Outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal cancer in an elderly population: a retrospective single center cohort study

Esophageal Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in Older Patients Is Safe and Feasible: A Retrospective Single-Center Cohort Study in the United States

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a well-established method for treating early esophageal carcinomas. However, data on the safety and efficacy of esophageal ESD in older patients in the United States are limited.

METHODS

This retrospective study investigated the outcomes of esophageal ESD in patients aged ≥80 years and included those who underwent esophageal ESD between June 2018 and April 2023 at a single center in the United States. Patients were divided into two age groups for comparison: ≥80 and <80 years. Treatment outcomes and complications were evaluated and compared between these groups.

RESULTS

A total of 53 cases of esophageal ESD for malignant neoplasms were included, with 12 patients in the ≥80 years age group. No significant differences were observed in the patients' background and characteristics, except for a prior history of interventions (p = 0.04). The en bloc resection rate was 100% in both groups. The R0 resection rate was lower in the ≥80 years age group (75% vs. 88%). There were no complications requiring additional intervention in the ≥80 years age group, such as post-ESD bleeding, perforation, mediastinal emphysema, or pneumonia.

CONCLUSIONS

Esophageal ESD may be a safe and feasible procedure for treating esophageal carcinomas in older patients.

Efficacy of self-assembling peptide in mitigating delayed bleeding after advanced endoscopic resection of gastrointestinal lesions: A meta-analysis

Background and study aims  Advanced endoscopic resection techniques carry a risk of delayed bleeding (DB). A novel fully synthetic self-assembling peptide (SAP) has shown promising results in mitigating this risk. In this meta-analysis, we evaluated all available data and analyzed the effectiveness of SAP in reducing DB after advanced endoscopic resection of gastrointestinal luminal lesions. Patients and methods  Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) from January 2010 through October 2022 were searched for publications addressing the use of SAP solution in patients undergoing advanced endoscopic resection of gastrointestinal lesions. Pooled proportions were calculated using fixed (inverse variance) and random-effects (DerSimonian-Laird) models. Results  The initial search identified 277 studies, of which 63 relevant articles were reviewed. The final analysis included data from six studies comprising 307 patients that met inclusion criteria. The pooled rate of DB was 5.73 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] = 3.42-8.59). Mean patient age was 69.40 years ± 1.82. The weighted mean size of resected lesions was 36.20 mm (95 % CI = 33.37-39.02). Endoscopic submucosal dissection was used in 72.69 % (95 % CI = 67.62-77.48), while endoscopic mucosal resection was used in 26.42 % (95 % CI = 21.69-31.44) of the procedures. Among the 307 patients, 36 % were on antithrombotic medications. No adverse events (AEs) were attributable to using SAP, with a pooled rate of 0.00 % (95 % CI = 0.00-1.49). Conclusions  SAP solution appears promising in reducing post-procedural DB after advanced endoscopic resection of high-risk gastrointestinal lesions with no reported AEs.

The effect of antithrombotic drug use on delayed bleeding with esophageal endoscopic resection

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Whether antithrombotic drugs increase the risk of post-esophageal endoscopic resection bleeding is unknown. This study examined the effect of antithrombotic drugs, aspirin, thienopyridine, direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC), and warfarin, on post-esophageal endoscopic resection bleeding.

METHODS

We enrolled 957 patients (1202 esophageal tumors) treated with endoscopic resection and classified them based on antithrombotic drug use as no use, aspirin, thienopyridine, DOAC, and warfarin. Patients using antiplatelet drugs (i.e. aspirin and thienopyridine) were further sub-classified based on their continued or discontinued use before endoscopic resection. The bleeding rates were compared between these groups to assess the effects of antithrombotic drug use and interruption of antiplatelet therapy on post-esophageal endoscopic resection bleeding.

