Analysis of textbook outcomes for ampullary carcinoma patients following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND: Textbook outcomes (TOs) have been used to assess the quality of surgical treatment for many digestive tumours but not ampullary carcinoma (AC). AIM: To discuss the factors associated with achieving a TO and further explore the prognostic value of a TO for AC patients undergoing curative pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). METHODS: Patients who underwent PD at the China National Cancer Center between 1998 and 2020 were identified. A TO was defined by R0 resection, examination of ≥ 12 Lymph nodes, no prolonged hospitalization, no intensive care unit treatment, no postoperative complications, and no 30-day readmission or mortality. Cox regression analysis was used to identify the prognostic value of a TO for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of a TO. The rate of a TO and of each indicator were compared in patients who underwent surgery before and after 2010. RESULTS: Ultimately, only 24.3% of 272 AC patients achieved a TO. A TO was independently associated with improved OS [hazard ratio (HR): 0.443, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.276-0.711, P = 0.001] and RFS (HR: 0.379, 95%CI: 0.228-0.629, P < 0.001) in the Cox regression analysis. Factors independently associated with a TO included a year of surgery between 2010 and 2020 (OR: 4.549, 95%CI: 2.064-10.028, P < 0.001) and N1 stage disease (OR: 2.251, 95%CI: 1.023-4.954, P = 0.044). In addition, the TO rate was significantly higher in patients who underwent surgery after 2010 (P < 0.001) than in those who underwent surgery before 2010. CONCLUSION: Only approximately a quarter (24.3%) of AC patients achieved a TO following PD. A TO was independently related to favourable oncological outcomes in AC and should be considered as an outcome measure for the quality of surgery. Further multicentre research is warranted to better elucidate its impact.

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach with neuroendocrine differentiation: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Both hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach (HAS) and neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) are rare histological subtypes of gastric cancer with unique clinicopathological features and unfavorable outcomes. HAS with NED is even rarer. CASE SUMMARY: Here, we report a 61-year-old man with HAS with NED, as detected by gastric wall thickening by positron emission tomography/computed tomography for a pulmonary nodule. Distal gastrectomy was performed, and pathological examination led to the diagnosis of HAS with NED. However, liver metastases occurred 6 mo later despite adjuvant chemotherapy, and the patient died 27 mo postoperatively. CONCLUSION: We treated a patient with HAS with NED who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy after radical surgery and still developed liver metastases. We first report the detailed processes of the treatment and development of HAS with NED, providing an important reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

Survival benefit of younger gastric cancer patients in China and the United States: A comparative study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of racial and regional disparity on younger patients with gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. AIM: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics, prognostic nomogram, and biological analysis of younger GC patients in China and the United States. METHODS: From 2000 to 2018, GC patients aged less than 40 years were enrolled from the China National Cancer Center and the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. Biological analysis was performed based on the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Survival analysis was conducted via Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: A total of 6098 younger GC patients were selected from 2000 to 2018, of which 1159 were enrolled in the China National Cancer Center, and 4939 were collected from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. Compared with the United States group, younger patients in China revealed better survival outcomes (P < 0.01). For race/ethnicity, younger Chinese cases also enjoyed a better prognosis than that in White and Black datasets (P < 0.01). After stratification by pathological Tumor-Node-Metastasis (pTNM) stage, a survival advantage was observed in China with pathological stage I, III, and IV (all P < 0.01), whereas younger GC patients with stage II showed no difference (P = 0.16). In multivariate analysis, predictors in China involved period of diagnosis, linitis plastica, and pTNM stage, while race, diagnostic period, sex, location, differentiation, linitis plastica, signet ring cell, pTNM stage, surgery, and chemotherapy were confirmed in the United States group. Prognostic nomograms for younger patients were established, with the area under the curve of 0.786 in the China group and of 0.842 in the United States group. Moreover, three gene expression profiles (GSE27342, GSE51105, and GSE38749) were enrolled in further biological analysis, and distinctive molecular characteristics were identified in younger GC patients among different regions. CONCLUSION: Except for younger cases with pTNM stage II, a survival advantage was observed in the China group with pathological stage I, III, and IV compared to the United States group, which might be partly due to differences in surgical approaches and the improvement of the cancer screening in China. The nomogram model provided an insightful and applicable tool to evaluate the prognosis of younger patients in China and the United States. Furthermore, biological analysis of younger patients was performed among different regions, which might partly explain the histopathological behavior and survival disparity in the subpopulations.

