Preliminary study on efficacy of radiofrequency ablation combined with endoscopic resection for eradicating widespread early non-flat type esophageal squamous cell carcinoma / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation(RFA) combined with endoscopic resection(ER) for eradicating widespread early non-flat type esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and precancerous lesions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 4 patients with early non-flat type ESCC and precancerous lesions in January 2010 at the Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Proportion of patients with histological complete response (CR) 3 months, 12 months to 5 years after operation and adverse events were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>These 4 patients were all male, aged from 47 to 71 (mean age 62) years, including 2 of ESCC, 1 of HGIN, 1 of MGIN confirmed by pathology. USL length was 6-12 (mean 8.5) cm. Treatment area (TA) length was 8-14 (mean 10.5) cm. Three cases were 0-II a (mean length 2 cm), and 1 case 0-II c (mean length 4 cm). Lesions of 2 cases were complete cycle, and other 2 cases occupied 3/4 circumference. Four patients completed their operations successfully. Total operation time was 42-105 (mean 66.8) min, RFA time was 3-12 (mean 8.25) min, and ER time was 6-20 (10.25) min, without bleeding and perforation. The mean hospital stay was 3 days. Pathology examination showed that 2 cases were ESCC G2 (lesion length 12, 8 cm; non-flat type lesion length 3, 4 cm), 1 was HGIN (lesion length 12 cm; non-flat type lesion length 1 cm) and 1 was MGIN (lesion length 6 cm; non-flat type lesion length 2 cm). Three cases were CR 3 months, 1 to 5 years after operation. One case had HGIN at 3-month and MGIN at 1-year and 3-year during follow up, and was CR after treatment with HALO. Postoperative esophageal stenosis occurred in 4 cases. Among them, 2 cases were mild without treatment, and 2 were severe, who were relieved by endoscopic water sac dilation for 5-8 (mean 6.5) times.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>RFA combined with ER is effective and safe in the treatment of patients with early non-flat esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and precancerous lesions.</p>

The Efficacy of an Endoscopic Grasp-and-Traction Device for Gastric Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection: An Ex Vivo Comparative Study (with Video)

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate whether the EndoLifter (Olympus), a counter-traction device facilitating submucosal dissection, can accelerate endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). METHODS: Two endoscopists (novice/expert in ESD) performed 64 ESDs (artificial 3-cm lesions) in 16 ex vivo pig stomachs: per stomach, two at the posterior wall (forward approach) and two at the lesser curvature (retroflex approach). Per approach, one lesion was dissected with (EL+) and one without (EL-) the EndoLifter. The submucosal dissection time (SDT), corrected for specimen size, and the influence of ESD experience on EndoLifter usefulness were assessed. RESULTS: En bloc resection rate was 98.4%. In the forward approach, the median SDT was shorter with the EndoLifter (0.56 min/cm2 vs. 0.91 min/cm2), although not significantly (p=0.09). The ESD-experienced endoscopist benefitted more from the EndoLifter (0.45 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 0.68 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.07) than the ESD-inexperienced endoscopist (0.77 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 1.01 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.48). In the retroflex approach, the median SDTs were 1.06 (EL+) and 0.48 (EL-) min/cm2 (p=0.16). The EndoLifter did not shorten the SDT for the ESD-experienced endoscopist (0.68 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 0.68 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.78), whereas the ESD-inexperienced endoscopist seemed hindered (1.65 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 0.38 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In gastric ESD, the EndoLifter, in trend, shortens SDTs in the forward, but not in the retroflex approach. Given the low numbers in this study, a type II error cannot be excluded.

The Efficacy of an Endoscopic Grasp-and-Traction Device for Gastric Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection: An Ex Vivo Comparative Study (with Video)

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate whether the EndoLifter (Olympus), a counter-traction device facilitating submucosal dissection, can accelerate endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). METHODS: Two endoscopists (novice/expert in ESD) performed 64 ESDs (artificial 3-cm lesions) in 16 ex vivo pig stomachs: per stomach, two at the posterior wall (forward approach) and two at the lesser curvature (retroflex approach). Per approach, one lesion was dissected with (EL+) and one without (EL-) the EndoLifter. The submucosal dissection time (SDT), corrected for specimen size, and the influence of ESD experience on EndoLifter usefulness were assessed. RESULTS: En bloc resection rate was 98.4%. In the forward approach, the median SDT was shorter with the EndoLifter (0.56 min/cm2 vs. 0.91 min/cm2), although not significantly (p=0.09). The ESD-experienced endoscopist benefitted more from the EndoLifter (0.45 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 0.68 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.07) than the ESD-inexperienced endoscopist (0.77 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 1.01 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.48). In the retroflex approach, the median SDTs were 1.06 (EL+) and 0.48 (EL-) min/cm2 (p=0.16). The EndoLifter did not shorten the SDT for the ESD-experienced endoscopist (0.68 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 0.68 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.78), whereas the ESD-inexperienced endoscopist seemed hindered (1.65 [EL+] min/cm2 vs. 0.38 [EL-] min/cm2, p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In gastric ESD, the EndoLifter, in trend, shortens SDTs in the forward, but not in the retroflex approach. Given the low numbers in this study, a type II error cannot be excluded.