RESULTS

The post-endoscopic resection bleeding rate was 0.3% (95% CI, 0.1-1) in the group without antithrombotic drug use, 4.5% (95% CI, 0.1-23) in the aspirin-continued group, 2.9% (95% CI, 0.1-15) in the aspirin-discontinued group, 0% (95% CI, 0-78) in the replaced thienopyridine with aspirin group, 0% (95% CI, 0-26) in the thienopyridine-discontinued group, 13% (95% CI, 1.6-38) in the DOAC group, and 0% (95% CI, 0-45) in the warfarin group. The post-endoscopic resection bleeding rate in the DOAC group was significantly higher than that in the group without antithrombotic drugs (P = 0.003). The post-endoscopic resection bleeding rates did not differ between the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that discontinuing aspirin is not necessary for esophageal endoscopic resection while we must be careful regarding DOAC.

Propensity-score matched analysis to evaluate efficacy of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal cancer in gastrectomized patients

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a minimally invasive treatment option for superficial esophageal cancer (SEC) with high rates of complete resection. However, limited research exists on the efficacy of ESD for SEC in gastrectomized patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ESD for SEC in gastrectomized patients. We included 318 patients of SEC treated at our institution between April 2005 and October 2021. To minimize bias between the gastrectomized and non-gastrectomized groups, we conducted a propensity-score matched analysis and compared the ESD outcomes for SEC of the two groups. Of the 318 patients included in the study, 48 and 270 patients were in the gastrectomized and non-gastrectomized groups, respectively. After 1:2 propensity-score matching, we matched 44 patients in the gastrectomized group to 88 patients in the non-gastrectomized group, and found no significant differences in the baseline clinicopathological characteristics. Regarding the ESD outcomes, there were no significant differences in the complete resection rate, procedure time, hospitalized period, and recurrence rates between the two groups. Multivariate analysis also cofirmed that the history of gastrectomy was not a risk factor of the difficult case of esophageal ESD. In conclusion, history of gastrectomy might not negatively affect the ESD outcomes of SECs.

Recent approach for preventing complications in upper gastrointestinal endoscopic submucosal dissection

Although endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a minimally invasive treatment method for upper gastrointestinal (GI) tumors, patients undergoing upper GI ESD sometimes fall into a serious condition from complications. Thus, it is important to fully understand how to prevent complications when performing upper GI ESD. One of the major complications in esophageal and gastric ESD is intraoperative perforation. To prevent this complication, blind dissection should be avoided. Traction-assisted ESD is a useful technique for maintaining good endoscopic view. This method was proven to reduce the incidence of intraoperative perforation, which would become a standard technique in esophageal and gastric ESD. In gastric ESD, delayed bleeding is the most common complication. Recently, a novel prediction model (BEST-J score) consisting of 10 factors with four risk categories for delayed bleeding in gastric ESD was established, and a free mobile application is now available. For reducing delayed bleeding in gastric ESD, vonoprazan ≥20 mg/day is the sole reliable method in the current status. Duodenal ESD is still challenging with a much higher frequency of complications, such as perforation and delayed bleeding, than ESD in other organs. However, with the development of improved devices and techniques, the frequency of complications in duodenal ESD has been decreasing. To prevent intraoperative perforation, some ESD techniques, such as using the distal tips of the Clutch Cutter, were developed. An endoscopic mucosal defect closure technique would be mandatory for preventing delayed complications. However, several unresolved issues, including standardization of duodenal ESD, remain and further studies are demanded.

Long-Term Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Superficial Esophageal Cancer in Patients Aged ≥ 65 Years

Background

The number of elderly patients with superficial esophageal cancer (SEC) is increasing. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) in elderly patients undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) or surgical resection for SEC.

Methods

Between January 2001 and May 2020, 290 patients aged ≥65 years who underwent ESD or surgical resection for SEC were evaluated. Their clinical outcomes and prognosis were assessed, and independent risk factors for OS were identified.

Results

The mean patient age (269 men and 21 women) was 70.9 years (range 65–90 years). En bloc, R0, and curative resections were achieved in 94.5%, 90.0%, and 73.4% of the patients, respectively. During the follow-up [mean: 54.6 months (range: 1–210 months)], 79 patients died. The 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS rates were 82.5, 73.1, and 59.7%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, cancer history of the other organs, American Society of Anesthesiologists performance status, and presence of lymphovascular involvement (hazard ratio = 1.852, 1.656, and 1.943, respectively; all P &lt; 0.05) were independent risk factors for poor OS. The high-risk group (≥2 risk factors) showed a significantly lower OS than the low-risk group (≤ 1 risk factor) (P &lt; 0.001).

