Protective effect of rosuvastatin against the formation of benign esophageal stricture

Endoscopic treatment of benign esophageal strictures: Advances and challenges

Benign esophageal stricture is characterized by the narrowing of the digestive tract lumen due to multiple factors. Endoscopic treatment is the first treatment choice and includes endoscopic dilatation, drug injection, stenosis incision, stent implantation, stem cell flap transplantation, etc. However, there are currently no specific clinical standards or guidelines to quantify a series of specific parameters in the treatment of benign esophageal stricture, such as the frequency of drug administration, dosage, dilation inner diameter, and number of treatments. This leads to operator bias in clinical practice and inconsistent treatment outcomes among patients. Therefore, this article reviews the current advances and existing challenges in the endoscopic treatment of benign esophageal stricture, with the aim of exploring the possibility of achieving precision and standardization in the endoscopic treatment of this disease.

Global trends and research hotspots in esophageal strictures: A bibliometric study

BACKGROUND

Esophageal stricture is a prevalent condition affecting the digestive system, primarily marked by dysphagia and the obstruction of food passage through the esophagus. This narrowing of the esophageal lumen can significantly impact a person's ability to eat and drink comfortably, often leading to a decrease in nutritional intake and quality of life.

AIM

To explore the current research status and future trends of esophageal stricture through bibliometric analysis.

METHODS

Literature on esophageal stricture from 2004 to 2023 was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Statistical analysis was performed using Excel, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and RStudio. This study provides data on annual production trends, countries/regions, influential authors, institutions, journals, references, and keywords.

RESULTS

The study included 1485 publications written by 7469 authors from 1692 institutions across 66 countries/regions, published in 417 journals. The United States, China, and Japan are the major contributors to this field, with many quality papers. Song Ho-young, Diseases of the Esophagus, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and Mayo Clinic are the top authors, journals, co-cited journals, and institutions, respectively. The most frequent keywords are stent, endoscopy, management, etiology, and prevention; regenerative medicine, endoscopic injection, and autologous tissue transplantation are the latest research frontiers. These keywords reflect continuous advancements in technical innovation, treatment strategies, preventive measures in the esophageal stricture research field, and a sustained focus on improving patient prognosis. In contrast, the basic sciences were underrepresented.

CONCLUSION

This study provides an insightful analysis of the developments in the field of esophageal stricture over the past twenty years, with stent placement is currently a hot research topic.

Progress in the treatment and prevention of esophageal stenosis after endoscopic submucosal dissection

The primary treatment for early esophageal cancer and precancerous lesions is endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). However, this approach leads to a high incidence of postoperative esophageal stenosis, which can significantly impact a patient's quality of life. While various methods are available to prevent post-ESD esophageal stenosis, their effectiveness varies. Therefore, this study aims to provide an overview of the currently employed methods for preventing post-ESD esophageal stenosis in clinical practice in view of assisting clinical practitioners.

Benign esophageal stricture model construction and mechanism exploration

Esophageal stricture is a debilitating condition that negatively impacts patients' quality of life after undergoing endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). Despite its significance, this disease remains underexplored due to the lack of a stable animal model. Under direct visualization with choledochoscopy, we retrogradely damaged the esophageal mucosal layer through the gastrostomy to create a rat model of esophageal stricture. The development of histological defects in the mucosal layer was assessed over a 2-week period after model induction. Then the models were evaluated using X-ray barium radiography, Hematoxylin-Eosin, Masson's trichrome, Sirius red, and Victoria blue staining, multiphoton microscopic imaging. Additionally, the molecular mechanisms of esophageal stricture were explored by conducting RNA transcriptome sequencing, PCR, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence staining. We successfully established fifteen rat models of esophageal stricture by injuring the mucosal layer. In the model group, the mucosal defect initially occurs and subsequently repaired. The epithelium was absent and was plastically remodeled by collagen during the acute inflammatory phase (Day 1), proliferation phase (Day 7), anaphase of proliferation (Day 10), and plastic remodeling phase (Day 14). We observed increased expression of COL1A1, acta2, FGF, IL-1, and TGF-β1 pathway in the model group. We established a highly repeatable rat model of esophageal stricture, and our results suggest that the mucosal defect of the esophagus is a critical factor in esophageal stricture development, rather than damage to the muscularis layer. We identified Atp4b, cyp1a2, and gstk1 as potential targets for treating esophageal stricture, while the TGF-β pathway was found to play an important role in its development.

Comparison of statins with steroids and botulinum toxin A in the prevention of benign strictures after esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Preventing benign strictures following esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) remains difficult, and finding a safe, effective, and simple management method is vital. We previously reported that rosuvastatin significantly reduced the incidence and severity of strictures in a rabbit model of esophageal stricture. Accordingly, in this study, we compared the effects of statins, steroids, and botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) on stricture prevention after ESD involving more than three-fourths of the luminal circumference.

METHODS

Of the 1019 ESD cases treated between January 2015 and December 2020, 246 met the inclusion criteria, with 21 cases excluded due to loss to follow-up, tumor recurrence, death, or need for additional surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy. Of the 225 included cases, 145 received no intervention, while the remaining 80 were treated: 16 with oral steroids, 20 with topical triamcinolone acetonide (TA) injection, 21 with topical BTX-A injection, and 23 with statins.

RESULTS

The occurrence stricture rate in the statins group (17.4%, 4/23) was significantly lower than in the non-intervention (75.2%, 109/145, P = 0.000), oral steroids (56.3%, 9/16, P = 0.011) and TA injection (50%, 10/20, P = 0.023) groups, but comparable to in the BTX-A injection (38.1%, 8/21, P = 0.124) group. The dysphagia score was lower in the statin than non-intervention group (P = 0.000). Although there was no significant difference in the number of required dilations between groups, the maximum number of dilations in the statins group was only six.

CONCLUSIONS

Statins may be a potential treatment to prevent esophageal strictures after extensive ESD; however, clinical trials should be conducted to validate this.