Survival after adjuvant chemoradiotherapy or surgery alone in resectable adenocarcinoma at the gastro-esophageal junction.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Longterm survival after curative resection for adenocarcinoma at the gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) range between 18% and 50%. In the pivotal Intergroup-0116 Phase III trial by Macdonald et all, adjuvant chemoradiotherapy improved both disease-free and overall survival in curatively resected patients with mainly gastric adenocarcinoma. We compared survival data for curatively resected patients with adeno-carcinoma solely at the gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ), treated with surgery alone or surgery and adjuvant chemoradio-therapy. METHODS: From 2003 to 2009, 211 patients underwent curative resection. Surgery alone was performed in 95 pa-tients and 116 patients received adjuvant therapy after resection. All patients underwent Lewis-Tanner operation with D1 node resection including coliac nodes (D1+). Informations about recurrence and death were collected from the Danish Cancer Register and the Central Death Register. Patients who died after experiencing severe complications after surgery were excluded from the survival analysis. Patients with T0N0 or T1N0 were also excluded because patients of this category were not given adjuvant therapy according to the Macdonald protocol. RESULTS: Patients with positive node status in the resected specimen, the 3-year disease-free survival after adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (n = 91) or surgery alone (n = 43) was 24% and 37%, respectively. Median time of survival was prolonged by 10 month in favour of those who received chemoradiotherapy. However, after controlling for the confounding effect of age and node status, only positive node status in the resected specimen had significant partial effect on survival. CONCLUSION: Chemoradiotherapy according to the Intergroup-0116 protocol might still be a reasonable option after curative resection in patients with GEJ adenocarcinomas and positive lymph node status, who did not receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

[Hemorrhagic diarrhea with competing etiologies]. / Blodig diaré med konkurrerende aetiologi.

A case history of a 41-year-old woman with bloody diarrhoea is described. A right-sided hemicolectomy was performed and histological findings showed pseudomembranous colitis. The woman was infected with verotoxin-producing E. coli O103:H2. She had taken an overdose of ergotamine and was using a contraceptive containing oestrogen. Each of these have previously been described as being the cause of bloody diarrhoea, but we suggest the combination as the aetiology in the present case.

Double-stapled esophagogastric anastomosis for resection of esophagogastric or cardia cancer: new application for an old technique.

In colorectal surgery, the double-stapled technique is used extensively, because it is a fairly safe and simple procedure and is useful in relatively inaccessible areas. For these reasons, we adapted the procedure to the upper gastrointestinal tract. The present study reports our first experiences of the surgical efficacy using an esophagogastric double-stapled end-to-end anastomosis for subtotal esophagectomy and cardia resection. We retrospectively studied 31 patients treated between January 1991 and January 1997 with respect to hospital mortality, anastomotic leakage, cancer recurrence, and benign stricture rate. No hospital mortality was seen. One nonfatal anastomotic leak occurred (3%). In three patients, esophageal resection was not radical (10%). Of the remaining 28 patients, one had an anastomotic cancer recurrence (4%). Eleven of the remaining 27 patients (41%) developed a benign anastomotic stricture. All achieved normal swallowing after a median of two endoscopic dilatation procedures using TTS balloons. In conclusion, the double-stapled end-to-end anastomosis technique after resection for esophagogastric or cardia cancer is a simple and expeditious procedure, carrying an acceptable perioperative morbidity and cancer recurrence rate. Larger staplers are recommended to lower the high stricture rate observed after the usage of a 21-mm stapler in this study.

[Hydatidosis. A survey]. / Hydatidose. En oversigt.

With the increased influx of foreign workers, refugees and immigrants, particularly from endemic areas, we will probably see more patients with hydatid disease, chiefly hydatid disease of the liver caused by E. granulosus. Thus it is important to bring the disease to the attention of the general surgeon. The diagnosis of hydatid disease is primarily made by ultrasound and serological examination. Other tests such as CT, angiography and ERCP are as a rule only important in surgical planning and in complicated cases. Treatment is principally surgical. The choice of surgical procedure should be individualized as much as possible due to the many aspects of the disease. Drainage of residual cavities should be avoided. Preoperative evaluation by ERCP is indicated in cases complicated by biliary communication. Percutaneous drainage can be indicated in cases of recurrence and in cysts of poor accessability. Medical treatment has its place primarily pre- and postoperatively. The preferred drug is albendazole. Mebendazole is now considered obsolete. It is not possible to monitor the effect of treatment with current serological methods.

Serum gastrin values in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis.

PURPOSE: An evaluation of the importance of gastrin in the colorectal carcinogenesis in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis was conducted. METHODS: Blood samples from 168 family members of 26 families were investigated for circulating gastrin. Blood was drawn from 65 affected patients, 66 clinically unaffected first-degree relatives, and 37 spouses. RESULTS: We did not find any difference in distribution of serum gastrin among these groups. CONCLUSION: Our results seem to exclude gastrin from being relevant in early carcinogenesis in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis.

