Analysis of therapeutic strategy after non-curative endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer / 中华消化内镜杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the clinical outcomes of additional surgery after non-curative endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer.Methods:Sixty-nine patients with early gastric cancer who underwent ESD and were diagnosed as having non-curative resection by postoperative pathology at Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2014 to December 2020 were included in the retrospective observation. Patients were divided into the additional surgery group ( n=12) and the follow-up group ( n=57). The differences in clinical and pathological data of the two groups, the surgical outcomes of the additional surgery group, three-year recurrence-free survival and tumor-specific survival of the two groups, and the independent risk factors affecting three-year recurrence-free survival in the follow-up group were analyzed. Results:Compared with the follow-up group, the rates of submucosal infiltration [66.7% (8/12) VS 21.1% (12/57), χ 2=7.927, P=0.005], vascular invasion [33.3% (4/12) VS 1.8% (1/57), P=0.003] and nerve invasion [16.7% (2/12) VS 0.0% (0/57), P=0.028] in the additional surgery group were significantly higher. In the additional surgery group, the interval between the additional surgery and ESD was 18.5 d (7-55 d), the surgical time was 286.4±85.9 min, and the number of dissected lymph nodes was 25.6±7.4. Four patients (33.3%) had residual tumor. Postoperative complications occurred in 4 patients (33.3%) (all were discharged after conservative treatment), and there was no perioperative death. One patient developed liver metastases 17 months after the surgery, and died 22 months after surgery due to liver metastases. One patient died 22 months after surgery due to non-tumor causes. The three-year recurrence-free survival and three-year tumor-specific survival in additional surgery group were 91.7% (11/12) and 91.7% (11/12), respectively, and those in the follow-up group were 87.7% (50/57) and 100.0% (57/57), respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that tumor size ≥2 cm was an independent risk factor for three-year recurrence-free survival in the follow-up group ( P=0.037, HR=15.595, 95% CI 1.181-205.952). Conclusion:Additional surgery and close follow-up are safe and feasible therapeutic strategies for early gastric cancer patients who underwent non-curative ESD. Clinicians should make reasonable choice based on the pathological results, patients' physical condition and surgery intention. But for patients with primary tumor size ≥2 cm, additional surgery is recommended.