The ACE trial: A randomized phase II study for advanced endometrial carcinoma

This study evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of three postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy regimens for endometrial cancer. Endometrioid cancer patients with intermediate-risk stage I and II or high-risk stage III and IV disease were randomly assigned to receive six cycles of either Paclitaxel-Epirubicin-Carboplatin (TEC), Paclitaxel-Anthracycline (Doxorubicin)-Carboplatin (TAC), or dose-dense paclitaxel-carboplatin (ddTC). The primary endpoint was the completion rate (CRate) of six cycles of treatment. The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). One hundred and one patients were treated as follows: 33 received TEC, 33 TAC, and 35 ddTC. The CRates for TEC, TAC and ddTC were 94%, 64% and 69%, respectively (p=0.005). The TEC CRate was significantly higher than for the other two groups. However, the PFS and OS outcomes were not statistically different between the three groups. The two-year survival rates were 94%, 97%, and 97% for TEC, TAC, and ddTC, respectively. When compared to the current standard treatments for endometrial cancer, TEC is a promising candidate for a phase III trial based on its significantly superior CRate and equivalent PFS and OS. This study is registered with UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000008911).

Scoring Systems of Peritoneal Dissemination for the Prediction of Operative Completeness in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM

We investigated the predictive value of scoring systems of peritoneal disseminations for complete surgery (CS) at primary debulking surgery (PDS) in advanced ovarian cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We retrospectively enrolled eligible patients with clinical stages III or IVA selected for PDS from January 2015 to December 2019. Concern variables were predictive index value (PIV) and peritoneal cancer index (PCI) from operative and pathological reports. Primary endpoints were cutoffs to predict operative completeness using the receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

Among 111 patients, PIV ≥8 and PCI ≥13 were the best predictors of incomplete PDS, including optimal and suboptimal surgeries (AUC=0.821 and 0.855, respectively). CS rates in PIV ≤6 and PCI ≤12 were significantly higher than in PIV ≥8 (89.3% vs. 47.2%; p<0.05) and PCI ≥13 (90.9% vs. 41.2%: p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

PIV and PCI are potential predictors for CS at PDS.

A review on the current status and definitions of activity indices in inflammatory bowel disease: how to use indices for precise evaluation

Many clinical trials have been conducted for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), so various clinical indices (CIs) and endoscopic indices (EIs) have also been evaluated. However, recently, with the progress of IBD management, review of established indices from previous studies, and establishment of new indices, the landscape of the use of indices in clinical trials have changed. We investigated the number and frequency of the indices adapted in recent clinical trials for ulcerative colitis (CI and EI) and Crohn's disease (CI, EI, index related to magnetic resonance imaging, index for evaluating patient-reported outcomes, and health-related quality of life). Based on the results, we selected representative indices and further reviewed their content and characteristics. Moreover, various definitions, including clinical and endoscopic response or remission, have been described by means of representative indices in clinical trials.

Characteristic endoscopic findings of gastric adenocarcinoma of fundic-gland mucosa type

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

Gastric adenocarcinoma of fundic-gland type (GA-FG) was first proposed as a new entity of gastric adenocarcinoma in 2010. Subsequently, gastric adenocarcinoma of fundic-gland mucosa type (GA-FGM) was reported as a subtype of gastric adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to investigate the endoscopic findings of GA-FGM and to evaluate the differences between GA-FGM and GA-FG.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a single-center retrospective study. Participants were selected from patients with gastric cancer treated at Fukuoka University Chikushi Hospital, between September 2007 and May 2020. Patients histologically diagnosed with GA-FGM or GA-FG were enrolled, and endoscopic findings were analyzed in detail.

RESULTS

A total of 12 GA-FGM lesions (12 patients) and 14 GA-FG lesions (13 patients) were analyzed. The two lesion types showed similar features: most lesions were of elevated type, located in the upper stomach, and developed in the stomach without Helicobacter pylori infection. On conventional endoscopy using the dye-spraying method, well-demarcated fine granular areas were observed in 7 GA-FGM lesions (58%) but not in any GA-FG lesions, with a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.001). Magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (NBI) showed that 11 GA-FGM lesions (92%) met the diagnostic criteria for cancer according to the vessel plus surface classification system, whereas none of the GA-FG lesions met the same criteria (0%, 0/14) (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that magnifying endoscopy with NBI is a potentially useful method for the diagnosis of GA-FGM.