Surgical treatment of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

A consecutive series of patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) is reported. A total of 53 cases were diagnosed, treated, and followed by one department during the period 1971-1990. Curative surgery was considered in all cases after suppression of acid secretion and after localization of the tumors. Exploratory laparotomy was not employed. Of the 53 patients 13 (24%) died from metastatic gastrinoma during the study. Tumors were ultimately located in 31 of the patients, and 21 of these patients were operated. A total of 12 patients (21%) were cured. The best results were obtained after Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy in patients with small tumors located after percutaneous transhepatic portography with blood sampling for gastrin assay. In this group 9 of 10 operated patients were cured. Multiple endocrine neoplasia type I did not seem to preclude curative resection. The findings support an aggressive attitude toward local diagnosis and surgical treatment in ZES patients, but they also stress the need for improvements in methods for localizing tumors.

[The reliability of fiber endoscopic estimation of the size of gastroduodenal ulcer]. / Pålideligheden af fiberendoskopisk bedømmelse af størrelsen på gastroduodenale ulcera.

The areas of 22 regions in a gastro-duodenal model were estimated endoscopically by 11 examiners. The procedure was then repeated with a biopsy forceps as the reference for measurement. Without the biopsy forceps, 86% of the areas were underestimated. Measurement with the biopsy forceps reduced the deviations of the estimates and the scatter of these but 75% were still underestimated. The estimates showed considerable inter-observer variation and limited reproducibility. Endoscopically estimated alteration in area of an ulcer should not be accepted as clinical documentation for healing.

Histamine in carcinoid syndrome.

The exact etiology of carcinoid flushing remains unknown, but the symptoms are probably mediated through release of one or several humoral substances. Flushing seen in fore-gut carcinoids (gastric carcinoids) has been ascribed to excessive histamine release, whereas flushing seen in mid-gut carcinoids (ileal carcinoids) tentatively has been ascribed to excessive release of serotonin, bradykinin, substance P, substance K or eledoisin. In this study plasma histamine was measured in 8 patients with mid-gut carcinoids and carcinoid syndrome using an enzymatic isotopic method in order to evaluate histamine as the vasoactive agent in patients with ileal carcinoid tumours and carcinoid syndrome. All patients had raised plasma histamine values. In patients with mid-gut carcinoids histamine may be one of the substances mediating flushing.

Long-term results after arterial surgery for arteriosclerosis of the lower limbs in young adults.

Ninety-nine patients, with a mean age of 40 years, underwent surgery for arteriosclerosis of the lower limbs during 1975-81. The main indication for surgery was claudication and the median observation time 102 months (range 54-138 months). Twenty patients died during the follow-up period and fifteen of these could be related to arteriosclerotic disease. At follow-up, 43 patients had claudication, while 34 patients had developed other arteriosclerotic manifestations. Amputation was performed in 17 patients. At follow-up the number of patients at work remained almost unchanged, whereas the number of patients receiving disablement pension increased. This study shows that younger patients with arteriosclerosis of the lower limbs had a mortality of approximately 20%, during the period of observation of this study. However, many patients became asymptomatic after surgery suggesting that a conservative attitude to arterial surgery in these patients cannot be justified.

Bradykinin in carcinoid syndrome.

Bradykinin concentrations in peripheral venous blood were measured in seven patients with carcinoid syndrome. The diagnosis was based on typical symptoms and raised urinary excretion of 5-hydroxy-3-indole acetic acid; the carcinoid tumour was verified histologically. Two patients were flushing constantly and the other patients had flushing attacks two to 10 times daily. Several blood samples were taken at weekly intervals from six of seven patients. During 30 sampling procedures the patients were flushing during sampling in 12 instances. Bradykinin was measured by a sensitive solid phase radioimmunoassay technique. Blood bradykinin concentration was normal in all patients. Bradykinin is unlikely to be the vasoactive mediator of flushing.

Ketanserin versus placebo in carcinoid syndrome. A clinical controlled trial.

Seven patients, four women and three men, with a median age of 64 years (range, 53-74 years) were randomized to treatment with either ketanserin, 40-160 mg daily, or placebo. The study included 13 treatment periods with ketanserin and 13 with placebo. All patients had typical symptoms, with flushing as their main complaint. The diagnosis had been verified histologically. All had elevated excretion of 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid in urine. During the trial ketanserin reduced the number of flushing attacks in five patients (p less than 0.05). Diarrhoea was reduced in two patients. No side effects were observed. Ketanserin seems valuable for the symptomatic relief in the carcinoid syndrome.