Early esophageal carcinomas in achalasia patient after endoscopic submucosal dissection combined with peroral endoscopic myotomy: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Achalasia is associated with high risk of esophageal carcinoma. However, the optimal endoscopic surgery for patients with early esophageal carcinoma concomitant with achalasia remains unclear. CASE SUMMARY: A combination of concurrent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and modified peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) was performed on a 62-year-old male, who presented with multiple early esophageal carcinomas concomitant with achalasia. The patient exhibited an improvement in feeding obstruction, and presented no evidence of disease during the 3-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: The combination of ESD and POEM is a feasible treatment modality for patients with early esophageal carcinoma concomitant with achalasia.

Associated risk factor analysis and the prognostic impact of positive resection margins after endoscopic resection in early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Endoscopic resection for early esophageal cancer has a risk of residual margins. The risk these residual margins pose have not been fully evaluated. The present study aimed to investigate the associated risk factors and prognosis of residual margins following the endoscopic resection of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In total, 369 patients (381 lesions) with early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated in the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University (Shijiazhuang, China) with endoscopic resection were retrospectively analyzed. Sex, age, location, tumor diameter, depth of tumor invasion, endoscopic treatment, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) before resection, work experience of endoscopists and the degree of tumor differentiation were all evaluated as potential risk factors. In addition, the prognosis of patients with positive margins were analyzed. A total of 73 patients (73/381, 19.2%) had positive margins after endoscopic resection. Amongst the 65 patients who were successfully followed up, five patients succumbed to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, one patient received radiotherapy, two patients received radiotherapy and chemotherapy whilst one patient received chemotherapy. By contrast, 12 patients received surgery and 20 patients received additional endoscopic mucosal resection or endoscopic submucosal dissection. The other 29 patients were followed up regularly and no recurrence could be found. Univariate analysis revealed that tumor diameter, endoscopic treatment, depth of invasion, EUS before resection, degree of tumor differentiation and direction of invasion were all associated with the positive margin. Multivariate logistic regression analysis then found that EUS before resection, degree of tumor differentiation and depth of tumor invasion are independent risk factors for positive margins after endoscopic resection. These results suggest that poorly differentiated lesions and deeper invasion depth can increase the risk of positive margin after endoscopic resection. As a result, EUS evaluation before resection may reduce the risk of invasion depth. In addition, for poorly differentiated lesions, more aggressive treatment regimens may be recommended for preventing recurrence.

Probe-Based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy and Barrett's Esophagus: Just a Scientific Toy or Significant Improvement in Diagnosis?

BACKGROUND: Barrett's esophagus (BE) requires surveillance to identify potential neoplasia at an early stage. The standard surveillance regimen includes random 4-quadrant biopsies by Seattle protocol. Main limitations of random biopsies are high risk of sampling error, difficulties in histology interpretation, common inadequate classification of pathohistological changes, increased risk of bleeding, and time necessary to acquire the final diagnosis. Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) has emerged as a potential tool with an aim to overcome these obvious limitations. SUMMARY: pCLE represents a real-time microscopic imaging method that offers evaluation of epithelial and subepithelial structures with 1,000-fold magnification. In theory, pCLE has potential to eliminate the need for biopsy in BE patients. The main advantages would be real-time diagnosis and decision-making, greater diagnostic accuracy, and evaluation of larger area compared to random biopsies. Clinical pCLE studies in the esophagus show high diagnostic accuracy, and its high negative predictive value offers high reliability and confidence to exclude dysplastic and neoplastic lesions. However, it still cannot replace histopathology due to lower positive predictive value and sensitivity. Key Messages: Despite promising results, its role in routine use in patients with BE remains questionable primarily due to lack of well-organized double-blind randomized trials.