Impact of molecular surgical margin analysis on the prediction of pancreatic cancer recurrences after pancreaticoduodenectomy

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cancer is one of the lethal cancers among solid malignancies. Pathological diagnosis of surgical margins is sometimes unreliable due to tissue shrinkage, invisible field cancerization and skipped lesions like tumor budding. As a result, tumor recurrences sometimes occur even from the pathologically negative surgical margins.

METHODS

We applied molecular surgical margin (MSM) analysis by tissue imprinting procedure to improve the detection sensitivity of tiny cancerous cells on the surgical specimen surface after pancreatoduodenectomy. Surgical specimens were collected from 45 pancreatic cancer cases who received subtotal stomach preserving pancreatoduodenectomy at Nagoya University Hospital during 2017-2019. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR (QMSP) of the original methylation marker panel (CD1D, KCNK12, PAX5) were performed and analyzed with postoperative survival outcomes.

RESULTS

Among 45 tumors, 26 cases (58%) were QMSP-positive for CD1D, 25 (56%) for KCNK12 and 27 (60%) for PAX5. Among the 38 tumors in which at least one of the three markers was positive, CD1D-positive cancer cells, KCNK12-positive cancer cells, and PAX5-positive cancer cells were detected at the surgical margin in 8 cases, 7 cases and 10 cases, respectively. Consequently, a total of 17 patients had at least one marker detected at the surgical margin by QMSP, and these patients were defined as MSM-positive. They were associated with significantly poor recurrence-free survival (p = 0.002) and overall survival (p = 0.005) than MSM-negative patients. Multivariable analysis showed that MSM-positive was the only significant independent factor for worse recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio: 3.522, 95% confidence interval: 1.352-9.179, p = 0.010). On the other hand, a significant proportion of MSM-negative cases were found to have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.019).

CONCLUSION

Pancreatic cancer-specific methylation marker panel was established to perform MSM analysis. MSM-positive status might represent microscopically undetectable cancer cells on the surgical margin and might influence the postoperative long-term outcomes.

Double-filter high-resolution soft x-ray tomographic diagnostic for investigating electron acceleration in TS-6 reconnection merging experiments

An innovative tangential-view soft x-ray (SXR) tomographic imaging measurement was developed on the TS-6 spherical tokamak merging device as a key diagnostic for investigating the mechanism of electron acceleration. In order to measure SXR with different energy ranges, two micro-channel plates (MCPs) are, respectively, installed in two vacuum chambers, which are equipped with different filters. Especially designed lenses and fiber bundles serve as an optical system to transfer images from phosphor plates of MCPs to a high speed imaging system. This design also enables us to simultaneously measure two images appearing on phosphor plates of MCPs by just one high speed imaging system. The temporal and spatial resolution of this diagnostic can be up to 5 µs and 4 mm, respectively, at present. The tomographic method based on the Phillips-Tikhonov regularization is employed to reconstruct line-integrated images into the local emissivity of SXR, which reflects the spatial distribution of high-energy electrons. Owing to this diagnostic, we successfully measured SXR emitted from the downstream region of magnetic reconnection in TS-6 merging experiments for the first time. The energy range of SXR turned out to be higher than 100 eV but lower than 400 eV.

Nature of a white opaque substance visualized by magnifying endoscopy in colorectal hyperplastic polyps

Background and study aims  A white opaque substance (WOS) has been observed in the epithelia of gastric, duodenal, and colorectal epithelial adenomas and carcinomas, using magnifying endoscopy (ME). The WOS has been reported to be derived from a dense accumulation of minute lipid droplets in the epithelium. This study aimed to investigate whether the WOS in colorectal hyperplastic polyps was derived from lipid droplets accumulated in the epithelium, as observed in the case of gastric, duodenal, and colorectal epithelial neoplasms. Patients and methods  We analyzed 30 consecutive patients who were positive for the WOS, as visualized in colorectal hyperplastic polyps by ME with narrow-band imaging and 30 consecutive patients who were negative for the WOS. Biopsy specimens obtained from the polyps were immunostained with anti-adipophilin antibody to determine the correlation between the presence of the WOS and that of lipid droplets in the epithelium. Results  In all patients, the epithelial cells were histologically positive for adipophilin. However, the area of adipophilin-positive epithelial cells in the WOS-positive group was significantly larger than that in the WOS-negative group ( P  < 0.001). The density of the WOS was strongly and positively correlated with the area of adipophilin-positive cells. Conclusions  This study reveals that the WOS visualized in the superficial layers of colorectal hyperplastic polyps is produced by a dense accumulation of minute lipid droplets in the epithelia of the polyps.

Erratum: Nature of a white opaque substance visualized by magnifying endoscopy in colorectal hyperplastic polyps

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1055/a-1452-9669.].

