for staged hepatectomy(ALPPS)for the surgical management of colorectal liver metastases.Looking at published data,the technique,when compared with other traditional and well established methods such as PVL/portal vein embolisation(PVE),seems to give real advantages in terms of volumetric gain of future liver remnant.However,major concerns are raised in the literature and some questions remain unanswered,preliminary experiences seem to be promising.The method has been adopted all over the world over the last 2 years,even if oncological long-term results remain unknown,and benefit for patients is questionable.No prospective studies comparing traditional methods(PVE,PVL or classical 2 staged hepatectomy)with ALPPS are available to date.Technical reinterpretations of the original method were also proposed in order to enhance feasability and increase safety of the technique.More data about morbidity and mortality are also expected.The real role of ALPPS is,to date,still to be established.Large clinical studies,even if,for ethical reasons,in well selected cohorts of patients,are expected to better define the indications for this new surgical strategy.

Ten years of sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: Are there any predictive and/or prognostic markers?

Sorafenib has been considered the standard of care for patients with advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) since 2007 and numerous studieshave investigated the role of markers involved in the angiogenesis process at both the expression and genetic level and clinical aspect. What results have ten years of research produced? Several clinical and biological markers are associated with prognosis. The most interesting clinical parameters are adverse events, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, and macroscopic vascular invasion, while several single nucleotide polymorphisms and plasma angiopoietin-2 levels represent the most promising biological biomarkers. A recent pooled analysis of two phase III randomized trials showed that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, etiology and extra-hepatic spread are predictive factors of response to sorafenib, but did not identify any predictive biological markers. After 10 years of research into sorafenib there are still no validated prognostic or predictive factors of response to the drug in HCC. The aim of the present review was to summarize 10 years of research into sorafenib, looking in particular at the potential of associated clinical and biological markers to predict its efficacy in patients with advanced HCC.

Rectal perforation by inadvertent ingestion of a blister pack: A case report and review of literature

The accidental ingestion of a foreign body(FB) is a relatively common condition. In the present study, we report a peculiar case of rectal perforation, the first to our knowledge, caused by the inadvertent ingestion of a blister pill pack. The aim of this report is to illustrate the difficulties of the case from a diagnostic and therapeutic viewpoint as well as its unusual presentation. A 75-year-old woman, mentally impaired, arrived at our emergency department in critical condition. The computed tomography scan revealed a substantial abdominopelvic peritoneal effusion and free perigastric air. The patient was therefore submitted to an urgent exploratory laparotomy; a 2-cm long, full-thickness lesion was identified in the anterior distal part of the intraperitoneal rectum. Hence, we performed a Hartmann's procedure. Because of her critical condition, the patient was eventually transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, where she died after 10 d, showing no surgical complication. The ingestion of FBs is usually treated with observation or endoscopic removal. Less than 1% of FBs are likely to cause an intestinal perforation. The intestinal perforation resulting from the unintentional ingestion of an FB is often a difficult challenge when it comes to treatment, due to its late diagnosis and the patients' deteriorated clinical condition.

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule and port-site metastasis in abdominal cancers

Sister Mary Joseph nodule(SMJn)or umbilical metastasis was first named by Henry Hamilton Bailey in 1949,and port-site metastasis(PSM)is a novel concern.1,2 The nurse Sister Mary Joseph had noticed umbilical nodules prior to surgery in patients with abdominal cancer,and reported this clinical observation to the Mayo Clinic direction.Since then,the ominous SMJn has been scarcely reported in association with tumors of the stomach,pancreas,colon,rectum,ovary,uterus,and cholangiocarcinoma.1,3-12 The estimated incidence of SMJn is 1%-3%in the general population with malignancy and is often related to gastrointestinal(35%-65%)or genitourinary tumors(12%-35%).3,5 Metastatic routes are peritoneal,bloodborne,lymphatic,along an embryonic structure like the round or falciform ligament,and by the laparoscopic direct implantation.5,7,11 SMJn is usually violaceous to the reddish-brown lesion with up to 5 cm(Fig.1),10,11 but it can be mimicked by endometriosis,fibroma,keloid,abscess,cyst,or hernia.

