Clinical Outcomes of Vonoprazan-Treated Patients after Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Gastric Neoplasms: A Prospective Multicenter Observation Study

Comparison of vonoprazan and proton pump inhibitors for the treatment of gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection-induced ulcer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Both vonoprazan and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are currently used to treat artificial ulcers after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection. However, evidence-based medicine proving the efficacy of vonoprazan is still lacking. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy of vonoprazan and PPIs for the treatment of artificial ulcers after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection.

METHODS

The PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases were searched up to September 2023 for related randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs that compared the efficacy of vonoprazan and PPIs in treating artificial gastric ulcers after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection were included. Two independent reviewers screened the included studies, extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias. The following outcomes were extracted for comparison: ulcer healing rate, ulcer shrinkage rate, delayed postoperative bleeding rate, and ulcer perforation rate.

RESULTS

Nine randomized controlled trials involving 926 patients were included. The pooled results showed that vonoprazan had a significantly lower rate of delayed postoperative bleeding than did PPIs (RR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.23-0.91; P = 0.03). No significant differences were found in terms of ulcer healing, shrinkage rates, or ulcer perforation rates between vonoprazan and PPIs.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with PPIs, vonoprazan is superior at reducing delayed postoperative bleeding after endoscopic submucosal dissection. However, further studies are needed to prove the efficacy of vonoprazan.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

Identifier CRD42024509227.

Treatment with vonoprazan for 3 weeks is not inferior to 8 weeks for the management of gastric ESD: a multicenter noninferiority randomized study

BACKGROUND

Vonoprazan, a potassium-competitive acid blocker (VPZ), significantly reduces postoperative bleeding after gastric ESD; however, there is no consensus on the appropriate treatment duration. We conducted a randomized controlled study to demonstrate that the 3-week administration of VPZ is not inferior to the 8-week administration for ulcer healing.

METHODS

This is a prospective, open-label multicenter randomized controlled trial. Patients aged 20-85 years undergoing gastric ESD were included in this study. The key exclusion criteria were patients with bleeding tendencies and those taking NSAIDs, steroids, PPIs, or VPZ medications. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the VPZ 3w or 8w treatment group. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with complete closure of the post-ESD wound at 24 weeks after ESD. The key secondary endpoints included the proportion of patients with complete closure of the post-ESD wound at 8 weeks and the proportion of bleeding or perforation more than 3 weeks after ESD.

RESULTS

From May 2018 to October 2020, 234 patients were included. The proportion of patients with complete ulcer closure was significantly lower in the 3w group than in the 8w group (70.8% vs. 90.6%) at 8 weeks post-treatment. The complete closure rates at 24 weeks in the 3w and 8w groups were 99.1% and 99.2%, respectively. The absolute difference in the closure rate at 24 weeks was - 0.059% [95% confidence interval (CI) -3.4% to 3.2], and the lower limit of the 95% CI exceeded -10%, the preset threshold. None of the patients developed delayed bleeding 3 weeks after ESD.

CONCLUSION

This multicenter randomized study demonstrated that 3 weeks of treatment with VPZ is sufficient for ulcer healing. Trial registry number. UMIN000031564.

The degree of mucosal atrophy is associated with post-endoscopic submucosal dissection bleeding in early gastric cancer

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Despite the widespread use of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer, post-ESD bleeding remains a significant problem. Intragastric pH plays an important role in intragastric bleeding. Because gastric acid secretion contributes to intragastric pH, both the presence or absence of Helicobacter pylori infection and the degree of gastric mucosal atrophy may affect bleeding. The present study aimed to clarify the relationship between post-ESD bleeding and the degree of gastric mucosal atrophy based on H. pylori infection status.

METHODS

We included 8170 patients who underwent ESD for early gastric cancer at 33 hospitals in Japan from November 2013 to October 2016. We analyzed the risk factors contributing to post-ESD bleeding.

RESULTS

There were 3935 H. pylori-positive patients and 4235 H. pylori-negative patients. A nonsevere degree of gastric mucosal atrophy was an independent risk factor for post-ESD bleeding in H. pylori-negative patients (odds ratio: 1.51, P = 0.007), but not in H. pylori-positive patients (odds ratio: 0.91, P = 0.600). Further, in H. pylori-negative, but not H. pylori-positive, patients, the rate of post-ESD bleeding increased in a stepwise manner for patients continuing antithrombotic drug use, patients who withdrew antithrombotic drug use, and antithrombotic drug nonusers.

CONCLUSIONS

Nonsevere gastric mucosal atrophy was a risk factor for post-ESD bleeding in early gastric cancer in H. pylori-negative patients but not in H. pylori-positive patients.

