Project description:Perioperative and palliative chemotherapy for esophageal carcinoma has undergone substantial changes in recent years. The implementation of trastuzumab in the treatment of HER2-positive advanced adenocarcinoma is a milestone as it marked the introduction of the first molecularly targeted treatment of gastric cancer. Current studies are investigating whether anti-HER2-directed treatment also proves effective in the perioperative setting. Data from the CROSS study on neoadjuvant radio-/chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin have helped to establish a new standard of care for the treatment of localized esophageal cancer. Finally, preliminary experience in potentially curative treatment approaches for oligometastatic tumor stages may offer new treatment options for patients with stage IV gastric cancer. However, some of these innovative approaches urgently require validation in larger, prospective, and controlled multicenter studies. Highly active forms of radiotherapy, radio-/chemotherapy, or chemoimmunotherapy can achieve complete tumor remissions in some patients. Despite these advances, life expectancy unfortunately continues to be very limited in the majority of patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal carcinoma.
Project description:PurposeThe Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score were devised for quantifying nutritional risk. This study evaluated their properties in detecting compromised nutrition and guiding perioperative management of esophageal cancer patients.MethodsA prospective institutional database of esophageal cancer patients was reviewed and analyzed. Compromised nutritional status was defined as PNI < 50, NRI < 97.5, GNRI < 92, or CONUT score ≥ 4, respectively. The malnutrition diagnosis consensus established by the European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN 2015) was selected as reference. Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were used. External validation was conducted.ResultsAfter reviewing the 212-patient database, 192 patients were finally included. Among the four nutritional indexes, the GNRI < 92 showed highest sensitivity (72.0%), specificity (78.9%), and consistency (AUC 0.754, 95% CI 0.672-0.836) with malnutrition diagnosed by ESPEN 2015. The GNRI < 92 showed comparable performance with ESPEN 2015 in recognizing decreased fat mass, fat-free mass, and skeletal muscle mass (all P < 0.01). Both the GNRI < 92 and ESPEN 2015 showed good property in predicting major complications, infectious complications, overall complications and delayed hospital discharge (all P < 0.01), better than PNI < 50, NRI < 97.5, and CONUT score ≥ 4. Regarding the external validation, a retrospective analysis of 155 esophageal cancer patients confirmed the better performance of GNRI < 92 in predicting perioperative morbidities than other 3 nutritional indexes.ConclusionThe GNRI was optimal in perioperative management of esophageal cancer patients among the four nutritional indexes and was an appropriate alternative to ESPEN 2015 for simplifying nutritional assessment.
Project description:To reduce pulmonary complications after esophagectomy, the transthoracic procedure should be shortened or totally avoided. Transcervical approach assisted by mediastinoscope for the upper mediastinum may be advantageous for this purpose. We carried out video-assisted transcervical mediastinal dissection (VATCMD) as part of totally non-transthoracic radical esophagectomy. A single-port laparoscopy device was adopted to a small cervical incision and the mediastinum was inflated with a positive pressure of 6 to 10 mmHg. Without assistant's retractor, the upper mediastinum and partially the middle mediastinum were dissected mainly by mediastinoscopic-assisted surgery. Video of the operation is demonstrated with illustrations. We have carried out and reported 17 cases of esophagectomy including VATCMD and its perioperative outcome. Non-transthoracic esophagectomy was completed without conversion to transthoracic procedure in all 17 cases. Procedure-related adverse event was not observed and postoperative course was favorable with a zero occurrence (0%) of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, chyle leakage or pulmonary complications. Median number of harvested lymph nodes from the upper mediastinal stations was 10. VATCMD is suggested as a safe and feasible approach for the upper mediastinum in esophagectomy for malignancies. It enabled a totally non-transthoracic radical esophagectomy in combination with a transhiatal approach. Video-assisted transcervical mediastinal dissection is suggested as a safe and feasible approach for the upper mediastinum in esophagectomy for malignancies. It enabled a totally non-transthoracic radical esophagectomy in combination with a transhiatal approach.
