The importance of endoscopic ultrasonography in the management of low-grade gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Anti-Helicobacter pylori therapy has been reported to cause regression of low-grade gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma in a high percentage of patients. However, in some patients, these lesions persist despite antibiotic treatment. AIM: To determine the various endosonographic findings that may predict the regression of low-grade gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma post-antibiotics. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with Helicobacter pylori-positive gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma were studied. Follow-up data were available on 51 patients. All patients were treated with antibiotics. Participants underwent pre- and post-anti-Helicobacter pylori therapy endoscopy with gastric biopsies, followed by endoscopic ultrasonography examination of the stomach. RESULTS: Helicobacter pylori was eradicated in 45 of 51 (88%) patients. At the 2-year follow-up, complete regression of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma was seen in 28 of 51 (55%) patients: 12 of 16 (75%) patients in stage T1m N0, 11 of 19 (58%) patients in stage T1sm N0, four of eight (50%) patients in stages T1m N1 and T1sm N1, and one of four (25%) patients in stage T2 N0. None of the stage T2 N1 patients achieved clinical regression. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic ultrasonography evaluation of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma plays a pivotal role in the initial staging and post-treatment follow-up evaluation of these lesions. Accurate staging is essential in the determination of the optimal treatment modality.

Scientific publications in endoscopic ultrasonography: a 20-year global survey of the literature.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasound imaging of mediastinum, gastrointestinal tract and pancreas, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of suspicious lesions, have now been available for several years. Although many papers have been published on endoscopic ultrasonography, a comprehensive overview of the subject matter presented has not yet been carried out. An extensive survey of the literature on endoscopic ultrasonography since its inception in the 1980 s was conducted in this study; key points are summarized. METHODS: A computer-based PubMed search system was used to retrieve all available abstracts pertaining to endoscopic ultrasound from 1980 to the present. Data were collected concerning the impact factor, the various EUS instruments and fine-needle aspiration biopsy techniques used, and the subject matter, as well as the journals publishing the abstracts. RESULTS: A total of 1259 articles were published in 65 journals: 440 (35 %) Western European studies, 404 (32 %) American studies, and 321 (26 %) Japanese studies were retrieved. The total and average impact factor per paper was highest for American papers, followed by European papers and Japanese papers. Forty-seven percent of the papers were published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Endoscopy. The most frequently discussed topics concerned the staging of various malignancies, including esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer. The average sample size per paper was in the range 25 - 50. The various types of study included retrospective inquiries (25 %), reviews (24 %), prospective studies (17 %), and case reports (15 %). CONCLUSIONS: Over the course of the past 20 years, there has been a progressive increase in the number of publications pertaining to endoscopic ultrasonography. Large-scale prospective studies are now needed to validate earlier reports. In addition, the diagnostic and therapeutic role of endoscopic ultrasound needs to be more widely publicized among physicians in all health-care fields, so that appropriate patients may be referred.

Endosonography in gastric lymphoma and large gastric folds.

To establish a correct preoperative differential diagnosis between gastric lymphoma and cancer is essential but can be difficult as endoscopic biopsies can sometimes provide a low diagnostic yield. By EUS, infiltrative carcinoma tends to show a vertical growth in the gastric wall, while lymphoma tends to show mainly a horizontal extension. EUS provides an accurate staging of gastric lymphoma, showing the exact level of infiltration and the presence of perigastric lymph nodes, thus the physician can obtain an accurate prognosis for each patient and select the best form of treatment accordingly. The response to chemoradiotherapy can also be investigated very accurately by EUS. Large gastric folds are seen in a great number of benign and malignant conditions. Diagnosis represents a clinical challenge because etiology may be extremely varied and standard biopsies are often inconclusive. Different diseases show different levels of infiltration of the gastric wall, thus a characteristic echo-pattern helps for the differential diagnosis. Endosonography, used always in combination with biopsy, allows to rule out malignancies and to select the most appropriate treatment for each patient (medical or surgical).

Cancer of the esophagus--endoscopic ultrasound: selection for cure.

Several treatment options are available to treat esophageal cancer. Ideally, treatment should be individualized, based on the projected treatment outcome for that individual. Accurate staging of the extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis offers the most rational attempt at stratifying patients into categories that can be used to affect treatment choices. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is the most accurate nonoperative technique for determining the depth of tumour infiltration and thus is accurate in predicting which patients will be able to undergo complete resection. EUS is also being used for tumour staging in order to guide treatment decisions in patients with esophageal cancer.

Weekend therapy for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of a short-term regimen (weekend therapy) in the cure of Helicobacter pylori infection and to analyze the factors that may influence the success of the treatment. METHODS: Seventy-one patients with gastric colonization by a tinidazole sensitive H. pylori strain (34 duodenal ulcer and 37 nonulcer dyspepsia) received omeprazole 40 mg o.m. for 7 days (from Monday to Sunday) and bismuth 240 mg q.i.d. + amoxicillin 1000 mg/q.i.d. + tinidazole 500 mg q.i.d. for only 2 days (Saturday and Sunday). Endoscopy, histology, culture, urease test, and susceptibility studies were done at entry and 30 days after treatment. RESULTS: Successful eradication was obtained in 84% of patients. The percentage of eradication was higher in duodenal ulcer patients (94%) than in those with nonulcer dyspepsia (74%; p < 0.05), and in patients who received the treatment during hot weather (94%) than in those who received the treatment during cold weather (74%; p < 0.05). Side-effects were induced by the treatment in 17% of patients, and these were all not severe, self-limiting, short-lasting, and did not require specific treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggested that weekend therapy with high doses of drugs represents an effective, safe, and inexpensive therapeutic approach for the treatment of H. pylori infection, particularly in patients with duodenal ulcer. Furthermore, they also confirm the relevant role that short-term treatments may play in the therapeutic approach to H. pylori infection, and highlight some important aspects influencing short-term schedules.

Endoscopic ultrasonography in gastric lymphoma.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) was performed in 82 patients with primary gastric lymphoma. EUS correctly diagnosed lymphoma in 76/82 patients, with a sensitivity of 93%. Positive predictability was 91%, specificity 98%, and negative predictability 98%. Diagnostic accuracy was 97%. In the evaluation of lymphoma, depth invasion EUS was correct in 87% of cases. EUS disclosed metastatic perigastric lymph nodes in 15/27 patients, with a sensitivity of 56%. Positive predictability was 100%, specificity 100%, and negative predictability 82%. Diagnostic accuracy was 85%. Differential diagnosis with EUS among lymphoma, linitis plastic and Ménétrier's disease was difficult. Large particle biopsy must be considered when EUS diagnosis of these diseases remains uncertain.

Portal hypertension: review of data and influence on management.

It is evident that endoscopic ultrasonography could have a great clinical role in the selection of the best treatment for the individual patient because it allows the simultaneous visualization of a large part of the portal venous system and its collaterals. It has not been shown that the same kind of treatment is suitable for every patient with portal hypertension, and failure of a particular treatment may be attributable to an incorrect selection of patients. Further perspective studies with EUS in patients with portal hypertension are thus necessary in order to clearly state the cost-benefit of this technique in the management of these subjects.