Short-Term Outcomes and Quality of Life Following Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy in a Tertiary Care Center in Southern India

INTRODUCTION

With the advent of multimodality therapy and minimally invasive surgical approaches, patients suffering from carcinoma esophagus are showing promising outcomes. Hence, the frontier needs to be widened to assess the postoperative quality of life (QoL) of those surviving carcinoma esophagus. The objective of the study was to determine the short-term outcomes of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) /hybrid esophagectomies in carcinoma esophagus and the organ-specific QoL in survivors of MIE for carcinoma esophagus, and to compare health-related QoL in patients following MIE for carcinoma esophagus with the general population.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A longitudinal study design was used to evaluate the short-term postoperative outcomes of patients undergoing MIE for carcinoma esophagus between July 1, 2021, to July 15, 2022, and analyze the QoL of those patients who survived at one year without tumor recurrence. QoL was assessed using the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QoL Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the EORTC QoL Questionnaire - Oesophageal Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-OES18).

RESULTS

A total of 15 patients who underwent minimal invasive/hybrid esophagectomy for esophageal carcinomawere included. Of these, 13 patients underwent hybrid esophagectomy while two patients underwent thoraco-laparoscopic esophagectomy. Squamous cell carcinoma was observed as the most common histological variant (60%) while 33% were adenocarcinoma and 6.7% lymphoma. The most common site of the tumor was the lower one-third esophagus (60%). Nine out of 15 patients developed postoperative complications needing prolonged ICU stay. One major anastomotic leak as well as one conduit necrosis was observed among 15 cases operated. Median length of hospital stay was 16 (IQR 12-24). QoL was assessed among 12 patients at the one-year follow-up excluding mortality cases and patients with tumor recurrence. The patients following MIE for carcinoma esophagus were observed to have low scores in physical functioning, role functioning, and social function when compared with the general population. Cognitive functioning and emotional function were not found to be significantly different. No statistically significant difference was observed in the global health status among the two groups. There was no significant difference found in the general symptoms score comparison of the MIE patients with the general population. When it comes to organ-specific symptom scales, reflux was observed as a major issue among the patients who survived carcinoma esophagus after undergoing MIE. Dysphagia and dry mouth received low scores suggestive of minor issues. Though analysis of global health QoL scores of those with postoperative complications and those who had uneventful recovery at one year revealed a higher score for the latter, it was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Postoperative complications can prolong hospital stay, delay resuming normal work, and affect the global QoL of patients compared with those who recovered uneventfully. Physical and role functions were observed to be deficient among survived patients when compared with the normal population. Nutritional prehabilitation, cutting-edge surgical practice including minimally invasive techniques, minimizing deviation from normal postoperative recovery by high-quality ICU care, and postoperative rehabilitation are the cornerstones to ensure better QoL.

Revisiting the Mucosa of the Gastric Cardia: A Scope to Modify an Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Introduction The mucosa in the cardiac region of the stomach has been less understood. Cardiac mucosa (CM) with less parietal and oxyntic cells has been defined as a normal mucosa. Studies have shown that CM can be the result of occult reflux. Oxyntic mucosa (OM) is normal, and it changes to CM with age. In advancing age, it is more common to find CM instead of OM and oxyntocardiac mucosa (OCM). This study is an attempt to examine the distribution of the three different types of mucosa in various age groups. Materials and methods The study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy and Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati, Assam, India, from 2017 to 2019. Once the stomach was opened, histological specimens were prepared, and the type of mucosa was observed and recorded. Then, the distribution of the types of mucosa in various age groups was analyzed. Results The distribution of mucosa varies significantly across different age groups, and CM increases with age. Conclusion Our present study suggests that CM frequency increases with age. This is in accordance with studies that suggest that CM is a result of occult reflux with age. This observation creates a scope to revise the approaches for upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy.

Safety and Efficacy of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in the Management of Gastric Tube Cancers After Esophagectomy: A Systematic Review

Esophagectomy is the proposed standard of care for resectable primary esophageal cancers and recurrent lesions in the reconstructed gastric tube (GT); however, it carries significant morbidity and mortality. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has established its role in the management of primary esophageal cancers with growing evidence of its safety in resecting recurrent primary lesions in GT. Our study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ESD in the management of recurrent, localized primary esophageal cancers in GT. We searched PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Scopus, and clinical trial registries from inception to March 2023 for articles evaluating the safety and efficacy of ESD in the management of recurrent cancerous lesions in GT. Our primary outcome was the en bloc resection rate. Secondary outcomes were curative resection rate, complete resection rate, intra-procedural complication rate, post-procedure complication rate, and five-year survival rate. Seven studies with a total of 165 patients undergoing 192 ESDs were included in the review. The pooled en bloc resection rate was 92.5% (95% CI: 87.7-95.6), which was reported in all seven studies. Pooled complete resection rate was 78.9% (95% CI: 64.5-88.5) per three studies, pooled curative resection rate was 73.9% (95% CI: 63.5-82.2) per four studies, and pooled intra-procedural complication rate was 10.2% (95% CI: 1.5-46.3), which was reported in four studies. Only three studies reported a five-year survival rate that was 65.5% (95% CI: 56.0-73.9). ESD is safe and efficacious in the management of GT cancer after esophagectomy.

