Bleeding Risk Factors after Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in Early Gastric Cancer and the Necessity of "Second-Look" Endoscopic Examination on the following Day.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hemorrhage is often encountered after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). In addition to active bleeding after resection, exposed blood vessels and blood clots without active bleeding on the post-dissection ulcer floor have been recognized within our department. We consider exposed and/or observable vessel findings and clots on the ulcer floor after re-section as important risk factors for hemorrhage. Here, we compared and examined the active bleeding frequency and "post-resection ulcer at risk of bleeding" on the day following ESD, in relation to their risk factors. METHOD: We retrospectively examined 447 patients who underwent second-look endoscopy in our department between August 2008 and March 2018. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval. We compared the association of each factor mentioned above with active bleeding on the day after ESD and the presence of ulcers at risk of bleeding after resection. RESULTS: Our retrospective analysis revealed that the risk factors were larger ulcer sizes and the administration of antithrombotic drugs. Additionally, the risk was low for upper body lesions but high for antral lesions. CONCLUSION: Our results may help determine whether second-look endoscopy should be performed to minimize active bleeding after ESD, reduce postoperative complications, and improve medical safety.

The differential expression of perilipin-2 in hepatoblastoma and its association with prognosis.

Perilipin-2, a lipid droplet (LD) coating protein, has been found to be involved in cancer progression. However, its role in hepatoblastoma (HB) is undefined. We collected 87 HB samples and the corresponding clinical data. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was performed to detect perilipin-2 and the association of the perilipin-2 expression with clinical characteristics and prognosis was analyzed. The expression of perilipin-2 was increased in fetal HB components in comparison to embryonal HB components. The predominant staining pattern was vesicular in fetal HB cells, while it was granular in embryonal HB cells. Furthermore, strong expression of perilipin-2 was associated with the histopathological type of fetal predominant HB. Although event-free survival (EFS) did not differ to a statistically significant extent between the strong and weak expression groups in a univariate survival analysis, a multivariate survival analysis revealed that EFS was significantly improved in the strong perilipin-2 expression group. In conclusion, perilipin-2 is differentially expressed in HB and the strong expression of perilipin-2 predicts a better prognosis.

[A case of gastric antral vascular ectasia improved by splenorenal shunt embolization].

An 80-year-old man with chronic renal failure and a splenorenal shunt was admitted because of progressive anemia. Gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed bleeding from a gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE). Despite treatment with argon plasma coagulation and blood transfusions on multiple occasions, anemia caused by GAVE bleeding recurred frequently. The GAVE improved after splenorenal shunt embolization, and the patient did not require further blood transfusions for anemia. In this case, we inferred that some humoral factor (e.g., gastrin) in the portal blood caused the GAVE.

Sealed endoscopic full-thickness resection for gastric cancer: a pilot study in an ex vivo and in vivo porcine model.

Background and study aims Endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) is a useful procedure that allows minimal resection of the gastric wall because the tumor can be located endoscopically. However, the procedure carries a risk of peritoneal infection or dissemination. Thus, we devised a new EFTR technique in which the serosa is sealed using a silicone sheet to prevent the escape of gastric juice. Materials and methods Three whole stomachs were harvested from pigs for an ex vivo experiment, and seven pigs were used for an in vivo experiment. In both experiments, silicone sheets and gauze were pasted to the serosa using a fibrinogen-thrombin solution. A seromuscular incision was then made endoscopically using a HookKnife. We then evaluated whether stomach collapse could be prevented using this technique. Furthermore, the method was compared with conventional laparoscopic-assisted EFTR (LA-EFTR) in terms of resection time and quality of endoscopic view. Results In the ex vivo experiment, stomach collapse was suppressed and the seromuscular layer could be incised layer by layer. In the in vivo experiment, the time required for seromuscular incision with the new EFTR technique was significantly shorter than that with the conventional method. All layers of the stomach were smoothly resected under good endoscopic view. Conclusions Sealed EFTR is a potentially useful technique for the minimally invasive resection of gastric tumor. All layers of the stomach could be incised while confirming the incision line from the inside of the stomach and avoiding exposure of the tumor to the abdominal cavity.

Findings of the margin around lesions by magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging in early gastric carcinoma and intestinal metaplasia.

OBJECTIVE: Many endoscopists have reported their own classifications of early gastric carcinoma (EGC) using magnifying narrow-band imaging (M-NBI). However, few reports on classifying the margin around lesions by M-NBI have been published. The aim of this study was to advocate the usefulness of the demarcation area classification for the diagnosis of EGC. METHODS: Altogether 197 lesions that could be investigated by M-NBI were included in this study, consisting of 115 EGC and 82 intestinal metaplasias (IM). We hypothesized that the changes in white zone (fusion and erasure signs) and blood vessel (extend and draw sign) were the indications of EGC and we retrospectively investigated this hypothesis. RESULTS: For the investigation of the white zone in the demarcation area, both fusion (P < 0.0001) and erasure signs (P < 0.0001) were observed more often in EGC than in IM, with an accuracy of 80.7%. For the investigation of blood vessel in the demarcation area, both the extend (P < 0.001) and the draw sign (P < 0.0001) were observed more often in EGC than in IM, with an accuracy of 59.9%. CONCLUSION: Estimations of the white zone and blood vessels in the demarcation area are useful for the diagnosis of EGC.