A meta-analysis on salvage surgery as a potentially curative procedure in patients with isolated local recurrent or persistent esophageal cancer after chemoradiotherapy

BackgroundIsolated local recurrent or persistent esophageal cancer (EC) after curative intended definitive (dCRT) or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) with initially omitted surgery, is a potential indication for salvage surgery. We aimed to evaluate safety and efficacy of salvage surgery in these patients.Material and methodsA systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines was performed using databases of PubMed/Medline. All included studies were performed in patients with persistent or recurrent EC after initial treatment with dCRT or nCRT, between 2007 and 2017. Survival analysis was performed with an inverse-variance weighting method.ResultsOf the 278 identified studies, 28 were eligible, including a total of 1076 patients. Postoperative complications after salvage esophagectomy were significantly more common among patients with isolated persistent than in those with locoregional recurrent EC, including respiratory (36.6% versus 22.7%; difference in proportion 10.9 with 95% confidence interval (CI) [3.1; 18.7]) and cardiovascular complications (10.4% versus 4.5%; difference in proportion 5.9 with 95% CI [1.5; 10.2]). The pooled estimated 30- and 90-day mortality was 2.6% [1.6; 3.6] and 8.0% [6.3; 9.8], respectively. The pooled estimated 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) were 39.0% (95% CI: [35.8; 42.2]) and 19.4% [95% CI:16.5; 22.4], respectively. Patients with isolated persistent or recurrent EC after initial CRT had similar 5-year OS (14.0% versus 19.7%, difference in proportion −5.7, 95% CI [-13.7; 2.3]).ConclusionsSalvage surgery is a potentially curative procedure in patients with locally recurrent or persistent esophageal cancer and can be performed safely after definitive or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy when surgery was initially omitted.     

食管癌高、低发区食管鳞癌患者生存及其影响因素分析

目的 探讨食管癌高、低发区食管鳞癌患者的生存状况及其影响因素。方法 收集38 741例经病理学证实为食管鳞癌患者的资料，其中，高发区患者23 273例（60.1%），低发区15 468例（39.9%）。所有患者均行食管癌根治术。运用卡方检验分析不同临床病理特征患者的组间差异，Kaplan-Meier法绘制不同临床病理特征患者的生存曲线并用Log rank进行检验。多因素Cox比例风险回归模型法分析影响生存的主要因素。结果 低发区男性患者所占比例高于高发区（P<0.001），低发区诊断年龄≥50岁食管癌患者所占比例高于高发区（P<0.001）。高发区食管鳞癌患者的整体生存优于低发区患者（P<0.001）。Cox比例风险回归模型综合分析结果表明：高低发区、性别、确诊年龄、肿瘤部位、分化程度、TNM分期和肿瘤家族史均是影响食管鳞癌患者生存的独立因素。结论 高发区食管鳞癌患者整体生存优于低发区；低发区是食管鳞癌患者预后差的独立危险因素。     

2013-2017年我国四种恶性肿瘤住院费用水平及结构变动度分析

背景　恶性肿瘤给家庭、社会带来了沉重的医疗、经济负担，极易导致部分家庭“因病致贫”或放弃治疗，目前相关研究多集中于单一病种、分散地域的研究，仍缺乏对于全国范围与多病种恶性肿瘤住院费用变化及结构构成的考量。目的　分析2013-2017年我国4种恶性肿瘤住院费用水平以及影响住院费用的主要项目和结构变动情况，为控制医疗费用上涨、深化新医改提供参考依据。方法　本研究数据来源于《2014中国卫生和计划生育统计年鉴》《2015中国卫生和计划生育统计年鉴》《2016中国卫生和计划生育统计年鉴》《2017中国卫生和计划生育统计年鉴》以及《2018中国卫生健康统计年鉴》，样本跨度为2013-2017年。统计“30种疾病人均住院费用”中的胃恶性肿瘤、肺恶性肿瘤、食管恶性肿瘤以及膀胱恶性肿瘤的数据，4种恶性肿瘤的人均住院费用包括药费、检查费、治疗费、手术费和手术材料费。2019年4-8月，采用结构变动度法分析我国2013-2017年4种恶性肿瘤的住院费用的结构变动情况〔结构变动值（VSV）、结构变动度（DSV）、结构变动贡献率〕。结果　2013-2017年，4种恶性肿瘤的人均住院费用逐年上升，其中胃恶性肿瘤的人均住院费用始终最高，且肺恶性肿瘤的人均住院费用上升幅度最大。2013-2017年，在4种恶性肿瘤住院各项费用的占比中，药费占比最高且总体逐年下降。从4种恶性肿瘤住院各项费用的实际变化来看，药费在2013-2014年有所上升，2014-2017年逐年下降；检查费在2013-2014年下降，2014-2017年缓慢上升；手术费与手术材料费在2013-2017年逐年上升。2013-2017年，在4种恶性肿瘤住院各项费用中均是药费的VSV最大；4种恶性肿瘤药费、检查费的VSV均呈负向变化，手术费和手术材料费的VSV均呈正向变化，治疗费的VSV增减均不明显。2013-2017年，4种恶性肿瘤住院费用的DSV从大到小依次为肺恶性肿瘤、胃恶性肿瘤、食管恶性肿瘤、膀胱恶性肿瘤。2013-2017年，4种恶性肿瘤住院各项费用中均是药费的结构变动贡献率最大，治疗费的结构变动贡献率最小；除药费外，胃恶性肿瘤、肺恶性肿瘤住院各项费用中均是手术材料费和手术费的结构变动贡献率次之，食管恶性肿瘤住院各项费用中手术费、检查费的结构变动贡献率次之，膀胱恶性肿瘤住院各项费用中检查费、手术材料费的结构变动贡献率次之。结论　2013-2017年我国4种恶性肿瘤手术费的结构变动贡献率虽然较为理想，但药费、治疗费仍是住院费用结构的重点调整对象；同时为有效降低恶性肿瘤的人均住院费用，应当加强控制手术材料费与检查费；而胃恶性肿瘤与肺恶性肿瘤患者的疾病经济负担严重，若要缓解应加强疾病的早期预防与住院费用管控。     

