Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia: an indication for esophagectomy?

Between 1982 and 1991, 19 patients (17 men and 2 women) with Barrett's esophagus, 10 of whom were in a surveillance program, were found to have high-grade dysplasia without evidence of invasive carcinoma. Median age was 66 years (range, 30 to 79 years). Heartburn was the most common presenting symptom. Esophagoscopy at the time of high-grade dysplasia diagnosis demonstrated normal Barrett's mucosa in 10 patients (53%), shallow ulcers in 3, slight mucosal irregularities in 2, small mucosal nodules in 2, stricture in 1, and shallow ulcer with stricture in 1. Eighteen patients underwent esophagectomy. There were no operative deaths. Nine patients (50%) had invasive carcinoma. Postsurgical stage was stage 0 in 9 patients, stage I in 6, stage IIA in 2, and stage IIB in 1. Median follow-up was 34 months (range, 2 to 116 months). Recurrent cancer developed in 2 patients. Overall 5-year survival was 66.7%; 5-year survival for patients with stage 0 disease was 100% and for stage I and II disease, 35.7%. We conclude that high-grade dysplasia in an indication for esophageal resection because of the high rate of associated early invasive carcinoma and that resection can be done safely with the expectation of excellent long-term survival. Because of these findings, we continue to recommend endoscopic surveillance in all patients with Barrett's esophagus.     

Management of Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia

About 38% to 73% of patients diagnosed with BE with HGD and who went on to have an esophagectomy already had esophageal ACA. The low 5-year survival rate of invasive esophageal ACA places pressure on the physician to find a way to prevent or to remove the cancer. Endoscopic ablative therapies have been developed, but these new technologies are to be considered as a secondary option. Although there are many recent improvements in surveillance strategies and endoscopic ablative therapies, series are small and follow-up is short. These modalities do show promise and may be a good option in the future for patients who are poor surgical candidates. At the present time, the standard of care for BE with HGD in good surgical candidates is still esophagectomy.     

Prophylactic esophagectomy in Barrett esophagus with high-grade dysplasia

OBJECTIVES: We review the significance of Barrett mucosa with high-grade dysplasia, management options, rationale for prophylactic esophagectomy, and results of surgical treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The surgical results of prophylactic esophagectomy are presented from two previous studies, involving 60 patients over 1982-2001 at a single institution. These results are compared with nonsurgical treatment options. RESULTS: The transhiatal esophagectomy technique was the most commonly used surgical approach (81.7% of patients). Operative mortality was 1.7%. The incidence of occult adenocarcinoma for 1982-1994 and 1994-2001 was 43% and 16.7%, respectively. The overall incidence of occult adenocarcinoma for the entire study period was 30%. CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic esophagectomy for patients with Barrett esophagus and high-grade dysplasia, performed at a center of high volume and experience, can be accomplished with low mortality and excellent long-term survival. Incidence of occult adenocarcinoma is decreasing, but still 16.7-30%.     

High-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus. The case for esophagectomy

The main principles for optimal management of HGD arising in Barrett's esophagus are that unequivocal diagnosis of HGD is a prerequisite for making the decision of any kind of treatment. HGD must be resected because of the presence of neoplastic cells in the lamina propria in 40% of patients. No reliable endoscopic or endosonographic feature exists that allows accurate prediction of the existence of neoplastic cells within the lamina propria of a patient having HGD in endoscopic biopsy material. Prompt decision to remove an HGD lesion as soon as unequivocal histologic diagnosis has been settled prevents the development of extraesophageal neoplastic spread. Esophagectomy is preferable to endoscopic mucosal excision because approximately 20% of patients who have HGD in preoperative biopsy material carry neoplastic cells beyond the muscularis mucosae. Esophagectomy can be limited to the removal of the esophageal tube without extended lymphadenectomy because 96% of patients who have HGD in endoscopic biopsy samples have a neoplastic process confined to the esophageal wall. Esophageal resection must encompass all the Barrett's area because of the risk for the further development of a second cancer in the metaplastic remnant. Vagus-sparing esophagectomy with colon interposition or elevation of the antrally innervated stomach up to the neck is preferable to conventional esophagectomy with gastric pull up because the former procedure maintains gastric function intact, whereas the latter exposes patients to the risk for the long-term development of reflux esophagitis and even of metaplastic transformation of the proximal esophageal remnant. Subtle details in the understanding of a given patient's clinical course may be critical for making the decision of the most relevant mode of therapy; therefore, patients who have HGD should be treated in dedicated centers, the experience of which offers the best chances of uneventful recovery if the surgical option is retained.     

Outcomes of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for high-grade dysplasia of the esophagus.

