The 8th edition of the AJCC-TNM classification: New contributions to the staging of esophagogastric junction cancer

Prognostic factors in gastric cancer patients: a 10-year mono-institutional experience

Introduction

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the main causes of death from cancer globally. Long-term survival, especially in Western countries, remains dismal, with no significant improvements in recent years. Therefore, precise identification of clinical and pathological risk factors is crucial for prognosis, as it allows a better selection of patients suitable for oncologically radical treatments and contributes to longer survivals.

Methods

We devised a retrospective observational longitudinal study over 10 years of experience with GC patients operated with curative intent.

Results

Several factors were thoroughly investigated in a multivariate analysis to look for significance as independent risk factors for disease-free survival. Our results showed that only BMI, pTNM, and lymph node ratio expressed hazard ratios with implications for survival in our series of patients.

Discussion

Although limited by the retrospective nature of the study, this is one of the few cancer reports from Northern Italy showing results over 10 years, which may in our view, have an impact on decision-making processes for multidisciplinary teams dedicated to the care of gastric cancer patients.

Does total omentectomy prevent peritoneal seeding for advanced gastric cancer with serosal invasion?

BACKGROUND

Radical gastrectomy is composed of gastrectomy, lymph node dissection, and omentectomy. Total omentectomy (TO) is expected to reduce the incidence of peritoneal recurrence. We aimed to investigate the necessity of TO for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) with serosal invasion.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 310 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy with TO and 93 patients who underwent partial omentectomy (PO) for gastric cancer with serosal invasion between August, 2005 and December, 2017. Finally, 91 patients in the PO group and 91 in the TO group were enrolled based on a 1:1 propensity-score matching analysis. We evaluated surgical and oncological outcomes, including 5-year overall and recurrence-free survival rates.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in postoperative complications. Recurrence sites showed similar patterns in both groups, including peritoneal recurrence (PO vs. TO, 18.7% vs. 28.6%; p = 0.188). Five-year overall survival was better in the PO group (p = 0.018), while 5-year recurrence-free survival was similar in both groups (p = 0.066).

CONCLUSION

TO might not be an essential part of preventing peritoneal recurrence for AGC with serosal invasion. PO could be considered a radical gastrectomy for T4a gastric cancer.

Thoracolaparoscopic radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer based on the mesoesophageal theory

To explore the feasibility of mesangium or membrane anatomy theory in thoracolaparoscopic radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer, 98 patients with esophageal cancer were enrolled including 45 patients in the mesoesophageal esophagectomy group and 53 patients in the non-mesoesophageal esophagectomy group. Thoracolaparoscopic radical esophagecotmy was technically successful in all patients. Compared the non-mesoesophageal group, the mesoesophageal group had significantly (P < 0.05) shorter surgical duration (211.9 ± 42.0 min vs. 282.0 ± 44.5 min), less blood loss during the procedure (68.9 ± 45.9 ml vs. 167.0 ± 91.4 ml), more harvested lymph nodes (25.9 ± 6.3 vs. 21.8 ± 7.3), shorter hospital stay after surgery (10.5 ± 2.5 d vs. 12.5 ± 4.2 d), shorter fasting time or quicker postoperative feeding time (7.3 ± 1.2 d vs. 9.5 ± 3.9 d), and quicker removal of the thoracic drainage tube after surgery (7.7 ± 2.0 d vs. 9.2 ± 4.1 d). The overall incidence of postoperative complications was 46.7% (21/45) in the mesoesophageal group, which was significantly (P = 0.02) fewer than that (69.8% or 37/53) of the non-mesoesophageal group (P = 0.020). During follow-up 20.6 ± 4.3 or 20.8 ± 3.4 months after esophagectomy, liver metastasis occurred in 1 case and lung metastasis in 1 in the mesoesophageal group, whereas liver metastasis occurred in 2 cases, mediastinal metastasis in 2, and anastomotic recurrence in 1 in the non-mesoesophageal group. The mesoesophageal group had significantly better physical function (81.9 ± 7.3 vs. 78.3 ± 7.6), social function (65.1 ± 7.1 vs. 56.2 ± 18.2), global health status (65.3 ± 10.1 vs. 58.7 ± 12.4), and pain improvement (29.5 ± 9.5 vs. 35.6 ± 10.6). The overall survival rate was 82.2% (37/45) in the mesoesophageal group and 71.7% (38/53) in the non-mesoesophageal group (P = 0.26). The disease-free survival rate was 77.8% (35/45) for the mesoesophageal group and 62.3% (33/53) for the non-mesoesophageal group (P = 0.13). In conclusion:, the mesangium or membrane anatomy theory can be used safely and effectively to guide thoracolaparoscopic radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer, with advantages of shorter surgical time, less bleeding, more lymph node harvest, fewer complications, and faster postoperative recovery.

