Role of video-laparoscopy in the staging of intra-abdominal lymphomas and gastrointestinal cancer

Utility of staging laparoscopy in subsets of biliary cancers : laparoscopy is a powerful diagnostic tool in patients with intrahepatic and gallbladder carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of staging laparoscopy in patients with biliary cancers in the era of modern diagnostic imaging.

METHODS

From September 2002 through August 2004, 39 consecutive patients with potentially resectable cholangiocarcinoma underwent preoperative staging laparoscopy before laparotomy. Preoperative imaging included ultrasonography and triphasic computed tomography for all patients and magnetic resonance cholangiography in 35 patients (90%). Final pathological diagnosis included 20 hilar cholangiocarcinomas (HC), 11 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (IHC), and eight gallbladder carcinomas (GBC).

RESULTS

During laparoscopy, unresectable disease was found in 14/39 patients (36%). The main causes of unresectability were peritoneal carcinomatosis (11/14) and liver metastases (5/14). At laparotomy, nine patients (37%) were found to have advanced disease precluding resection. Vascular invasion and nodal metastases were the main causes of unresectability during laparotomy (eight out of nine). In detecting peritoneal metastases and liver metastases, laparoscopy had an accuracy of 92 and 71%, respectively. All patients with vascular or nodal involvement were missed by laparoscopy. For prediction of unresectability disease, the yield and accuracy of laparoscopy were highest for GBC (62% yield and 83% accuracy), followed by IHC (36% yield and 67% accuracy) and HC (25% yield and 45% accuracy)

CONCLUSION

Staging laparoscopy ensured that unnecessary laparotomy was not performed in 36% of patients with potentially resectable biliary carcinoma after extensive preoperative imaging. In patients with biliary carcinoma that appears resectable, staging laparoscopy allows detection of peritoneal and liver metastasis in one third of patients. Both vascular and lymph nodes invasions were not diagnosed by this procedure. Due to these limitations, laparoscopy is more useful in ruling out dissemination in GBC and IHC than in HC.

Gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related deaths. The incidence, diagnostic studies, and therapeutic options have undergone important changes in the last decades, but the prognosis for gastric cancer patients remains poor, especially in more advanced stages. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment of this disease, even if it is associated with a high rate of locoregional and distant recurrence. There is ongoing debate regarding the role of adjuvant treatment In advanced disease, palliation of symptoms, rather than cure, is the primary goal of patient management. Several combination therapies have been developed and have been examined in phase III trials; however, in most cases, they have failed to demonstrate a survival advantage over the reference arm. This review summarizes the most important recommendations for the management of patients with gastric cancer.