OBJECTIVE: The management of high-grade dysplasia (HGD) of the esophagus is controversial with some clinicians advocating non-operative ablation or surveillance. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) allows re-section of the esophagus and may minimize morbidity. This report summarizes our experience with MIE for HGD. METHODS: A retrospective review of 28 patients who underwent MIE for a pre-operative diagnosis of HGD. MIE initially involved a laparoscopic transhiatal approach (n=1), but subsequently evolved to laparoscopy with VATS mobilization (n=27) of the esophagus. RESULTS: From August 1996 to March 2001, 28 patients underwent MIE. There were 23 males and five females; median age was 61 (40-78) years. Median hospital stay was 5 (3-20) days and ICU stay was 1 (1-20) day. One patient required conversion to laparotomy because of dense adhesions. There were ten other patients who had successful MIE despite prior laparotomy. Median operating time was 8 (5.8-13) h. One death occurred from sepsis, pneumonia and multi-system organ failure. Complications occurred in 15 patients. In addition to the patient who died, five re-operations were required for: small bowel perforation (n=1), jejunostomy leak (n=1), pyloric dilation for gastric outlet obstruction (n=1), cholecystectomy (n=1), incision and drainage of an abdominal abscess (n=1). Final pathologies were HGD (n=17), in situ cancer (n=6) and invasive cancer (n=5). At a median follow-up of 13 (2-41) months all hospital survivors are alive and free of disease. CONCLUSIONS: This report confirms the risk of occult cancer in patients with HGD (39% in this series) supporting the recommendation for esophagectomy. MIE can be performed with acceptable results and may minimize morbidity compared to previous reports of open esophagectomy for HGD.     

Barrett''s esophagus with high-grade dysplasia. An indication for prophylactic esophagectomy.

OBJECTIVE. The authors review the results and outcomes of esophagectomy (prophylactic esophagectomy) for patients with Barrett's esophagus and high-grade epithelial dysplasia (HGD). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA. The role of prophylactic esophagectomy for Barrett's esophagus with HGD is controversial, with some authors recommending surgery and others favoring endoscopic surveillance until biopsy diagnosis of carcinoma is made. METHODS. Between 1982 and 1994, 30 consecutive patients with HGD underwent esophagectomy and had the pre- and postoperative pathology reviewed at our institution. The medical records were reviewed to determine patient characteristics, preoperative endoscopic data, surgical approach, operative morbidity and mortality, length of hospitalization, and treatment outcome. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether invasive adenocarcinoma was found in the resection specimen (group 1) or not (group 2). RESULTS. The duration of reflux symptoms was 22 +/- 14 years for group 1 and 9 +/- 11 years for group 2 (p = 0.05). There was one operative death (3.3%) and six complications (20%). In 13 patients (43%, group 1), invasive adenocarcinoma was found in the resected esophagus. The American Joint Committee on Cancer stage for these patients was stage I (8 patients), stage II (2 patients), and stage III (3 patients). One stage I patient died of adenocarcinoma (72 months) in an incompletely excised HGD segment. Other stage I and II patients are alive without adenocarcinoma with an 18-and 63-month mean follow-up, respectively. Outcome for stage III patients was one operative death, one noncancer death (6 months), and one patient with metastatic adenocarcinoma (26 months). For group 2 (57%), there were no adenocarcinoma deaths (40 months). CONCLUSIONS. High-grade epithelial dysplasia is an indication for esophagectomy because of the prevalence of occult adenocarcinoma (43%). Esophagectomy can be performed safely, and survival in patients with completely resected Barrett's esophagus and early-stage adenocarcinoma is excellent.     

Porfimer sodium photodynamic therapy for management of Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia

Porfimer sodium photodynamic therapy (ps-PDT) for Barrett's esophagus is a powerful endoscopic treatment that can eliminate high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and Barrett's mucosa and reduce the risk of development of cancer in these patients. Ps-PDT typically results in destruction of Barrett's esophagus in the majority of the treated area. However, residual small island of Barrett's mucosa may persist after PDT. Therefore, adjuvant thermal ablation should be available during follow-up endoscopies for ablation of residual islands of Barrett's mucosa. PDT should be applied concurrent with effective proton pump inhibitor therapy. This article provides a practical guide for application of porfimer sodium balloon PDT for management of Barrett's esophagus with HGD. Recommendations are provided for patient selection and screening, delivery of PDT to include light dosimetry, methodology for follow-up endoscopies, as well as discussing the potential side effects and complications.     

Barrett's esophagus: management of high-grade dysplasia and cancer

Esophagectomy remains the treatment of choice for the appropriate patient with Barrett's adenocarcinoma invading beyond the mucosa, without evidence of distant metastasis or invasion of adjacent organs. On the other hand, therapeutic management of patients with Barrett's high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or mucosal adenocarcinoma should be individualized, taking into account the patient's preferences, willingness to return for frequent endoscopic biopsies, and medical fitness to undergo esophagectomy. Surgery has to be considered the best treatment for HGD or superficial carcinoma, unless contraindicated by severe comorbidities, because it has proven to be the only treatment that is successful in curing the condition and preventing recurrent HGD or the development of invasive cancer. Nonsurgical treatment by photodynamic therapy or endoscopic mucosal resection may be a less invasive and organ-sparing option for elderly, poor-risk patients but it is still to be considered an investigational therapy that should only be conducted under a clinical trial protocol. Finally, intensive endoscopic biopsy surveillance of patients with HGD is another investigational option that may allow prompt treatment of cancer if it develops. However, few data document the safety of this observational approach.     