Salvage radiotherapy for postoperative locoregional failure in esophageal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Locoregional recurrences following surgery for esophageal cancers represent a significant clinical problem with no standard recommendations for management. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis with the objective of studying safety and efficacy of salvage radiotherapy in this setting. All prospective and retrospective cohort studies, which studied patients who developed locoregional recurrence following initial radical surgery for esophageal cancer and subsequently received salvage radiation therapy (RT)/chemoradiation with all relevant information regarding survival outcome and toxicity available, were included. The quality of eligible individual studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score for risk of bias. R package MetaSurv was used to obtain a summary survival curve from survival probabilities and numbers of at-risk patients collected at various time points and to test the overall heterogeneity using the I2 statistic. Thirty studies (27 retrospective, 3 prospective) published from 1995 to 2020 with 1553 patients were included. The median interval between surgery and disease recurrence was 12.5 months. The median radiation dose used was 60 Gy and 57% received concurrent chemotherapy. The overall incidence of acute grade 3/4 mucositis and dermatitis were 8 and 4%, respectively; grade 3/4 acute pneumonitis was reported in 5%. The overall median follow-up of all studies included was 27 months. The 1-, 2- and 3-year overall survival (OS) probabilities were 67.9, 35.9 and 30.6%, respectively. Factors which predicted better survival on multivariate analysis were good PS, lower group stage, node negativity at index surgery, longer disease-free interval, nodal recurrence (as compared to anastomotic site recurrence), smaller disease volume, single site of recurrence, RT dose >50 Gy, conformal RT, use of concomitant chemotherapy and good radiological response after radiotherapy. Salvage radiotherapy with or without concomitant chemotherapy for locoregional recurrences after surgery for esophageal cancer is safe and effective. Modern radiotherapy techniques may improve outcomes and reduce treatment-related morbidity.

A Rare Case of Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of Esophagus

Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is a rare, highly aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. A definitive diagnosis is made by histopathological study. As the disease is usually metastatic, palliative chemoradiotherapy is the usual treatment. We present a case of a 57-year-old female presenting with dysphagia. The patient underwent imaging studies showing the growth at the gastro-esophageal junction, with extensive abdominal lymph node metastasis and liver and lung metastasis. Biopsy was suggestive of small cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The patient underwent a feeding jejunostomy and was planned for chemoradiotherapy. Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is an infrequent entity. As the disease is usually diagnosed at a later stage, the prognosis is inferior and abysmal.

A Study of Hormonal Receptors in Esophageal Carcinoma: Northeast Indian Tertiary Cancer Center Study

Background  Esophageal cancers, both squamous cell and adenocarcinoma, have poor outcomes with high morbidity and mortality. Our hospital-based registry for the year 2017 to 2018 showed that esophageal cancer constituted 22.7% of annual caseload. Most of our patients present in advanced stages. The aim of this article was to study the role of hormonal receptors in patients with esophageal cancer. Methods  This is a single-institution, prospective, observational study in patients with esophageal carcinoma. Hormonal receptors (estrogen receptor [ER]-α and progesterone receptors) were studied in tumor tissue. Of 160 patients, receptor status was analyzed in 133 patients. Chi-square test was used for the correlation of categorical variables. The value of p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results  A total of 133 patients was taken into the study of which 96 were males and 37 were females. The mean age of patients was 52 years. Carcinoma esophagus was predominantly seen in males. Estrogen and progesterone receptors were positive in 9.02 and 4.51% of the study population, respectively. Patients with hormonal receptor positivity presented with poor functional status, higher grades of dysphagia, higher stage, and most of the tumors were poorly differentiated with statistically significant p -values. Conclusion  Despite recent advances in various fields of oncology, outcomes of esophageal carcinoma have not improved significantly. Hence, a study of new pathways of pathogenesis in carcinogenesis of esophageal carcinoma is essential. Few recent evidences including our study shows that the hormonal milieu is responsible in the pathogenesis of carcinoma esophagus. The utilization of this data and future study of the role of hormonal therapy might lead to improved outcomes in patients with carcinoma esophagus.

The Impact of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Addition to Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography Findings during Radiation Treatment Planning of Locally Advanced Carcinoma Esophagus

Introduction:

Does metabolic imaging help in better definition of target during radiation treatment planning by bringing about changes in dimensions of the primary tumor in terms of diameter, length, and picking up new skip lesions or nodal stations which in turn prevents geographic misses by including more ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose avid regions not visible on conventional imaging?

Materials and Methods:

We compared the length and radial dimensions of the primary tumor as well as changes brought about due to addition of new nodal stations, involved structures, and skip lesions in 50 patients of carcinoma esophagus treated between 2011 and 2013, as seen on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) thorax and positron emission tomography (PET)/CT and drew conclusions regarding the technical changes brought about in treatment planning by the additional input of PET/CT.