A novel web-based dynamic nomogram for recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are liable to develop recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lymph node metastasis (LNM). We aimed to assess the predictive value of the long diameter (LD) and short diameter (SD) of RLN lymph node (LN) and construct a web-based dynamic nomogram for RLN LNM prediction.

Methods

We reviewed 186 ESCC patients who underwent RLN LN dissection from January 2016 to December 2018 in the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College. Risk factors for left and right RLN LNM were determined by univariate and multivariate analyses. A web-based dynamic nomogram was constructed by using logistic regression. The performance was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) and Brier score. Models were internally validated by performing five-fold cross-validation.

Results

Patients who underwent left and right RLN LN dissection were categorized as left cohort (n = 132) and right cohort (n = 159), with RLN LNM rates of 15.9% (21/132) and 21.4% (34/159), respectively. The AUCs of the LD (SD) of RLN LN were 0.663 (0.688) in the left cohort and 0.696 (0.705) in the right cohort. The multivariate analysis showed that age, the SD of RLN LN, and clinical T stage were significant risk factors for left RLN LNM (all P < 0.05), while tumor location, the SD of RLN LN, and clinical T stage were significant risk factors for right RLN LNM (all P < 0.05). The dynamic nomograms showed reliable performance after five-fold cross-validation [(left (right), mean AUC: 0.814, range: 0.614–0.891 (0.775, range: 0.084–0.126); mean Brier score: 0.103, range: 0.084–0.126 (0.145, range: 0.105–0.206)], available at https://mpthtw.shinyapps.io/leftnomo/ and https://mpthtw.shinyapps.io/rightnomo/.

Conclusion

The LD and SD of RLN LN are inadequate to predict RLN LNM accurately, but online dynamic nomograms by combined risk factors show better prediction performance and convenient clinical application.

En bloc mesoesophageal esophagectomy through thoracoscopy combined with laparoscopy based on the mesoesophageal theory

PURPOSE

To investigate the effectiveness and clinical significance of thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy with mesoesophagus excision.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients who underwent en bloc mesoesophageal esophagectomy through thoracoscopy combined with laparoscopy were retrospectively enrolled. Carbon nanoparticles were used in some patients to label the esophageal drainage lymph nodes. The clinical data were analyzed.

RESULTS

En bloc mesoesophageal esophagectomy was successfully performed in 135 patients (100%). The carbon nanoparticles were used in 10 patients, among which the left gastric arterial lymph nodes were labeled in all patients and excised together with the left gastric mesentery, mesoesophagus, esophageal cancer, lymph nodes, vessels, nerves, and adipose tissues as one intact package. The mean operation time was 182.5 ± 26.4 min, intraoperative blood loss 45.9 ± 17.6 ml, mean number of lymph nodes dissected 20.9 ± 8.12, extubation time of drainage tubes 7.5 ± 3.8 days, first oral feeding time 7.5 ± 1.8 days, and postoperative hospital stay 13 ± 5.11 days. Postoperatively, anastomotic leakage occurred in six patients (4.4%), anastomotic stenosis in eight (5.9%), hoarseness in seven (5.2%), and inflammation of the remnant stomach in four (3.0%), with a complication rate of 18.5%. Patients were followed up for 13-34 months (median 23). Eighteen patients presented with organ metastasis. No local recurrence or death during follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Based on the membrane anatomy or mesoesophagus theory, thoracolaparoscopic en bloc mesoesophageal esophagectomy is safe, with decreased blood loss, and it is necessary to resect the left gastric artery lymph nodes together with the left gastric mesentery and its contents to completely remove the cancer.

Treatment Options for T1 Stage Adenocarcinoma of Esophagogastric Junction: A Real-World Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

The number of patients diagnosed with T1 stage adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEGJ) has been increasing. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different treatment options (surgery, chemoradiation, and surgery+chemoradiation) on long-term survival in patients with T1-stage AEGJ.

Methods

We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to identify the records of patients with T1-stage AEGJ between 2010 and 2018. Patient demographics and cancer parameters were compared among the three groups. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used to compare long-term survival.

Results

Data from 925 T1 stage AEGJ patients (surgery: n=516, surgery+chemoradiation: n=206, chemoradiation: n=203) were collected. We found that the OS and CSS rates of three treatment options had significant difference. Besides, positive nodal status also showed lower OS and CSS rat. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that surgery group has much lower risk of death compared with chemoradiation group and similar risk of death compared with surgery+chemoradiation group. Subgroup analysis suggested that in patients with N1–N3 status had higher OS and CSS rates in surgery+chemoradiation group.

Conclusion

Using SEER data, we identified a significant survival advantage with the use of surgery compared to chemoradiation in patients with T1-stage AEGJ while the long-term survival of patients after surgery+chemoradiation group was not significantly different and low risk of death in positive nodal status.