Conclusions

The three risk factors could be useful in predicting the long-term prognosis of elderly patients with SEC.

Endoscopic resection for gastrointestinal tumors (esophageal, gastric, colorectal tumors): Japanese standard and future prospects

Endoscopic resection (ER) techniques such as polypectomy, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) are widely accepted as a less invasive treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. Since there is a limit to the size that can be resected by EMR and it is often divided, it is not possible to accurately evaluate the degree of cancer progression, and the cancer remains or causes recurrence. ESD is a technology that overcomes these weaknesses. ER techniques are considered for tumors that have a very low possibility of lymph node metastasis and are suitable for en-bloc resection. As ESD became more widespread, the difficulty of treating ESD was gradually resolved by the development of technology and equipment, the curative resection rate increased, and the complication rate decreased. ER techniques have become the standard treatment for early cancer and precancerous lesions in Japan, and the therapeutic indications are expanding day by day. The indications for whether endoscopic treatment can be performed are defined by the guidelines for each organ such as the esophagus, stomach, and colorectum. In the coming aging society, it is also necessary to evaluate the indications for endoscopic treatment and invasive treatment. In addition, recent advances in endoscopic technology are making it possible to remove submucosal tumors that previously required surgery. In this review, we summarize the recent Japanese standard indications of ER for each GI location and future prospects of ER.

Evaluation of long-term survival in patients with severe comorbidities after endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is becoming widely popular as a less invasive treatment option for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, data on long-term survival after esophageal ESD in patients with severe comorbidities are limited. This study aimed to evaluate long-term survival after ESD in such patients.

METHODS

Altogether, 584 consecutive patients underwent esophageal ESD at our institution from May 2004 to September 2016. Based on the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS) classification system, patients were grouped according to severe (ASA-PS ≥ 3) or non-severe comorbidities (ASA-PS 1/2). The overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and risk factors for mortality were compared between the groups using a propensity score matching analysis.

RESULTS

In a matched cohort of 69 pairs, the 5-year OS rate was poorer in ASA-PS 3 patients than in ASA-PS 1/2 patients (63.9% vs. 92.5%, P < 0.01), while the 5-year DSS rate was similar between the groups (100% vs. 100%). The mortality rate was significantly higher in ASA-PS 3 patients than in ASA-PS 1/2 patients (hazard ratio 3.47; 95% confidence interval 1.79-6.74; P < 0.01). Death due to exacerbation of comorbidities was significantly more frequent in ASA-PS 3 patients than in ASA-PS 1/2 patients (42.4% vs. 8.3%, P < 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Because of the exacerbation of comorbidities, patients with severe comorbidities had poorer long-term outcomes after esophageal ESD than those with non-severe comorbidities. Further studies will be necessary to evaluate esophageal ESD in patients with severe comorbidities.

Usefulness of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in elderly patients: a single-center retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The effectiveness of endoscopic treatment for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the elderly is unclear.

METHODS

We retrospectively studied efficacy and safety of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in 358 patients at our hospital from July 2005 to December 2018. Patients were divided into elderly (≥75 years) and young (≤74 years) groups. Efficacy was evaluated based on overall survival and disease-specific survival, whereas safety was investigated based on the frequency of endoscopic submucosal dissection-related adverse events.

RESULTS

The median observation period was 50 months. The elderly group comprised 111 patients, and young group comprised 247 patients. In the elderly and young groups, 76 (68.5%) and 159 (64.4%) underwent curative resection (P = 0.450), 8 (7.2%) and 34 (13.8%) underwent non-curative resection plus additional treatment and 12 (10.8%) and 15 (6.0%) underwent follow-up, respectively. The frequency of additional treatment for non-curative resection was significantly lower in the elderly group (P = 0.023). The 3-year overall survival of the elderly and young groups was 85.6 and 94.1%, respectively (P = 0.003). The 3-year disease-specific survival of the elderly and young groups was 98.4 and 98.5% (P = 0.682), respectively. The frequency of endoscopic submucosal dissection-related adverse events did not differ significantly between the groups (P = 0.581). The Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥2 was an independent prognostic factor for survival in the elderly group (P = 0.010; hazard ratio, 5.570; 95% confidence interval, 1.519-20.421).