[Pathological Analysis of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Specimen of Esophageal Superficial Infiltrating Squamous Cell Carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the pathological characteristics of superficial infiltrating squamous cell carcinoma of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). METHODS: 187 cases of invasive squamous cell carcinoma after ESD operation were collected from 2016 Jan 31 to 2017 Dec 31. The tumor differentiation, invasion depth, infiltrative growth pattern (INF), tumor budding, angiovascular lymphatic invasion and margin were determined. The pathological diagnosis of endoscopic biopsy and surgical operation after ESD were searched. RESULTS: The patients were aged from 42 to 83 years old, including 147 males and 40 females. 9.1% patients had carcinoma/intraepithelial neoplasia in other sites, among which gastric adenocarcinoma was the most common one. Well, moderately and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 0.5%, 41.7% and 15.0%, respectively, while the remaining 42.8% cases were microinvasion and were difficult to be graded. Mucosa lamina propria, muscularis mucosa and submucosa invasion accounted for 39.6%, 32.6% and 27.8%, respectively. Submucosa infiltration <200 µm (SM1) accounted for 9.1% and submucosa infiltration ≥200 µm (SM2) accounted for 18.7%. Lymphatic vessel invasion was related to the depth of tumor invasion, tumor budding, INF. The invasion rate of lymphatic vessels increased with the increase of infiltration depth and the grade of tumor budding. The lymphatic invasion rate in INFb/c group was higher than that in INFa group. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of lymphatic vessel invasion between well/moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor budding was an independent risk factor for lymphatic vessel invasion. The complete resection occupied 69.5% (130 cases), while most of incomplete resection cases (57 cases) were involved by low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia. 69 cases had biopsy after ESD, among which there were 46 cases (66.67%) with no recurrence, 19 cases (27.54%) with recurrence, and 4 cases (5.80%) occurring in other sites. There was no statistical difference in recurrent rate between the complete resection (28.3%, 13/46) and the incomplete resection (31.6%, 6/19, P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Tumor invasion depth, INF, tumor budding andlymphatic vessel invasion should all be disclosed for the ESD specimen pathological report. Tumor budding was an independent risk factor for lymphatic vessel invasion.

Diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasonography on invasive depth of early esophageal cancer:a meta?analysis / 中华消化内镜杂志

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS)on preoperative invasive depth of early esophageal cancer. Methods A systematic retrieval was performed in PubMed,CNKI and Wangfang databases. Studies on diagnosis of EUS on invasion depth or T1a/T1b stage of early esophageal cancer were retrieved, and related literatures were selected for meta?analysis based on inclusion criteria. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic advantage were calculated,and the receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to calculate the area under the curve(AUC).Results A total of 20 articles with 1 336 cases were included in the meta?analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio and AUC of EUS for T1m staging of early esophageal cancer were 0.86(95%CI: 0.83?0.88), 0.81(95%CI: 0.78?0.85), 4.92(95%CI: 3.02?8.00), 0.19(95%CI: 0.14?0.27), 32.54(95%CI:15.52?68.25)and 0.923,respectively. For T1sm staging, these results were 0.81(95%CI: 0.78?0.85), 0.86(95%CI: 0.83?0.88), 5.17(95%CI: 3.66?7.32), 0.20(95%CI: 0.13?0.33), 32.02(95%CI:15.31?66.99)and 0.922, respectively. Conclusion The diagnostic value of EUS is good for early esophageal cancer, and it has a relatively high sensitivity, specificity and AUC for the T1m and T1sm staging.

Diagnostic value of pink sign of endoscopic iodine staining for early esophageal carcinoma / 中华消化内镜杂志

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of pink sign of iodine staining for early esophageal carcinoma. Methods Data of 312 lesions of 306 patients with suspected early esophageal carcinoma who received iodine staining from November 2015 to October 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. Lesions were divided into positive pink sign group and negative pink sign group according to the result of iodine staining. The relationship between pink sign and pathology were analyzed. Lesions recorded onset time of pink sign were divided into 4 groups by the onset time of pink sign, 0-30 s,>30-60 s,>60-90 s and>90-120 s, the diagnostic value of which was assessed with the receiver operating characteristic ( ROC) curve. Results Among the 312 lesions, 208 were identified positive pink sign, including 28 of inflammation or low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia ( LGIN ) , 180 of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia ( HGIN ) or carcinoma, and 104 lesions were identified negative pink sign, including 69 of inflammation or LGIN, 35 of HGIN or carcinoma. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of positive pink sign in the diagnosis of HGIN and early esophageal carcinoma was 83. 7％, 71. 1％ and 79. 8％, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between the onset time of pink sign and histopathology ( P=0. 000, OR=0. 016, 95％CI=0. 042-0. 324) . The onset time of pink sign was recorded in 89 lesions in the positive group. The area under ROC curve of the onset time of pink sign was 0. 899, and the optimal cut-off value was 60 s, which indicated the good validity of the test with the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 92. 8％, 84. 2％and 91. 0％, respectively. Conclusion The pink sign of iodine staining for diagnosis of early esophageal carcinoma shows a high consistance rate, especially that appears within 60 s.

Application of clip traction in endoscopic submucosal dissection to the treatment of early esophageal carcinoma and precancerous lesions.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It is usually difficult to obtain a good view of the dissection plane during esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of clip traction in ESD for the treatment of early esophageal carcinoma (EEC) or precancerous lesions. METHODS: This is a case-matched comparative study. We selected 100 EEC patients who had undergone ESD. Fifty cases underwent ESD without clip traction (non-clip group), and 50 cases underwent ESD with clip traction (clip group). The patient-related variables, dissection time, data regarding muscularis propria injury, etc. were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: ESD was successful in all cases without complication. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to age, gender, the longitudinal diameter of the lesions, etc. Wide visual field exposure of the submucosal tissue below the lesion was obtained by applying clip traction. The dissection time of ESD was shorter in the clip group than in the non-clip group [22.02 (6.77) min vs 26.48 (12.56); P = 0.018] when the extent of lesion was less than half of the circumference of the esophagus; otherwise, there was no difference between the two groups (P = 0.252). Moreover, the muscularis propria injuries in the clip group were obviously less than the non-clip group (10 vs 30 %, P = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Clip traction can decrease the rate of muscularis propria injury and shorten the dissection time. It is recommended as a safe and effective auxiliary procedure for the treatment of esophageal ESD.

