Predictive factors for lymph node metastasis in patients with poorly differentiated early gastric cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective@#This study aimed to identify clinicopathological factors predictive of lymph node metastasis in patients with the poorly differentiated early gastric cancer (EGC) to assess the feasibility of using endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).@*Methods@#The records of patients with poorly differentiated early gastric cancer undergoing gastric radical resection between January 2012 and December 2016 were reviewed in Ruijin hospital. Those with distant metastasis, two or more malignant tumors, remnant gastric cancer, neo adjuvant therapy, previous history of gastric surgery or clear history of perigastric lymphadenectomy, and mixed tumors were excluded. Age, sex, presence of ulcerous lesion, tumor size, tumor location, depth of invasion, type of differentiation, lymphatic vessel invasion, vascular invasion, nerve invasion and HER2 expression were collected. Univariate and multivariate stepwise logistic regression analyses were used to identify the independent risk factors of perigastric lymph node metastasis.According to the Guidelines for the Treatment of Gastric Cancer (2018 edition) of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), the expanded indications of ESD for EGC are as follows: (1)no ulcerative lesions, the maximum diameter of lesions >2 cm of differentiated intramucosal cancer; (2)ulcerative lesions, the maximum diameter of lesions ≤3 cm of differentiated intramucosal cancer; (3)no ulcerative lesions, undifferentiated intramucosal carcinoma with diameter ≤2 cm. The relationship between clinicopathological factors and lymph node metastasis was analyzed.@*Results@#A total of 517 patients, aged 21-83 (57.1±11.7), including 307 males and 210 females, were enrolled in the study. Among them, 114 (22.0%) patients had lymph node metastasis. Univariate analysis showed that ulcerative lesion (P=0.042), tumor diameter (P=0.048), depth of invasion (P<0.001), location of tumors (P<0.001), lymphatic vessel invasion (P=0.009), vascular invasion (P<0.001) and nerve invasion (P=0.028) were related to lymph node metastasis after radical resection of poorly differentiated early adenocarcinoma. Age, sex, type of differentiation and HER2 expression were not significantly correlated to lymph node metastasis (P>0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size (OR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.03-2.52, P=0.037), depth of invasion (OR=2.77, 95% CI:1.66-4.63, P<0.001), lymphatic duct invasion (OR=14.74, 95% CI:1.58-137.36, P=0.018) were independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis in poorly differentiated EGC, and ulcerative lesion was not a risk factor for lymph node metastasis (OR=0.82, 95% CI:0.56-1.18,P=0.285). A total of 119 patients with poorly differentiated EGC fully complied with the relative indications of ESD recommended by the Japanese Statute and the criteria for radical resection after ESD. Among them, 14 (11.8%) still had perigastric lymph node metastasis, while the gender, tumor diameter, location, differentiation and HER2 expression were not associated with lymph node metastasis (P>0.05).@*Conclusion@#For patients with poorly differentiated EGC, the application of ESD should be carefully weighed with precise assessment of tumor diameter, depth of invasion, and lymphatic duct invasion.

Analysis and comparison of the clinical features and prognosis between extra - gastrointestinal stromal tumors and duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumors / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the differences of clinicopathological features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis between patients with extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumors (EGIST) and duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (DGIST).@*Methods@#A retrospective case - control study was performed. Case inclusion criteria: (1) tumor confirmed by histology and pathology; (2) primary tumor locating in the extra - gastrointestinal tract or duodenum; (3) without other synchronous tumors; (4) complete clinical and pathological data. Clinical data of 20 EGIST patients and 32 DGIST patients from March 2011 to September 2016 at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine were retrospectively collected and analyzed. The observational parameters included clinicopathological characteristics, treatment and prognosis conditions. Continuous data of abnormal distribution were expressed as median (range) and compared using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Survival curves were drawn by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the Log-rank test.@*Results@#Of the 20 EGIST patients, 8 were males and 12 were females with age of 61.0 (30.0 to 86.0) years and of the 32 DGIST patients, 12 were males and 20 were females with age of 55.5 (27.0 to 70.0) years. Compared with DGIST patients, EGIST patients were older (U=188.000, P=0.012], had larger tumor size [10.0 (3.0 to 29.0) cm vs. 4.0 (1.5 to 10.0) cm, U=98.500, P<0.001] and higher ratio of high risk classification [85.0% (17/20) vs. 12.5% (4/32), χ2=26.870, P<0.001]. Among the 20 EGIST patients, 5 were diagnosed with distal metastasis and received imatinib (400 mg/d), and the other 15 patients underwent radical resection who were included in survival analysis. All the 32 DGIST patients underwent radical resection. The median follow-up of whole group was 43 (14 to 76) months. The 3-year recurrence/metastasis-free survival rate of 15 cases undergoing radical resection in the EGIST group was 85.6%, which was lower than that of the DGIST group (88.6%), and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.745). There was no significant difference in the 3-year overall survival rate between the EGIST group (92.9%) and the DGIST group (100%) (P=0.271).@*Conclusions@#As compared to DGIST, EGIST mostly occurs in those with older age, larger tumor size and higher risk grade. The prognosis of EGIST patients after radical resection is similar to that of DGIST patients.