Serum Gastrin and Pepsinogen Levels after Administration of Acid Secretion Inhibitors for Ulcers due to Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in Patients with Early Gastric Cancer

Acid secretion inhibitors, such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and potassium competitive acid blockers (PCABs), are used to treat ulcers after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer. These drugs can influence serum gastrin and pepsinogen (PG) levels; however, their definite effects remain unclear. This open-label, randomized study investigated the effect of acid secretion inhibitors on the serum gastrin and pepsinogen levels. In total, 76 patients were enrolled in the study. They underwent gastric ESD and received a PPI (n = 21) or PCAB (n = 55). Changes in the serum gastrin and PG levels before and 4 weeks after administration were examined. Patient factors associated with the alteration of serum PG or gastrin levels were identified. The median serum levels of gastrin, PGI, and PGII before the administration of the acid secretion inhibitors were 110.5 pg/mL, 36.4 ng/mL, and 8.9 ng/mL, respectively; after administration, the levels increased to 300 pg/mL, 64.7 ng/mL, and 15.8 ng/mL, respectively (P < 0.01). Univariate analysis revealed that PCABs led to a more significant increase in the serum gastrin and PG levels as compared to PPIs. Furthermore, the PG levels were significantly increased in patients with previous Helicobacter pylori infections than in those with current infections. In conclusion, the serum gastrin and PG levels increased after the use of acid secretion inhibitors. This elevation was affected by the type of drug used, whereas the elevation in PGs was affected by the patient's background as well.

Vonoprazan vs lansoprazole for the treatment of artificial gastric ulcer after endoscopic submucosal dissection: a prospective randomized comparative study

Vonoprazan is a potent inhibitor of gastric acid secretion and may have better response than proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in the treatment of endoscopic submucosal dissection induced artificial ulcers. However, reported outcomes remain controversial. In this study, we conducted a prospective, randomized comparative trial to evaluate healing effects of vonoprazan and lansoprazole on endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD)-induced ulcers. We enrolled 216 patients who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric neoplasms. They were randomly divided into vonoprazan (20 mg/day) and lansoprazole (30 mg/day) groups. The primary endpoint was the reduction rate of ulcer and complete healing (scar) ratio of ESD-induced ulcers at 4 and 8 weeks. Finally, 101 patients of the vonoprazan group and 95 patients of the lansoprazole group were included in the analysis. There were no significant differences in the reduction rate between the vonoprazan and lansoprazole groups at either timepoint (4 weeks, 94.0 vs 93.4%; 8 weeks, 99.8 vs 99.9%, respectively). The complete healing ratio at 4 and 8 weeks did not differ significantly between the vonoprazan and lansoprazole groups (4 weeks, 11.9 vs 12.6%; 8 weeks, 87.1 vs 86.3%, respectively). In the anti-H. pylori-antibody negative or positive patients, there were no significant differences in the reduction rate and complete healing ratio between the vonoprazan and lansoprazole groups. Regardless of treatment choice, the overall complete healing ratio at 8 weeks was significantly higher in the anti-H. pylori-antibody negative patients than the positive patients (p = 0.006). The healing effects of vonoprazan on ESD-induced ulcers were comparative to those of lansoprazole.

Meta-analysis of vonoprazan and proton pump inhibitors in preventing delayed bleeding and facilitating ulcer healing after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection

BACKGROUND

Vonoprazan (VPZ) is a novel potassium-competitive acid blocker that has been widely used in Japan for Helicobacter pylori eradication and for treatment of gastroeasophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcer. Compared with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), VPZ can inhibit acid secretion more stably and effectively. Based on the results of previous studies, we speculated that compared with PPIs, VPZ is more effective in preventing delayed bleeding and facilitating ulcer healing after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).

AIM

To compare the efficacy of VPZ and PPIs in preventing delayed bleeding and facilitating ulcer healing after gastric ESD.

METHODS

We collected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or cohort studies on the effectiveness of VPZ and PPIs in ESD-induced ulcer and delayed bleeding from electronic datasets including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CNKI database, Wanfang database, and VIP database. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and Newcastle Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale were applied to evaluate the quality of the articles included. Meta-analysis was performed using software Revman 5.2. Publication bias was assessed and Begg's graphs were drawn using Stata 14.0. Trim and fill analysis was performed when the publication bias was significant.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies were included in this Meta-analysis. The overall risk ratio (RR) of VPZ relative to PPIs for delayed bleeding was 0. 86 (P = 0. 38; 95%CI: 0.61-1.21). The RR in the subgroup of antithrombotic patientes was 1.35 (P = 0.54; 95%CI: 0.52-3.48), while the RR in the subgroup of non-antithrombotic patients was 0.68 (P = 0.12; 95%CI: 0.41-1.10). The RR of VPZ relative to PPIs was 1.37 (P = 0.02; 95%CI: 1.06-1.77) at 4 wk and 1.02 (P = 0.60; 95%CI: 0.95-1.09) at 8 wk. After excluding three studies with combination treatment, the RRs for delayed bleeding, ulcer healing at 4 wk, and ulcer healing at 8 wk were 0.90 (P = 0.56), 1.34 (P = 0.04), and 1. 02 (P = 0.60), respectively.

CONCLUSION

During the first 4 wk after gastric ESD, VPZ promotes ulcer healing faster than PPIs. At the end of the 8th weeks after ESD, there is no significant difference between VPZ and PPIs for ulcer healing. In the postoperative population with or without using antithrombotic drugs, compared with PPIs, VPZ does not exhibit any superiority in preventing delayed bleeding.