Project description:Cancer is responsible for approximately 13% of all causes of death worldwide, and 20% of cancer patients die because of malnutrition and its complications. Malnutrition is common in cancer of stomach and esophagus. Although it is widely accepted that malnutrition adversely affects the postoperative outcome of patients, there is little evidence that perioperative nutrition support can reduce surgical risk in malnourished cancer patients. This prospective study was carried out from December 2016 to July 2017 at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru. After stratified for age, sex, and tumor localization, patients were selected non-randomly and assigned to study (n?=?30, 14 women, 16 men) and control group (n?=?30, 14 women, 16 men) as alternate patients. Within 48 h of admission, patients underwent nutritional assessment by the subjective global assessment. Perioperative nutrition was administered in the study group by enteral route only. Patients had a functioning gastrointestinal tract, and they received enteral nutrition (EN). Target intake of non-protein (25 kcal/kg per day) and protein (0.25 g nitrogen/kg per day) was provided using available enteral formulas. This was supplementary to standard hospital diet. Nutritional re-assessment after 15 days of intervention showed significant change in nutritional status, which was measured as gain in weight for each patient. There were significant differences in the mortality and complications between the two groups. The total length of hospitalization and postoperative stay of the control patients were significantly longer than those of the study patients. In conclusion, perioperative nutrition support can decrease the incidence of postoperative complications in moderately and severely malnourished gastric and esophageal cancer patients. In addition, it is effective in reducing mortality. Enteral nutrition support alone can be used in the management of malnourished patients undergoing gastric and esophageal surgery.
Project description:In recent years, a number of protein and genomic-based biomarkers have begun to refine the prognostic information available for colorectal cancer (CRC) and predict defined patient groups that are likely to benefit from systemic treatment or targeted therapies. Of these, KRAS represents the first biomarker integrated into clinical practice for CRC. Microarray-based gene expression profiling has been used to identify prognostic signatures and, to a lesser extent, predictive signatures in CRC. Despite these advances, a number of major challenges remain. This article, which is based on a lecture delivered as part of the 2013 Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize, reviews the impact of molecular biomarkers on the management of CRC, emphasizing changes that have occurred in recent years, and focuses on potential mechanisms of patient stratification and opportunities for novel therapeutic development based on enhanced biological understanding of colorectal cancer.
Project description:IntroductionEsophagectomy is a key component in the curative treatment of esophageal cancer. Little is understood about the impact of smoking status on perioperative morbidity and mortality and the long-term outcome of patients following esophagectomy.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate morbidity and mortality according to smoking status in patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.MethodsConsecutive patients undergoing two-stage transthoracic esophagectomy (TTE) for esophageal cancers (adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma) between January 1997 and December 2016 at the Northern Oesophagogastric Unit were included from a prospectively maintained database. The main explanatory variable was smoking status, defined as current smoker, ex-smoker, and non-smoker. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS), while secondary outcomes included perioperative complications (overall, anastomotic leaks, and pulmonary complications) and survival (cancer-specific survival [CSS], recurrence-free survival [RFS]).ResultsDuring the study period, 1168 patients underwent esophagectomy for cancer. Of these, 24% (n = 282) were current smokers and only 30% (n = 356) had never smoked. The median OS of current smokers was significantly shorter than ex-smokers and non-smokers (median 36 vs. 42 vs. 48 months; p = 0.015). However, on adjusted analysis, there was no significant difference in long-term OS between smoking status in the entire cohort. The overall complication rates were significantly higher with current smokers compared with ex-smokers or non-smokers (73% vs. 66% vs. 62%; p = 0.018), and there were no significant differences in anastomotic leaks and pulmonary complications between the groups. On subgroup analysis by receipt of neoadjuvant therapy and tumor histology, smoking status did not impact long-term survival in adjusted multivariable analyses.ConclusionAlthough smoking is associated with higher rates of short-term perioperative morbidity, it does not affect long-term OS, CSS, and RFS following esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Therefore, implementation of perioperative pathways to optimize patients may help reduce the risk of complications.