Efficacy of Over-The-Scope Clip Method as a Novel Hemostatic Therapy for Colonic Diverticular Bleeding

Colonic diverticular could bleed recurrently, and, sometimes, fatal massive bleeding could occur. However, the choice of endoscopic hemostasis remains controversial. Although the over-the-scope clip (OTSC) method has been reported to be effective, it has not been fully evaluated due to the small number of cases. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the OTSC method for colonic diverticular bleeding. Between August 2017 and December 2020, 36 consecutive patients, including those who could not be treated using endoscopic band ligation (EBL) and those in whom re-bleeding had occurred after EBL, underwent the OTSC method for hemostasis of colonic diverticular bleeding at Hyogo Prefectural Awaji Medical Center. The procedure success rate, adverse events rate, early phase re-bleeding rate (within 30 days following primary hemostasis), and the requirement rate for additional transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) or surgery were the outcomes assessed. The outcomes were procedure success rate 100%, adverse events rate 0%, early phase re-bleeding rate 8.3%, and additional TAE or surgery rate 0%. These results suggest that the OTSC method is a safe and effective treatment for managing colonic diverticular bleeding.

Total parietal peritonectomy in primary debulking surgery for advanced ovarian cancer

The object of this study is to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of total parietal peritonectomy (TPP) in primary debulking surgery (PDS) for advanced ovarian cancer. This retrospective single-center study analyzed 16 patients with FIGO stages IIIC-IVB epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent TPP in PDS and achieved macroscopically complete resection between April 2015 and June 2016. The median age of 16 patients was 52.5 years old. 12 were in stage IIIC and 4 were in stage IV. Regarding intraoperative complications, unintended diaphragm perforation was observed in two patients. Regarding postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo classification grade 3-5) before the adjuvant chemotherapy, lymph cysts occured in 3 patients, intra-abdominal abscess in 3, ileus in 2, pancreatic fistula in 1 and temporary kidney failure in 1. Regarding postoperative complications (grade 3-5) after the initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy, diaphragmatic hernia occured in 1 patient, ileus in 2 and intra-abdominal abscess in 2. Except 1 patient who relapsed approximately one month from surgery and died, the other 15 patients overcamed complications and recovered without problems in daily life. This analysis was conducted 3 years after all patients underwent PDS, with the 3-year progression-free and overall survival of 62.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.9-81.1) and 87.5% (95 %CI, 58.6-96.7), respectively. Based on the above results, TPP in PDS may improve the prognosis compared to previous reports such as LION trial. On the other hand, complications may increase. Therefore, further studies are necessary on its safety and efficacy.

Usefulness of vessel plus surface classification system for the diagnosis of early gastric cancer after Helicobacter pylori eradication

Background

It has been reported that it is sometimes difficult to make a diagnosis of gastric cancer detected after Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication. Therefore, we conducted a study to determine the usefulness of magnifying endoscopy using vessel plus surface classification system for making a diagnosis of early gastric cancer after H. pylori eradication.

Method

Usefulness of the markers of the vessel plus surface classification system for diagnosing gastric cancer using magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging was investigated for gastric cancer detected after H. pylori eradication (H. pylori-eradicated group) vs. H. pylori-positive gastric cancer (H. pylori-positive group).

Results

85 lesions were included in this study. The H. pylori-eradicated group comprised 27 lesions, whereas the H. pylori-positive group comprised 58 lesions. As for magnified endoscopic findings based on the vessel plus surface classification system, the respective positivity rates in the H. pylori-eradicated group vs. those in the H. pylori-positive group were as follows: demarcation line, 100% (27/27) vs. 100% (58/58); irregular microvascular pattern, 100% (27/27) vs. 100% (58/58); and irregular microsurface pattern, 78% (21/27) vs. 95% (55/58). There was no significant difference in the positivity rates of the demarcation line and irregular microvascular pattern between the groups. The positivity rate of the irregular microsurface pattern was significantly lower in the H. pylori-eradicated group than in the H. pylori-positive group (P=0.03).

Conclusion

We presume that the microvascular pattern is more useful than the microsurface pattern as a diagnostic marker in cases of gastric cancer detected after H. pylori eradication.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Patients With Diaphragmatic Lesions: A Prognostic Postoperative Analysis

BACKGROUND/AIM

We aimed to analyse the prognosis of patients who underwent primary debulking surgery (PDS) and those who underwent interval debulking surgery (IDS) following four courses of paclitaxel+ carboplatin as preoperative chemotherapy to examine the usefulness of preoperative chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We included 45 patients with epithelial ovarian and peritoneal cancers accompanied with diaphragmatic lesions who underwent standard surgery combined with diaphragmatic surgery at two related institutions in January 2010-December 2013. Using medical records, we surveyed the recurrence period, recurrence site, and date of last confirmed survival, and analysed prognosis.