Incidence and physiopathology of high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus

Barrett's esophagus is a well-known precursor of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Monitoring patients with Barrett's esophagus is recommended for detecting high-grade dysplasia or cancer. Gastroesophageal reflux disease affects approximately 20% of the population in developed countries. About 10-15% of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease develop Barrett's esophagus, which can progress to adenocarcinoma. The esophagus is normally lined by squamous mucosa. Therefore, it is clear that for an adenocarcinoma, there is a prior sequence of events that lead to normal squamous mucosa transformation.     

Minimally invasive esophagectomy for malignant and premalignant diseases of the esophagus

Minimally invasive approaches increasingly are used to treat esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagitis with high-grade dysplasia. The goals of a minimally invasive esophageal resection are to provide sound oncologic therapy while minimizing morbidity. This article describes the technique the authors use for laparoscopic-thoracoscopic esophagectomy. Comparison data are presented for alternative endoscopic therapy primarily used in candidates not suitable for surgery.     

The rationale for esophagectomy as the optimal therapy for Barrett''s esophagus with high-grade dysplasia.

OBJECTIVE: The authors determined the incidence of invasive adenocarcinoma after esophagectomy in patients endoscopically diagnosed as having Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Barrett's esophagus is a well-recognized premalignant condition. There is controversy with regard to the optimal treatment of high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus. Recognizing the morbidity and mortality associated with esophagectomy, some recommend a selective approach, reserving esophagectomy only for evidence of invasive cancer identified through endoscopic surveillance. Other advocate esophagectomy for all suitable operative candidates. METHODS: The authors reviewed their experience between 1985 and 1995 with 11 patients with high-grade dysplasia arising in Barrett's esophagus diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy and treated by esophagectomy. RESULTS: All patients were white men ranging in age from 47 to 70 years. Ten patients underwent esophagectomy by the Ivor Lewis technique; one had a transhiatal resection. Eight patients (73%) had invasive adenocarcinoma identified after esophagectomy; two (18%) had positive lymph nodes; one required a prolonged hospital stay for an anastomotic leak; two (18%) temporarily suffered delayed gastric emptying. The authors' review identified 85 additional patients previously reported during the same period. Including the current series, 39 patients (41%) had invasive adenocarcinoma identified in the resected specimen. A preponderance of early, potentially curable carcinomas are characteristically found in these patients. CONCLUSION: A high incidence of endoscopically undetected invasive carcinoma strongly supports esophagectomy as the preferred approach for suitable operative candidates with high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus.     

Minimally invasive esophagectomy

Background We aimed to assess the outcomes including the effect on quality of life (QoL) of a group of patients having a minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). Methods Patients with esophageal cancer were offered MIE over a 22-month period. Data on outcomes were collected prospectively, including formal quality-of-assessments. Results There were 25 patients offered MIE. Two patients were converted to a laparotomy to improve the lymphadenectomy. There were no deaths. Respiratory problems (pneumonia, 28%) were the most common in the 64% of patients who had a complication. The median blood loss was 300 ml, time of surgery 330 min, and time to discharge 11 days. There was a decrease in the measured QoL both in general and specifically for the esophageal patients, taking 18–24 months to return to baseline. Conclusions MIE was performed with morbidity similar to other approaches. There were no clear benefits shown in this group of patients with respect to postoperative recovery or short- to medium-term QoL.     

Minimally invasive esophagectomy

BACKGROUND: Open esophagectomy can be associated with significant morbidity and delay return to routine activities. Minimally invasive surgery may lower the morbidity of esophagectomy but only a few small series have been published. METHODS: From August 1996 to September 1999, 77 patients underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy. Initially, esophagectomy was approached totally laparoscopically or with mini-thoracotomy; thoracoscopy subsequently replaced thoracotomy. RESULTS: Indications included esophageal carcinoma (n = 54), Barrett's high-grade dysplasia or carcinoma in situ (n = 17), and benign miscellaneous (n = 6). There were 50 men and 27 women with an average age of 66 years (range 30 to 94 years). Median operative time was 7.5 hours (4.5 hours with > 20 case experience). Median intensive care unit stay was 1 day (range 0 to 60 days); median length of stay was 7 days (range 4 to 73 days) with no operative or hospital mortalities. There were four nonemergent conversions to open esophagectomy; major and minor complication rates were 27% and 55%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Minimally invasive esophagectomy is technically feasible and safe in our center, which has extensive minimally invasive and open esophageal experience. Open surgery should remain the standard until future studies conclusively demonstrate advantages of minimally invasive approaches.     

Minimally invasive esophagectomy

Minimally invasive esophagectomy can be safely performed in selected cases in centers specializing in minimally invasive esophageal surgery.Potential benefits include lessened physiologic insult, with decreased hospital stay and a more rapid recovery to full activity. Drawbacks include the cost of the disposable instrumentation and the steep learning curve. As thoracic surgeons continue to acquire expertise with this procedure, improved results may be expected. Prospective trials with longer follow-up will be required to confirm any advantages of MIE over conventional approaches. Open surgical approaches should remain the standard operation for esophagectomy in most institutions.