Is video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy better? Quality of life considerations

Video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy has controversial advantages over traditional open surgical approaches. Subjective concerns such as pain, dyspnea, physical functioning, and overall satisfaction generally favor VATS but vary depending on survey timing. Independence, a major quality of life component, favors video-assisted thoracic surgery because fewer objective hospital and discharge resources are needed because pulmonary function, activity level, muscle strength, and walking capacity are better. Video-assisted thoracic surgery often hastens return to work and facilitates adjuvant chemotherapy or subsequent urgent surgical procedures. Video-assisted thoracic surgery-related quality of life benefits are amplified by advanced age (or other frailties) and reduced by advanced cancer stage or comorbid illness.     

The changing profile of esophageal cancer presentation and its implication for diagnosis

CONTEXT: The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma is rising and has surpassed squamous cell carcinoma. OBJECTIVE: To determine how the increasing incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma alters the classic clinical presentation and the implications of these changes for diagnosis. DESIGN AND SETTING: A five-year retrospective review (1991-1996) was made. PARTICIPANTS: All patients were identified by a computerized registry search with a diagnosis of esophageal carcinoma. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical presentation; duration of symptoms; and correlation with diagnosis, pathology, treatment and outcome. RESULTS: One-hundred-eight (35%) patients had squamous cell carcinoma and 199 (65%) had adenocarcinoma. Dysphagia and weight loss were more common among patients with squamous cell carcinoma (93% and 68%), when compared to adenocarcinoma (79% and 53%). Twenty-one percent of adenocarcinoma patients had other symptoms presentation, including gastroesophageal reflux disease. Once dysphagia was present, there was no correlation between the duration.of symptoms and survival. However, cancers detected in patients who presented with reflux symptoms without dysphagia showed an improved prognosis over patients who presented with both. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal adenocarcinoma has surpassed squamous cell carcinoma. Gastroesophageal reflux was associated with an earlier stage of presentation compared to the "classic" presentation of esophageal cancer.     

Malignant gastroparesis: pathogenesis and management of an underrecognized disorder

Gastroparesis is a disorder of the stomach caused by delayed gastric emptying in the absence of mechanical obstruction. Symptoms of gastroparesis include nausea, vomiting, early satiety, bloating, and abdominal discomfort. Gastroparesis has been described as a complication of several malignancies, including gastric, pancreatic, gallbladder, esophageal, and lung cancers, as well as leiomyosarcoma.The prevalence of malignant gastroparesis (MG) is unknown, and this entity is widely underrecognized and undertreated. Diabetes mellitus is the most common identifiable cause of benign gastroparesis, ie, gastroparesis occurring in the absence of an underlying malignant pathology. In the setting of malignancy, gastroparesis may result from the cancer itself or may be a complication of its treatment with such modalities as surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Coexisting conditions, including diabetes, hypothyroidism, and neurologic diseases, may further exacerbate MG. The pathogenesis of MG is not clearly understood at present. However, mechanisms suggested in the literature include postvagotomy syndrome, malignant infiltration of the autonomic nervous system, and paraneoplastic dysmotility with autoantibody-mediated destruction of the enteric nervous system (the interstitial cells of Cajal, also called the intrinsic pacemaker of the gastrointestinal tract, or the myenteric plexus). Appropriate treatment of MG may help to avoid serious consequences, such as cancer cachexia, intolerance of oral anticancer agents, dehydration, and hospitalization. In this article, we will describe our institutional experience with MG and will provide a concise review of the literature. Guidelines for management will be suggested.