Local recurrence rate as quality indicator in surgery for pancreatic cancer?

To the Editor: As we all know, even with the current advancements regarding novel chemotherapy regimens, patients affected by pancreatic cancer(PC) have an extremely dismal prognosis(5-year survival rate 12% for all stages in the National Cancer Institute SEER database). Among the patients undergoing surgical treatment, the prognosis is mostly affected by recurrence. PC after surgery has mainly four patterns of recurrence, isolated or variously associated with each other: local, lymph nodal, peritoneal or distant(liver, lung, other sites).

Management of mucinous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas

The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual management of mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) of the pancreas. A systematic review was performed in December 2009 by consulting PubMed MEDLINE for publications and matching the "pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasm", "pancreatic mucinous cystic tumour", "pancreatic mucinous cystic mass", "pancreatic cyst", and "pancreatic cystic neoplasm" to identify English language articles describing the diagnosis and treatment of the mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas. In total, 16 322 references ranging from January 1969 to December 2009 were analysed and 77 articles were identified. No articles published before 1996 were selected because MCNs were not previously considered to be a completely autonomous disease. Definition, epidemiology, anatomopathological findings, clinical presentation, preoperative evaluation, treatment and prognosis were reviewed. MCNs are pancreatic mucinproducing cysts with a distinctive ovarian-type stroma localized in the body-tail of the gland and occurring in middle-aged females. The majority of MCNs are slow growing and asymptomatic. The prevalence of invasive carcinoma varies between 6% and 55%. Preoperative diagnosis depends on a combination of clinical features, tumor markers, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic ultrasound with cyst fluid analysis, and positron emission tomography-CT. Surgery is indicated for all MCNs.

Laparoscopic re-sleeve gastrectomy as a treatment of weight regain after sleeve gastrectomy

AIM: To evaluate laparoscopic re-sleeve gastrectomy as a treatment of weight regain after Sleeve.METHODS: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a com-mon bariatric procedure. Weight regain after long-term follow-up is reported. Patients were considered for laparoscopic re-sleeve gastrectomy when we observed progressive weight regain and persistence of comorbid-ities associated with evidence of dilated gastric fundus and/or antrum on upper gastro-intestinal series. Follow-up visits were scheduled at 1, 3, 6 and 12 mo after surgery and every 6 mo thereafter. Measures of change from baseline at different times were analyzed with the paired samples t test. RESULTS: We observed progressive weight regain after sleeve in 11 of the 201 patients(5.4%) who had a mean follow-up of 21.1 ± 9.7 mo(range 6-57 mo). Three patients started to regain weight after 6 mo fol-lowing Sleeve, 5 patients after 12 mo, 3 patients after 18 m. Re-sleeve gastrectomy was always performed by laparoscopy. The mean time of intervention was 55.8 ± 29.1 min. In all cases, neither intra-operative nor post-operative complications occurred. After 1 year follow-up we observed a significant(P < 0.05) mean body mass index reduction(-6.6 ± 2.7 kg/m2) and mean % ex-cess weight loss(%EWL) increase(+31.0% ± 15.8%). An important reduction of antihypertensive drugs and hypoglycemic agents was observed after re-sleeve in those patients affected by hypertension and diabetes. Joint problems and sleep apnea syndrome improved in all 11 patients.CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic re-sleeve gastrectomy is a feasible and effective intervention to correct weight regain after sleeve.

Liver resection versus radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of primary liver tumor and its incidence is increasing worldwide. The study aimed to compare patients subjected to liver resection or radiofrequency ablation. METHODS: One hundred and forty cirrhotic patients in stage A or B of Child-Pugh with single nodular or multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma were included in this retrospective study. Among them, 87 underwent surgical resection, and 53 underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. Patient charac-teristics, survival, and recurrence-free survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Recurrence-free survival was longer in the resection group in comparison to the radiofrequency group with a median recurrence-free time of 36 versus 26 months, respectively (P=0.01, HR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.05-2.25). In the resection group, median survival was 46 months, with the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of 89.7%, 72.4% and 40.2%. In the radiofrequency group, median survival was 32 months, with the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of 83.0%, 43.4% and 22.6% (P【0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical resection improves the overall survival and recurrence-free survival in comparison with radiofrequency ablation. New evidences are needed to define the real role of the percutaneous technique as an alternative to surgery.