Results and Conclusions:

PET-CT tremendously changes treatment plans by expanding the gross tumor volume and including regions which might otherwise have been missed on purely CT-based plans. Of the 50 patients, it changed the contouring and treatment planning of 35 patients and did not impact the remaining 15. Whether this translates into better long-term controls requires further validation by randomized controlled trials, which was not our present objective.

Cutaneous Metastasis from Visceral Organs: 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography Scan Aiding in Localizing Primary Site

Skin metastases are rare from systemic malignancy, and incidence reported is between 0.7% and 9% in various malignancies and usually occur in advanced stage. Here, we report three cases, one each of carcinoma esophagus, carcinoma breast, and carcinoma lung, where patients presented with metastatic cutaneous lesions and positron-emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan whole body helped in localizing the primary site. Whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose PET-CT scan helps in scanning whole body at once and detect occult primary and metastatic sites.

Understanding the Association of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Esophageal Cancers

Lymph node metastasis is widely believed to be one of the most powerful prognostic factors influencing the outcomes of many solid cancers, including esophageal cancers. The left supraclavicular node, famously described as the Virchow's node, is occasionally involved in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancers. Virchow node involvement is considered “nonregional” in all the gastrointestinal cancers, except in esophageal cancers. On the other hand, axillary lymph node metastases (ALNMs) are considered “nonregional” in all gastrointestinal cancers, including esophageal cancers. Exceptionally, some experts share a contrarian view and consider ALNM and supraclavicular lymph node metastasis to represent a contiguous regional dissemination of esophageal cancer. The clinical presentation of ALNM in the vast majority of the patients with esophageal cancers has been reported to be metachronous. Synchronous presentation is exceedingly rare, and our patient is possibly the second case to be reported in the English language literature. The increasing role of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography scans in aiding the staging workup in patients with esophageal cancers and ultimately influencing the choice of management in such rare scenarios is further discussed.

Cervical esophago-gastric anastomosis using linear cutter stapler in esophageal cancer

BACKGROUND

Anastomosis in gastrointestinal (GI) surgery is a commonly performed procedure. Irrelevant various methods of intestinal anastomosis were followed - recent advance is the use of a stapler as a device for GI anastomosis. Due to the use of staplers, technical failures are a rarity, anastomosis is more consistent and can be used at difficult locations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

: Between 2008 and August 2016, 75 patients with esophagus or gastroesophageal junction carcinoma underwent curative intent resection either via a right posterolateral thoracotomy (TTE) or transhiatal esophagectomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with linear stapler anastomosis.

RESULTS

The average follow-up was approximately 9 months. Anastomotic leakage was observed in three patients. On follow-up, two patients presented with difficulty in swallowing, and on upper GI endoscopy, they were found to have anastomotic site stricture. There was no perioperative mortality.

CONCLUSION

The linear-stapled esophagogastric anastomosis is a safe and effective anastomotic technique, which can decrease the rate of leak, postoperative dysphagia, and anastomotic stricture. As in this technique only two linear staplers are used in comparison to other techniques where three or more staplers are used, it is also cost-effective. The procedure deserves more attention and further application.

Palliation of Dysphagia in Carcinoma Esophagus

Esophageal carcinoma has a special place in gastrointestinal carcinomas because it contains two main types, namely, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Carcinoma esophagus patients require some form of palliation because of locally advanced stage or distant metastasis, where it cannot be subjected to curable treatment with surgery and chemoradiation. Many modalities of palliation of dysphagia are available, but the procedure with least morbidity, mortality, and long-term palliation of dysphagia needs to be chosen for the patient. This study aims to discuss the recent trends in palliation of dysphagia with promising results and the most suitable therapy for palliation of dysphagia in a given patient. A total of 64 articles that were published between years 2005 and 2015 on various modes of palliation of dysphagia in carcinoma esophagus were studied, which were mainly randomized and prospective studies. Through this study, we conclude that stents are the first choice of therapy for palliation, which is safe and cost-effective, and they can be combined with either radiotherapy or chemotherapy for long-term palliation of dysphagia with good quality of life. Radiotherapy can be used as a second-line treatment modality.

Case of childhood laryngeal papillomatosis with metastatic carcinoma esophagus in adulthood

A young male patient was diagnosed to have laryngeal papillomas at the age of 3 years for which he underwent permanent tracheostomy and also multiple surgical and laser excision procedures. Then, later in life, the patient had progressive breathlessness and dysphagia. On examination, he had supraclavicular lymphadenopathy showing squamous carcinoma pathology. Since laryngeal papillomas have a high propensity to transform into laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, he was first evaluated for laryngeal carcinoma which was negative. Esophagoscopy showed a growth in the esophagus, the biopsy of which was positive for squamous malignant cells. Patient was then started on palliative chemotherapy with combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin, and at progression with weekly nanoxel with stable disease. This is a rare case of childhood laryngeal papillomatosis progressing to metastatic esophageal carcinoma. This case has been presented to highlight the fact that patients with laryngeal papillomas are not only at high risk of progressing to laryngeal carcinoma but can also have other malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract and lung. Most of them have been correlated to human papilloma virus (HPV), but in our patient HPV DNA was negative.