RESULTS

The PDS and IDS groups comprised 32 and 13 patients (overall survival, 61.2 and 43.2 months), respectively. Progression-free survival in the PDS and IDS groups was 31.2 and 16.8 months, respectively.

CONCLUSION

NAC-IDS can be a standard treatment option for patients with a tumour in the triangular ligament, in whom complete surgery is difficult.

Gastric metaplasia of the duodenal mucosa in Crohn's disease: novel histological and endoscopic findings

Background and study aims  Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy are useful for differential diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) of the large intestine and ulcerative colitis (UC). We aimed to identify novel histopathological and endoscopic findings in the upper gastrointestinal tract in patients with CD who did not have Helicobacter pylori infection. Patients and methods  Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed on patients with CD and UC. Mucosal lesions detected were subsequently observed using magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (M-NBI), following which biopsy was performed. When no mucosal lesion was detected on conventional endoscopy, M-NBI and biopsy were performed on four sites: the gastric body, gastric antrum, duodenal bulb, and second portion of the duodenum. Results  The prevalences of gastric metaplasia (GM) were 48 % (24/50) and 16 % (8/50) in the CD and UC groups, showing a significant difference ( P  = 0.001). In 23 of 24 patients with histologically proven GM in the CD group, mucosal lesions were detected using conventional white-light imaging (C-WLI). In 22 of 24 patients with histologically proven GM in the CD group, disappearance of normal villous structure and the presence of curved marginal crypt epithelium were noted using magnifying endoscopic findings characteristic of GM (M-GM). A combination of C-WLI and M-NBI yielded a significantly increased specificity ( P  = 0.004) and accuracy ( P  = 0.039). Conclusions  The prevalence of GM in the duodenal mucosa was significantly higher in patients with CD than in controls. The identified endoscopic findings may be useful as novel indicators for the histological diagnosis of GM in the duodenum.

White Opaque Substance, a New Optical Marker on Magnifying Endoscopy: Usefulness in Diagnosing Colorectal Epithelial Neoplasms

Background/Aims

A white substance that is opaque to endoscopic light is sometimes observed in the epithelium during narrowband imaging with magnifying endoscopy of gastric or colorectal epithelial neoplasms. This prospective observational study aimed to determine whether the morphology of the white opaque substance (WOS) allows differential diagnosis between colorectal adenoma and carcinoma.

Methods

A consecutive series of patients with colorectal adenomas or early carcinomas who underwent endoscopic resection or surgical excision were studied. The morphology of the WOS was determined based on endoscopic images before the histopathological diagnosis was performed. The primary outcome was the diagnostic performance of an irregular WOS as a marker of colorectal carcinoma.

Results

The study analyzed 125 lesions. A total of 33 lesions showed an irregular WOS, and 92 lesions showed a regular WOS. Among the 33 lesions found to show an irregular WOS, 30 were carcinomas. Among the 92 lesions showing a regular WOS, 79 were adenomas. With irregular WOS as a marker of carcinoma, the diagnostic accuracy was 87%, sensitivity was 91%, and specificity was 86%.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated the potential usefulness of the morphology of the WOS as a marker for the differential diagnosis between adenoma and carcinoma in cases of colorectal epithelial neoplasms.

Histological Architecture of Gastric Epithelial Neoplasias That Showed Absent Microsurface Patterns, Visualized by Magnifying Endoscopy with Narrow-Band Imaging

BACKGROUND/AIMS

The objective of this study was to elucidate the histological structure of the absent microsurface patterns (MSPs) that were visualized by magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (M-NBI).

METHODS

The study included consecutive gastric epithelial neoplasias for which M-NBI findings and histological findings could be compared on a one-to-one basis. The lesions were classified as absent MSPs and present MSPs based on the findings obtained using M-NBI. Of the histopathological findings for each lesion that corresponded to M-NBI findings, crypt opening densities, crypt lengths, crypt opening diameters, intercrypt distances, and crypt angles were measured and compared.