Clinicopathological analysis of endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal mucosa lesion / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To analyze the endoscopic and clinicopathologic features of early esopheal carcinoma and precancerous lesions and evaluate the necessity, efficacy and safety of ESD in the treatment. Methods From May 2013 to April 2016, 51 consecutive patients underwent high-resolution video endoscopy and biopsy, confirmed diagnosis of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma or intraepithelial neoplasia were included. There were capillary loops (IPCL), iodine-staining, preoperative and postoperative pathology, and complications to analyze. Results 51 patients had total 58 lesions, Type A, Type B1, Type B2 of IPCL classification were diagnosed in 8 (13.79%), 44 (75.86%), 6 (10.34%). Low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, early esophageal carcinoma of preoperative biopsy were diagnosed in 11 (18.97%), 42 (72.41%), 5 (8.62%), low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, early esophageal carcinoma of postoperative pathology results were diagnosed in 10 (17.54%), 27 (46.55%), 21 (36.21%), concordance rate of pathological results were 60.34%. Complications included micro-perforations (0.00%), strictures (8.62%) and delayed hemorrhage (3.51%), respectively. Conclusion After endoscopic submucosal dissection, detection rate of early esophageal cancer increased significantly, preoperative biopsy had guidance significance in diagnosis and treatment, ESD treatment can reduce the missed diagnosis of early esophageal carcinoma.

Clinicopathological analysis of endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal mucosa lesion / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To analyze the endoscopic and clinicopathologic features of early esopheal carcinoma and precancerous lesions and evaluate the necessity, efficacy and safety of ESD in the treatment. Methods From May 2013 to April 2016, 51 consecutive patients underwent high-resolution video endoscopy and biopsy, confirmed diagnosis of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma or intraepithelial neoplasia were included. There were capillary loops (IPCL), iodine-staining, preoperative and postoperative pathology, and complications to analyze. Results 51 patients had total 58 lesions, Type A, Type B1, Type B2 of IPCL classification were diagnosed in 8 (13.79%), 44 (75.86%), 6 (10.34%). Low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, early esophageal carcinoma of preoperative biopsy were diagnosed in 11 (18.97%), 42 (72.41%), 5 (8.62%), low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, early esophageal carcinoma of postoperative pathology results were diagnosed in 10 (17.54%), 27 (46.55%), 21 (36.21%), concordance rate of pathological results were 60.34%. Complications included micro-perforations (0.00%), strictures (8.62%) and delayed hemorrhage (3.51%), respectively. Conclusion After endoscopic submucosal dissection, detection rate of early esophageal cancer increased significantly, preoperative biopsy had guidance significance in diagnosis and treatment, ESD treatment can reduce the missed diagnosis of early esophageal carcinoma.

Risk factors for positive resection margins after endoscopic submucosal dissection of early esophageal squamous carcinomas and precancerous lesions / 中华消化内镜杂志

Objective To identify the risk factors for positive resection residues after endoscopic submucosal dissection ( ESD ) of early esophageal squamous carcinomas and precancerous lesions. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 315 patients with early esophageal squamous cancer and precancerous lesion who underwent ESD. The pathological features of all resection margins in the specimen and the follow?up outcome of the patients with positive resection margin were evaluated. Univariate and multi?variate analysis were used to determine the risk factors for resection margin residues after ESD. Results In 315 lesions,there were 290 lesions with negative resection margins and 25 with positive resection margins.The number of lesions with positive lateral, basal, or both resection margins was 13, 8, and 4, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the depth of invasion( submucosal layer invasion, P=0?048) was the only independent risk factor for positive basal resection margin. The proportion of circumferential extension (≥3/4,P=0?014) and the depth of invasion( exceeding muscularis mucosa, P=0?007) were independent risk factors for positive lateral resection margin. Conclusion The diameter of the lesions and the depth of tumor invasion are independent risk factors for esophageal ESD positive resection margins. Accurate evaluation of lesion extension and invasive depth is critical to avoid residual or recurrent tumor after esophageal ESD.