Prevalence of HER2 Expression and Its Correlation with Clinicopathological Parameters in Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma in North-East Indian Population

Objective: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (erbb2/HER2) overexpression, has now been implicatedin advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers. The study was conducted to determine the rate of HER2positivity in patients with locally advanced or metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma in North-EastIndia and to assess the impact of various demographic and clinical parameters on HER2 positivity. Methods: A total of68 patients of age >18 years of gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma diagnosed on histopathological examinationfrom September 2016 to February 2018 at Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, Assam were enrolled for the observational(epidemiological) study. All patients were subjected to the HER2 immunohistochemistry test using a FDA-approved,standardized test kit. HER2 expression was correlated with various demographic and clinicopathological parameters.Results: The overall rate of HER2 positivity in the population studied was 56% (n=38). The rate was non-significantlyhigher in male, older age group (>60 years) and Hindu population. Similarly, HER2 positivity rate was higher in patientswith well differentiated histology and was more common in patients with stage II and III diseases, but neither of theassociations is statistically significant. HER2 positivity rate was significantly higher in proximal and in GEJ tumours(56% versus 44%, P=0.002). Conclusion: HER2 overexpression was evident in 56% of the North-East Indian patientswith locally advanced and metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. The overexpression correlatedsignificantly with primary tumour site. Routine testing of gastric and gastroesophageal tumours for HER2 expressionis recommended to provide a therapeutic advantage in Indian patients.     

Can EGFR mutation status be reliably determined in pre‐operative needle biopsies from adenocarcinomas of the lung?

The identification of EGFR mutations in non‐small‐cell lung cancer is important for selecting patients, who may benefit from treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The analysis is usually performed on cytological aspirates and/or histological needle biopsies, representing a small fraction of the tumour volume. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of this molecular test. We retrospectively included 201 patients with primary adenocarcinoma of the lung. EGFR mutation status (exon 19 deletions and exon 21 L858R point mutation) was evaluated on both pre‐operative biopsies (131 histological and 70 cytological) and on the surgical specimens, using PCR. Samples with low tumour cell fraction were assigned to laser micro‐dissection (LMD). We found nine (4.5%) patients with EGFR mutation in the lung tumour resections, but failed to identify mutation in one of the corresponding pre‐operative, cytological specimens. Several (18.4%) analyses of the pre‐operative biopsies were inconclusive, especially in case of biopsies undergoing LMD and regarding exon 21 analysis. Discrepancy of mutation status in one patient may reflect intra‐tumoural heterogeneity or technical issues. Moreover, several inconclusive results in the diagnostic biopsies reveal that attention must be paid on the suitability of pre‐operative biopsies for EGFR mutation analysis.     

Differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with CT radiomics features

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether computed tomography (CT)-based machine learning of radiomics features could help distinguish autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Materials and MethodsEighty-nine patients with AIP (65 men, 24 women; mean age, 59.7 ± 13.9 [SD] years; range: 21–83 years) and 93 patients with PDAC (68 men, 25 women; mean age, 60.1 ± 12.3 [SD] years; range: 36–86 years) were retrospectively included. All patients had dedicated dual-phase pancreatic protocol CT between 2004 and 2018. Thin-slice images (0.75/0.5 mm thickness/increment) were compared with thick-slices images (3 or 5 mm thickness/increment). Pancreatic regions involved by PDAC or AIP (areas of enlargement, altered enhancement, effacement of pancreatic duct) as well as uninvolved parenchyma were segmented as three-dimensional volumes. Four hundred and thirty-one radiomics features were extracted and a random forest was used to distinguish AIP from PDAC. CT data of 60 AIP and 60 PDAC patients were used for training and those of 29 AIP and 33 PDAC independent patients were used for testing.ResultsThe pancreas was diffusely involved in 37 (37/89; 41.6%) patients with AIP and not diffusely in 52 (52/89; 58.4%) patients. Using machine learning, 95.2% (59/62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.8–100%), 83.9% (52:67; 95% CI: 74.7–93.0%) and 77.4% (48/62; 95% CI: 67.0–87.8%) of the 62 test patients were correctly classified as either having PDAC or AIP with thin-slice venous phase, thin-slice arterial phase, and thick-slice venous phase CT, respectively. Three of the 29 patients with AIP (3/29; 10.3%) were incorrectly classified as having PDAC but all 33 patients with PDAC (33/33; 100%) were correctly classified with thin-slice venous phase with 89.7% sensitivity (26/29; 95% CI: 78.6–100%) and 100% specificity (33/33; 95% CI: 93–100%) for the diagnosis of AIP, 95.2% accuracy (59/62; 95% CI: 89.8–100%) and area under the curve of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.936–1.0).ConclusionsRadiomic features help differentiate AIP from PDAC with an overall accuracy of 95.2%.     

Animal Models of Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma–Past,Present, and Future

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is the fastest rising cancer in the United States. It develops from long‐standing gastroesophageal reflux disease which affects >20% of the general population. It carries a very poor prognosis with 5‐year survival <20%. The disease is known to sequentially progress from reflux esophagitis to a metaplastic precursor, Barrett''s esophagus and then onto dysplasia and esophageal adenocarcinoma. However, only few patients with reflux develop Barrett''s esophagus and only a minority of these turn malignant. The reason for this heterogeneity in clinical progression is unknown. To improve patient management, molecular changes which facilitate disease progression must be identified. Animal models can provide a comprehensive functional and anatomic platform for such a study. Rats and mice have been the most widely studied but disease homology with humans has been questioned. No animal model naturally simulates the inflammation to adenocarcinoma progression as in humans, with all models requiring surgical bypass or destruction of existing antireflux mechanisms. Valuable properties of individual models could be utilized to holistically evaluate disease progression. In this review paper, we critically examined the current animal models of Barrett''s esophagus, their differences and homologies with human disease and how they have shaped our current understanding of Barrett''s carcinogenesis.     

Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of resectable acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas-propensity score matching analysis with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BackgroundSurgical resection is recommended for patients with resectable acinar cell carcinoma (ACC). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of resectable ACC in comparison to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).MethodA retrospective analysis was performed on all patients who consecutively underwent radical resection with pathologically confirmed ACC and PDAC from December 2011 to December 2018. Clinicopathologic characteristics and follow-up information were analyzed. A 1:3 propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to minimize the bias between ACC and PDAC.ResultsA total of 26 patients with ACC and 1351 with PDAC were included. Compared to PDAC, ACC tended to be larger (4.5 vs. 3.0 cm; p < 0.001) and more frequently located in the pancreatic body/tail (61.5% vs. 36.6%, p = 0.009), with lower total bilirubin levels, lower neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels and lower carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. There was no difference in postoperative morbidities in patients with ACC and PDAC. The median OS and RFS were longer in ACC when compared to PDAC (OS: 43.5 mo vs. 19.0 mo, p = 0.004; RFS: 24.5 mo vs. 11.6 mo, p = 0.023). After the 1:3 PSM, ACC remained to be a better histological type for OS (p = 0.024), but had comparable RFS with PDAC (p = 0.164).ConclusionPatients with ACC after radical resection had better OS than that with PDAC. However, ACC is also an aggressive tumor with a similar trend of RFS with PDAC after the matching, necessitating the multidisciplinary treatment for resectable ACC disease.     

Postoperative development of sarcopenia is a strong predictor of a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction and upper gastric cancer

Background

There were few studies assessed the postoperative sarcopenia in patients with cancers. The objective of present study was to assess whether postoperative development of sarcopenia could predict a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, (AEG) and upper gastric cancer (UGC).