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in elderly patients is as safe as that for young patients. The evaluation of Charlson Comorbidity Index was considered to help estimate the prognosis of elderly patients.

Secondary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

BACKGROUND

We evaluated cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) that developed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) at our institution.

METHODS

Allo-HSCT was performed in 1534 patients (1776 cases) at our institution from 2001 to 2016. Overall, 602 patients were confirmed to have survived for 2 or more years and 154 underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at least 1-year post-transplantation. ESCC was discovered in 17 patients (1.1%), 15 of whom had 31 lesions discovered at our institution (ESCC group). A retrospective comparative study was conducted with the remaining 137 patients for whom no ESCC was noted (non-ESCC group), and we also evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics of the ESCC group.

RESULTS

History of TBI (total body irradiation) and bone marrow transplant was significantly higher in the ESCC group. The mean time from transplantation to detection of ESCC was 82.3 months. Localization was upper thoracic in 12 cases, middle thoracic in 10, cervical in 4, lower thoracic in 3, and upper to lower thoracic in 2. Treatment comprised endoscopic submucosal dissection in 23 cases, surgery in 4, untreated due to worsening primary disease in 3, and chemoradiotherapy in 1.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, lesions were located in the cervical to upper thoracic esophagus in approximately 60% of all secondary ESCC cases after allo-HSCT. History of TBI and bone marrow transplantation are high risk of ESCC, and proactive screening endoscopy is desirable.

Long-Term Outcomes of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Superficial Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

In this review, we summarize up-to-date reports with 5-year survival after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In ESD for the depth of the epithelium (m1) or lamina propria (m2), the 5-year cause-specific survival and 5-year overall survival rates were reported to be 98-100%, and 85-95%, respectively. In cases with submucosal invasion or vascular involvement, additional prophylactic treatment such as chemoradiotherapy or surgery was recommended, and the 5-year cause-specific survival and 5-year overall survival rates were reported to be 85-100%, and 56-84%, respectively. Additional treatment might be too invasive for the elderly or patients with severe comorbidities. The risk of additional therapy should be balanced against the risk of lymph node metastasis, considering the life expectancy of such patients.

Long-Term Prognostic Predictors of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Potentially Indicated for Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection

INTRODUCTION

Patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have various comorbidities. Thus, it is necessary to determine the appropriateness of performing treatment based on the patient's general condition.

AIM

This study aimed to clarify the prognostic predictors of ESCC indicated for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).

METHODS

This retrospective study enrolled 241 patients with superficial ESCC endoscopically diagnosed as ESD-indicated lesions at the Nagoya University Hospital between January 2007 and December 2017. We evaluated the 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates and prognostic predictors, such as the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Psoas Muscle Index, and Controlling Nutritional Status score. Furthermore, we created a score-based classification using the prognostic predictors identified by multivariate analysis, and the 3- and 5-year OS rates were compared among the calculated scores.

RESULTS

In the multivariate analysis, PNI < 45 (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-4.46; p = 0.006) and CCI ≥ 3 (HR: 4.42; 95% CI: 2.40-8.12; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the OS. Based on the HR, 0 and 1 were assigned to PNI and 0, 2, and 4 were assigned to CCI, and the score classification of 0-5 points was created. The 3- and 5-year OS rates in patients with a score 3 were significantly higher than in those with scores 4 and 5. As a result of scoring, the prognosis was stratified; the 3- and 5-year OS rates in patients with scores 4 and 5, that is, CCI ≥ 6, were clearly low, at approximately 10%.

CONCLUSIONS

CCI and PNI can be prognostic predictors of patients with superficial ESCC indicated for ESD. Observation without ESD might be an acceptable strategy among patients with CCI ≥ 6.