Factors associated with readmission within three months of surgery for gastric cancer and their long-term effects on patients' nutritional status and quality of life / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with readmission within three months of surgery for gastric cancer and the impact of readmission on patients' long-term nutritional status and quality of life. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study comprising patients who underwent radical gastrectomy in the Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from October 2018 to August 2019. Patients who failed to complete postoperative follow-up, whose body mass index (BMI) could not be accurately estimated, or who were unable to complete a quality-of-life questionnaire were excluded. The patients were followed up for 12 months. Time to, cause(s) of, and outcomes of readmission were followed up 1, 2 and 3 months postoperatively. BMI was followed up 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Results of blood tests were collected and patients' nutritional status and quality of life were assessed 12 months postoperatively. Nutritional status was evaluated by BMI, hemoglobin, albumin, and total lymphocyte count. Quality of life was evaluated using the European Organization for Research in the Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life scale. The higher the scores for global health and functional domains, the better the quality of life, whereas the higher the score in the symptom domain, the worse the quality of life. Results: The study cohort comprised 259 patients with gastric cancer, all of whom were followed up for 3 months and 236 of whom were followed up for 12 months. Forty-four (17.0%) patients were readmitted within 3 months. The commonest reasons for readmission were gastrointestinal dysfunction (16 cases, 36.3%), intestinal obstruction (8 cases, 18.2%), and anastomotic stenosis (8 cases, 18.2%). Logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment score ≥ 4 points (OR=1.481, 95% CI: 1.028‒2.132), postoperative complications (OR=3.298, 95%CI:1.416‒7.684) and resection range (OR=1.582, 95% CI:1.057‒2.369) were risk factors for readmission within 3 months of surgery. Compared with patients who had not been readmitted 12 months after surgery, patients who were readmitted within 3 months of surgery tended to have greater decreases in their BMI [-2.36 (-5.13,-0.42) kg/m2 vs. -1.73 (-3.33,-0.33) kg/m2, Z=1.850, P=0.065), significantly lower hemoglobin and albumin concentrations [(122.1±16.6) g/L vs. (129.8±18.4) g/L, t=2.400, P=0.017]; [(40.9±5.0) g/L vs. (43.4±3.3) g/L, t=3.950, P<0.001], and significantly decreased global health scores in the quality of life assessment [83 (67, 100) vs. 100 (83, 100), Z=2.890,P=0.004]. Conclusion: Preoperative nutritional risk, total or proximal radical gastrectomy, and complications during hospitalization are risk factors for readmission within 3 months of surgery for gastric cancer. Perioperative management and postoperative follow-up should be more rigorous. Readmission within 3 months after surgery may be associated with a decline in long-term nutritional status and quality of life. Achieving improvement in long-term nutritional status and quality of life requires tracking of nutritional status, timely evaluation, and appropriate interventions in patients who need readmission.

Mixed large and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the stomach: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Gastric neuroendocrine carcinoma (GNEC) is a rare histological subtype of gastric cancer, which is categorized into small cell and large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas. It is characterized by strong invasiveness and poor prognosis. Mixed large and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (L/SCNEC) is an extremely rare pathological type of gastric cancer, and there have been no reports on this situation until now. CASE SUMMARY: Herein, we first present a 57-year-old patient diagnosed with L/SCNEC of the stomach. A 57-year-old Chinese male presented with epigastric discomfort. Outpatient gastroscopic biopsy was performed, and pathological examination revealed that the cardia was invaded by adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent laparoscopic-assisted radical proximal subtotal gastrectomy and was diagnosed with L/SCNEC. He refused adjuvant treatment and was followed up every 3 mo. Eight months after the operation, the patient showed no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: We advocate conducting further genomic studies to explore the origin of gastric large cell and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and using different chemotherapy schemes according to large or small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the stomach for clinical research to clarify the heterogeneity of GNEC and improve the prognosis of patients with GNEC.

Anemia, hematinic deficiencies, and hyperhomocysteinemia in male and female burning mouth syndrome patients.

Background/purpose: Our previous study found that 19.8%, 16.2%, 4.8%, 2.3%, 19.2%, and 12.3% of 884 burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients have anemia, serum iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid deficiencies, hyperhomocysteinemia, and serum gastric parietal cell antibody (GPCA) positivity, respectively. This study mainly evaluated the anemia, hematinic deficiencies, and hyperhomocysteinemia in 212 male and 672 female BMS patients. Materials and methods: The blood hemoglobin (Hb) and serum iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, homocysteine, GPCA levels in 212 male and 672 female BMS patients were measured and compared with the corresponding levels in 106 male and 336 female healthy control subjects, respectively. Results: We found that 212 male BMS patients had significantly lower mean blood Hb, serum iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid levels and significantly higher mean serum homocysteine levels than 106 male healthy control subjects. Moreover, 672 female BMS patients had significantly lower mean blood Hb and serum iron levels and significantly higher mean serum homocysteine level than 336 female healthy control subjects. In addition, 212 male BMS patients had significantly higher mean blood Hb and serum homocysteine levels, significantly lower mean serum vitamin B12 and folic acid levels, and significantly higher frequencies of folic acid deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemis than 672 female BMS patients. Conclusion: The male BMS patients do have significantly higher mean blood Hb and serum homocysteine levels, significantly lower mean serum vitamin B12 and folic acid levels, and significantly higher frequencies of folic acid deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemis than the female BMS patients.