Laparoscopic step 1 ALPPS with microwave transection of theliver for Klatskin tumors:Is it worthwhile?

To the Editor：Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for stagedhepatectomy （ALPPS） was introduced in 2007 [1]. This techniqueis now used worldwide and has a wide spectrum of indications.However, scientific debate and un-regulated surgical experimentationconcerning the application of this technique led the surgeons to organize the first Consensus Meeting [2] to build a scientificconsensus. One of the most controversial indications to ALPPS isits application for Klatskin tumors. The aim of this letter is to analyzethe critical aspects of laparoscopic microwave ALPPS for radicalsurgical treatment of Klatskin tumors.

Robotic wedge resection of a rare gastric perivascular epithelioid cell tumor: A case report

BACKGROUND Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor(PEComa)is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm that can arise in many different organs with a broad spectrum of biological behavior,from indolent to aggressive progression.Only ten cases of gastric PEComas have been reported in the English literature,which were treated with endoscopic,laparoscopic,or open resections.Due to its rarity,the optimal surgical management and prognosis of this tumor are still uncertain.CASE SUMMARY We present a case of robotic wedge resection of a 6.5 cm bleeding lesion of the gastric fundus located 3 cm below the esophago-gastric junction in a 55-year-old man.Biopsy revealed a malignant tumor with epithelioid cells focally positive for muscle markers desmin and smooth muscle actin.In addition,histology revealed that the tumor was positive for HMB-45,melan-A(MART-1),microphthalmia transcription factor and negative for pan-cytokeratin AE1/AE3,CD34,p40,DOG-1,CD117(c-kit),S100,CD3,CD79a,caldesmon and myogenin.These markers suggested the possibility of a PEComa.The patient underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy via the da Vinci■Si^TM system and robotic wedge resection.Final pathology confirmed a malignant gastric PEComa with negative margins.At his 11-mo follow-up visit,the patient remained disease-free.CONCLUSION Gastric PEComa can be treated with a robotic R0 resection with acceptable postoperative and short-term oncological outcomes.

Which octogenarian patients are at higher risk after cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallstone disease? A single center cohort study

BACKGROUND Incidence of gallstones in those aged≥80 years is as high as 38%-53%.The decision-making process to select those oldest old patients who could benefit from cholecystectomy is challenging.AIM To assess the risk of morbidity of the“oldest-old”patients treated with cholecystectomy in order to provide useful data that could help surgeons in the decision-making process leading to surgery in this population.METHODS A retrospective study was conducted between 2010 and 2019.Perioperative variables were collected and compared between patients who had postoperative complications.A model was created and tested to predict severe postoperative morbidity.RESULTS The 269 patients were included in the study(193 complicated).The 9.7%of complications were grade 3 or 4 according to the Clavien-Dindo classification.Bilirubin levels were lower in patients who did not have any postoperative complications.American Society of Anesthesiologists scale 4 patients,performing a choledocholithotomy and bilirubin levels were associated with Clavien-Dindo>2 complications(P<0.001).The decision curve analysis showed that the proposed model had a higher net benefit than the treating all/none options between threshold probabilities of 11%and 32%of developing a severe complication.CONCLUSION Patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists scale 4,higher level of bilirubin and need of choledocholithotomy are at the highest risk of a severely complicated postoperative course.Alternative endoscopic or percutaneous treatments should be considered in this subgroup of octogenarians.

Solid serous cystadenoma of the pancreas:A rare tumor with challenging differential diagnosis

To the Editor:Cystic tumors of the pancreas are rare,accounting for 1%-5%of exocrine pancreatic tumors.Serous cystadenoma(SCA)was firstly described by Compagno and Oertel in 1978 as a benign glycogenrich neoplasm[1].In 1996 Perez-Ordonez et al.[2]reported the first case of a solid variant of SCA;since then,23 cases of this extremely uncommon tumor variant were reported.