Project description:Gastroesophageal cancer (GEC) remains a challenging problem in oncology. Anatomically, GEC is comprised of distal gastric adenocarcinoma (GC), classically associated with Helicobacter Pylori, while proximal esophagogastric adenocarcinoma (EGJ AC) has increased significantly in incidence over the past years. Despite contrasting etiologies, histologies, and molecular phenotypes of distal and proximal GEC, in many cases perioperative (and metastatic) treatment strategies converge to similar approaches. For patients undergoing curative intent surgery, advances in perioperative chemotherapy and/or chemoradiotherapy, either before and/or after surgery, have demonstrated improved survivals compared to surgery alone. This review focuses on how the 'boundary' of the Z-line and/or the anatomical distinction of 'proximal' (EGJ) vs. 'distal' (GC) cancer has led to diverse inclusion/exclusion criteria for clinical trial enrollment, embodying various combinations of chemotherapy and radiation before and/or after surgery. Supporting evidence of each of these approaches consequently has led to a number of varying practices by geographical region and Institution/Physician, based on differing experience, preference, and clinical circumstance. Adequate direct comparison of these approaches is lacking currently, but data from a number of concerted efforts should be available in the next years to further direct best standards of care. Introduction of biologically targeted agents, namely anti-angiogenics and anti-HER family therapeutics are being evaluated to determine whether further therapeutic gains can be realized over classic cytotoxic chemotherapy alone (with/without radiotherapy). To date, novel molecularly targeted agents have yet to demonstrate benefit in this setting. In the following comprehensive review we will address the intricacies of perioperative treatment of locally advanced GEC, with focus on clinical trials supporting the diverse set of perioperative multidisciplinary approaches.
Project description:BackgroundFor esophagectomy, thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) is the standard of care for perioperative pain management. Although effective, TEA is associated with moderate to serious adverse events such as hypotension and neurologic complications. Paravertebral analgesia (PVA) may be a safe alternative. The authors hypothesized that TEA and PVA are similar in efficacy for pain treatment in thoracolaparoscopic Ivor Lewis esophagectomy.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study compared TEA with PVA in two consecutive series of 25 thoracolaparoscopic Ivor Lewis esophagectomies. In this study, TEA consisted of continuous epidural bupivacaine and sufentanil infusion with a patient-controlled bolus function. In PVA, the catheter was inserted by the surgeon under thoracoscopic vision during surgery. Administration of PVA consisted of continuous paravertebral bupivacaine infusion after a bolus combined with patient-controlled analgesia using intravenous morphine. The primary outcome was the median highest recorded Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS) during the 3 days after surgery. The secondary outcomes were vasopressor consumption, fluid administration, and length of hospital stay.ResultsIn both groups, the median highest recorded NRS was 4 or lower during the first three postoperative days. The patients with PVA had a higher overall NRS (mean difference, 0.75; 95% confidence interval 0.49-1.44). No differences were observed in any of the other secondary outcomes.ConclusionFor the patients undergoing thoracolaparoscopic Ivor Lewis esophagectomy, TEA was superior to PVA, as measured by NRS during the first three postoperative days. However, both modes provided adequate analgesia, with a median highest recorded NRS of 4 or lower. These results could form the basis for a randomized controlled trial.
Project description:Purpose: We aim to investigate the current esophageal cancer staging according to the 7th edition TNM classification for esophageal carcinoma proposed by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) among oncology-related physicians in China. Methods: A specifically-designed 14-item questionnaire was distributed to 366 doctors who were working with esophageal cancer patients. We collected and analyzed the feedbacks and explored the possible associations within different departments, including thoracic surgery, the internal medicine of gastroenterology, oncology, and/ radiotherapy in eight different hospitals from central and southern China. Results: Among all the responses, 31.42% of them were from thoracic surgery department, 40.44% were from oncology and/or radiation therapy and 28.14% were from the internal medicine of gastroenterology, respectively. Surprisingly, in total 66.12% of all the physicians were unaware that the 7th edition of esophageal carcinoma TNM classification was released in 2009; only 21.86 and 16.67% of physicians recognized cervical nodes and celiac nodes as regional lymph nodes. Furthermore, 67.21% physicians didn't know that tumor location, histologic grade, and histopathology were accepted as new prognostic factors in the latest TNM system; and 51.37% physicians could not determine the correct TNM classification of esophagogastric junction cancers. Intriguingly, over 50% of them could still design appropriate perioperative strategies. Conclusions: The 7th edition of the TNM classification for esophageal carcinoma is poorly recognized and understood in central and southern China, which might contribute to the relatively low rates of appropriate perioperative procedures applied for esophageal cancer patients.