Analysis of clinicopathological features and risk factors for postoperative complications in the elderly gastric cancer patients / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinicopathological features and postoperative short-term complications in the elderly gastric cancer patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 270 elderly patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy in Department of Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine between July 2012 and June 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Among 270 patients, 220 were 70 to 79 years old( old group) and 50 were ≥80 years old(oldest group). The clinicopathological features were compared between the two groups. Perioperative factors were analyzed to determine if they are associated with postoperative complications. Multivariate logistic regression model was performed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before operation, most elderly patients (n=161, 59.6%) had 2 or more than 2 comorbidities, including hypertension (n=154, 57.0%), anaemia (n=126, 46.7%), diabetes (n=53, 19.6%), arhythmia (n=52, 19.3%), cardiovascular disease(n=33, 12.2%), and chronic pulmonary disease(n=28, 10.4%). Elderly gastric cancers were more likely to locate at the lower third of the stomach (n=116, 43.0%). The pathological type was mainly the poorly differentiated carcinoma (n=152, 56.3%), and stage III was more common in TNM staging(n=138, 51.1%). As compared to the old group, the oldest group had more preoperative comorbid diseases(P=0.048), more previous surgery(P=0.029), more preoperative transfusion (P=0.019), more combined cholecystectomy (P=0.007) and feeding jejunostomy (P=0.037), but less tumor invasion of nerves(P=0.045). No significant differences in other clinicopathological parameters were found between the two groups (all P>0.05). A total of 121 (44.8%) patients presented postoperative complications, including severe complication in 30 cases(11.1%) and death in 4 cases(1.5%). Forty-seven patients(17.4%) presented operation-associated complications, including infection in 28 cases(10.4%) and leakage in 21 cases(7.8%). One hundred and seven(39.6%) patients presented non-operation-associated complications, including pneumonia in 48 cases(17.8%), hypertension in 23 cases(8.5%), and arhythmia in 17 cases(6.3%). Postoperative morbidities of Clavien-Dindo class II complication and non-operation-associated complication were higher in the oldest group compared with old group(P<0.05), while other postoperative complications were compared between the two groups, only urinary tract infection was significantly different(P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that postoperative complications were significantly associated with age(χ(2)=7.308, P=0.007), number of comorbid diseases (χ(2)=10.872, P=0.001), cardiovascular disease (χ(2)=9.412, P=0.002), hypertension (χ(2)=4.934, P=0.026) and preoperative transfusion (χ(2)=3.911, P=0.048). Multivariate analysis showed that only the number of comorbid diseases was an independent risk factor for postoperative complications(OR=2.810, 95% CI: 1.710 to 4.616, P=0.000).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Non-operation-associated postoperative complications are more likely to occur in the elderly patients due to more comorbid diseases. Perioperative intensive care should be carried out for the elderly gastric cancer patients with comorbid diseases in order to improve surgical safety and efficacy.</p>

Feasibility of delta-shaped gastroduodenostomy in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the feasibility of delta-shaped (DS) gastroduodenostomy in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) for gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From July 2013 to November 2013, 22 gastric cancer patients underwent DS gastroduodenostomy using laparoscopic linear stapler. All the patients underwent TLDG with D2 lymphadenectomy. In addition, modified DS anastomosis (when closing the common entry hole, previous duodenal staple line was also removed) was used in selected patients. Clinical data of these 22 patients were retrospectively analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients underwent TLDG with D2 lymphadenectomy and DS gastroduodenostomy. Among them, 12 patients underwent modified DS anastomosis. The total operative time was (194.6±38.4) min, and the DS anastomosis time was (19.1±14.1) min. The number of linear stapler cartridges used per patient was 5.8±0.8. The intraoperative blood loss was (49.5±24.0) ml. The number of lymph nodes harvested per patient was 32.8±12.4. All the patients achieved microscopic cancer-free resection margin. The time to the first postoperative flatus, first water intake, and semi-liquid diet was (2.9±0.7) d, (4.8±1.1) d, and (6.6±1.2) d, respectively. The duration of postoperative hospital stay was (10.1±2.3) d. The postoperative complication rate was 9.1% (2/22). No patients developed anastomosis-related complications including anastomotic leakage, stenosis, or bleeding.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Delta-shaped gastroduodenostomy is simple, easy, safe, and feasible. It will be an ideal choice for reconstruction after totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy, and has great value in clinical practice.</p>

Mechanisms of dorsoventral axis formation and its clinical implications / 北京大学学报(医学版)

Dorsal-ventral axis formation is one of the earliest and the most important steps of patterning formation during early embryogenesis.The molecular basis of dorsoventral axis formation reflects the fundamental issues of orchestrated cell proliferation and differentiation.Wildly speculated since the Renaissance,the effort of deciphering the mechanisms of dorsal-ventral axis formation has contributed significantly to our current understanding of disease pathogenesis.Here,we focused our discussion on the recent discovery of the convergence of dorsal and ventral signaling pathways during early embryogenesis and its implications in cancer biology and beyond.