RESULTS

Thirty-six lesions were included in the analysis; of these, 17 lesions exhibited absent MSP and 19 lesions exhibited present MSP. Comparing the histological measurements for absent MSPs vs. present MSPs, median crypt opening density was 0.9 crypt openings/mm vs. 4.8 crypt openings/mm (p<0.001), respectively. The median crypt length, median crypt opening diameter, median intercrypt distance, and median crypt angle were 80.0 μm vs. 160 μm (p<0.001), 40.0 μm vs. 44.2 μm (p=0.09), 572.5 μm vs. 166.7 μm (p<0.001), and 21.6 degrees vs. 15.5 degrees (p<0.001), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Histological findings showed that lesions exhibiting absent MSPs had lower crypt opening density, shorter crypt length, greater intercrypt distance, and larger crypt angle.

Histological subtype of gastric adenocarcinoma: two cases of mixed fundic and pyloric mucosa-type adenocarcinoma

Adenocarcinomas with differentiation towards fundic or pyloric glands are rare histological subtypes. We herein describe two cases of new histological subtypes: mixed fundic and pyloric mucosa-type adenocarcinoma detected in Helicobacter pylori uninfected patients. The first patient was a woman in her 40s. A glossy, reddish, nodular lesion with a flat elevated whitish area was detected at the gastric fundus. When the nodular lesion was visualised with magnifying narrow-band imaging (M-NBI), an absent microvascular pattern plus an irregular microsurface pattern with a demarcation line was observed. The second patient was a woman in her 60s. A glossy, reddish, elevated lesion was detected at the gastric body. M-NBI finding was a regular microvascular pattern plus a regular microsurface pattern with a demarcation line. Histological examination of the resected specimens from both cases showed a very well- to well-differentiated adenocarcinoma which has differentiation towards the mixed fundic and pyloric mucosa. The histological and serological findings of both cases indicated the absence of H. pylori infection. The present two cases demonstrate further evidence of a new histological subtype of gastric adenocarcinoma: mixed fundic and pyloric mucosa-type adenocarcinoma, which has distinct characteristic endoscopic findings.

miR-23b-3p Plays an Oncogenic Role in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Reports show miR-23b to be a cancer-related biomarker in various cancer types. Interestingly, it has a dual role of oncogenic and tumor-suppressive functions, depending on the cancer type. This study focused on the unknown association of miR-23b-3p with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Expression of miR-23b-3p was measured in nine HCC cell lines and 125 resected human HCC samples by TaqMan microRNA assays. To detect its downstream target, miR-23b-3p mimic and inhibitor constructs were transfected and analyzed.

RESULTS

HepG2, a high miR-23b-3p-expressing cell line, was transfected with a miR-23b-3p inhibitor construct, whereas SK-Hep1, a low miR-23b-3p-expressing cell line, was transfected with a mimic construct. Proliferation of HCC cells was activated by miR-23b-3p overexpression and diminished by its knockdown. Then, 125 clinical HCC samples were examined to measure miR-23b-3p expression. Tumor expression of miR-23b-3p was upregulated in 48 cases (38%) and downregulated in 77 cases (62%). The upregulated cases were correlated with elderly patients (P = 0.015). These patients also showed significantly poor overall survival [hazard ratio (HR), 3.10; 95% conflidence interval (CI), 1.57-6.29; P = 0.001] in a multivariate analysis. Furthermore, mitochondrial metabolism-related genes (MICU3 and AUH) were detected as specific binding targets.

CONCLUSION

The study showed that miR-23b-3p functions as an oncogenic microRNA in HCC cell lines. Its overexpression in resected HCC tissues was a significant prognostic factor of overall survival. Both MICU3 and AUH may be candidate gene targets of miR-23b-3p.

Diagnosis of early gastric cancer using image enhanced endoscopy: a systematic approach

This paper provides an overview of the principles of a vessel plus surface (VS) classification system to explain the diagnostic system of early gastric cancer using image-enhanced magnifying endoscopy. Furthermore, this paper introduces the magnifying endoscopy simple diagnostic algorithm for gastric cancer (MEADA-G) developed according to the VS classification system, with a description of the procedures performed for diagnosis. In addition to the diagnostic system, white opaque substance (WOS), light blue crest (LBC), white globe appearance (WGA), and vessels within epithelial circle (VEC) patterns, which are representative findings that can be observed in the gastric mucosa by image-enhanced magnifying endoscopy, are also described. Image-enhanced magnifying endoscopy is particularly useful in the diagnosis of differentiated-type early gastric cancer. It is important to use the appropriate clinical strategies based on a comprehensive understanding of the usefulness and limitations of the diagnostic system described in this paper.

Resolution of bone, cutaneous, and muscular involvement after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation followed by post-transplant cyclophosphamide in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma

Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation followed by post-transplant cyclophosphamide provides a well-tolerated and potentially curable treatment for chemorefractory acute-type adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.