Clinical value and postoperative pathological analysis in early esophageal carcinoma and intraepithelial neoplasia treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To evaluate the effect and pathological characters for patients with early esophageal carcinoma and intraepithelial neoplasia after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Methods 69 patients from January 2013 to January 2016 were treated with ESD at the early stage of esophageal carcinoma and intraepithelial neoplasia. The clinical features and the size of the lesions of all the patients were collected. Then analyzed postoperative complications and pathological characteristics. Results Among 69 cases, 16 were early esophageal cancer, 38 were high-grade esophageal neoplasia and 35 were low-grade esophageal neoplasia. The whole piece resection rate was 100.00 % (69/69), complete resection rate and curative resection rate was 95.65 % (66/69), respectively. The largest removal diameter is 7.0 cm. Biopsy accuracy was 69.57 % (48/69). Compared with biopsy, diagnostic accuracy with ESD specimens is higher. Conclusion The early esophageal carcinoma and intraepithelial neoplasia can be treated with ESD. ESD can resect lesions primarily, provide complete specimen for further pathological assessment and improve diagnostic accuracy.

ESD around the world: Europe.

In Europe, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is widely accepted as an appropriate diagnostic approach to obtain specimens for accurate histopathologic evaluation, which may change grading and local staging of early neoplasia determined by prior biopsies and imaging. In contrast to EMR, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) allows resection of even large lesions in a single piece. Evidence on the clinical value of ESD is still limited and mainly based on data from Japan, and may not be directly applicable to Europe, where the outcome of ESD may be less favorable because of the limited Western expertise in this challenging technique.

Avances en el manejo del carcinoma precoz de esófago / Advances in Management of Early Esophageal Carcinoma

El carcinoma de células escamosas del esófago (CCE) tiene un mal pronóstico debido a que la detección ocurre generalmente en etapas avanzadas. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de la endoscopia de alta resolución con recursos de cromoscopia digital y con lugol ha favorecido el diagnóstico del CCE en estadios iniciales.En paralelo hubo un importante progreso de las técnicas endoscópicas para la resección endoluminal del tumor en bloque, a partir del desarrollo del procedimiento denominado disección endoscópica de la submucosa (DES). Estos avances han permitido la expansión de las indicaciones del tratamiento endoscópico mínimamente invasivo con potencial curativo en pacientes con CCE. El presente artículo de revisión tiene como objetivo principal contribuir a la comprensión de los avances recientes más importantes relacionados al manejo del CCE precoz de esófago. Como objetivo secundario se pretende ofrecer una revisión detallada de la técnica de la DES desarrollada por los expertos japoneses, a fi n de contribuir a la difusión de este concepto y a la incorporación de estas nuevas tecnologías en la endoscopia latinoamericana

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus has a poor prognosis because it is generally detected in its advanced stages. Recently however, the development of high resolution endoscopy with digital chromoscopy and Lugol favors diagnosis of SCC in its initial stages. This development was made parallel to development of important endoscopic techniques for endoluminal resectioning of tumors “en bloque” from endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). These advances have increased the indications for minimally invasive endoscopictreatment of SCC of the esophagus providing patients with the potential of a cure. This review article aims to provide an understanding of the most recent and most important advances related to management of early SCC of the esophagus. The secondary objective of this article is to provide a detailed review of the ESD technique developed by Japanese experts. Both objectives have the aim of contributing to the diffusion ofESD and these new technologies to Latin American endoscopy and their incorporation into Latin Americangastroenterological practice.

Flexible spectral imaging color enhancement for diagnosis of early esophageal carcinomas and precancerous lesions / 中华消化内镜杂志

Objective To evaluate the flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) system in the diagnosis of early esophageal carcinoma and precancerous lesions.Methods A total of 257 patients with suspicious esophageal lesions were examined successively by FICE,magnifying FICE,iodine dyeing endoscopy and magnifying iodine dyeing endoscopy.Findings were compared with the pathologic diagnosis.Results The positive rates of early esophageal carcinoma by FICE (92.6％,25/27) and iodine dyeing endoscopy (88.9％,24/27) were not significantly different (P =0.642),nor were those of magnifying FICE (96.3％,26/27) and magnifying iodine dyeing endoscopy (92.6％,25/27),(P =0.556).The magnifying FICE could reveal the IPCL of early esophageal carcinoma clearly.Early esophageal carcinoma and advanced neoplasia were mainly type Ⅳ + Ⅴ,low-level neoplasia and esophagitis were type Ⅱ + Ⅲ,and normal esophagus was type Ⅰ.However,the magnifying iodine dyeing endoscopy was not able to reveal IPCL.There was no adverse reaction in FICE,but the adverse reaction rate was 12.8％ (33/257) in iodine dyeing endoscopy.Conclusion Magnifying FICE can accurately determine the pathological types of early esophageal carcinoma,which is an effective complement to iodine dyeing endoscopy.