Endoscopic submucosal dissection for gastric epithelial lesions: long-term results in a Spanish cohort

Outcomes and validity of risk stratification tools for endoscopic submucosal dissection of early gastric cancer in Western Australia

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become the treatment of choice for many superficial gastric neoplasms. Clinical outcomes are increasingly comparable between Japanese and Western series; however, data are lacking on the validity of risk stratification tools in Western cohorts. We aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes, explore risk stratification, and compare our data with published Western series.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study in a single tertiary referral center over a 13-year period. Primary outcomes were rates of en bloc, complete (R0) and curative resection. Secondary outcomes included adverse events, recurrence, metachronous lesions, eCura grades, and ESGE criteria. A comparative analysis was performed with existing published series from Western centers.

RESULTS

Totally 112 patients were included in the study cohort. 50.9% were male, 87.5% Caucasian, and median age was 75.5 years (IQR 14.3 years). Lesions were predominantly antral (36.6%) or body (35.7%); median size 20 mm (IQR 15 mm). Rates of en bloc, R0 resection, and curative resection were 96.4%, 89.3%, and 78.6% (identical between eCura and ESGE), respectively. Adverse events occurred in 5.8%, recurrence in 0%, and metachronous lesions in 9.9%. Our data compared favorably with a review existing Western series, which illustrates increasing adoption of ESD and stable outcomes over time.

CONCLUSION

ESD represents a safe and effective method of treatment for gastric neoplasia in the Western setting. This study highlights the potential for excellent outcomes in a single center with a heterogeneous patient cohort and supports the use of eCura in guiding post procedural management.

Gastric plexiform fibromyxoma, an uncommon mesenchymal tumor

Plexiform fibromyxoma (PF) is an uncommon primary tumor of the gastrointestinal tract, with a mesenchymal origin and a benign behavior. Herein, we report a case and provide a literature review. A 41-year-old male patient underwent surgery in our unit for a PF at the gastric antrum, after being admitted due to vomiting and weight loss. As illustrated by our case, the mean age at presentation is around 40 years, the antrum is the most common location and abdominal pain the most widely reported manifestation. None of the reviewed cases involved regional or distant spread.

Implementation of endoscopic submucosal dissection in a country with a low incidence of gastric cancer: Results from a prospective national registry

Introduction

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become the treatment of choice for early gastric malignancies. In recent years, the ESD technique has been implemented in Western countries with increasing use.

Objectives

To describe the results of gastric ESD in a Western country with a low incidence of gastric cancer.

Patients and Methods

The prospective national registry was conducted over 4 years in 23 hospitals, including 30 endoscopists. Epithelial and subepithelial lesions (SEL) qualified to complete removal with ESD were assessed. The technique, instruments, and solution for submucosal injection varied at the endoscopist's discretion. ESD was defined as difficult when: en‐bloc resection was not achieved, had to be converted to a hybrid resection, lasted more than 2 h or an intraprocedural perforation occurred. Additionally, independent risk factors for difficult ESD were analyzed.

Results

Two hundred and thirty gastric ESD in 225 patients were performed from January 2016 to December 2019 (196 epithelial and 34 SEL). Most lesions were located in the lower stomach (111; 48.3%). One hundred and twenty‐eight (55.6%) ESD were considered difficult. The median procedure time was 105 min (interquartile range [IQR]: 60–150). The procedure time for SEL was shorter than for epithelial lesions (90 min [45–121] vs. 110 min [62–160]; p = 0.038). En‐bloc, R0, and curative resection rates were 91.3%, 75.2%, and 70.9%, respectively. Difficult ESD had lower R0 resection rates than ESD that did not meet the difficulty criteria (64.8% and 87.6%; p = 0.000, respectively). Fibrosis and poor maneuverability were independent factors associated with difficult ESD (OR 3.6, 95%CI 1.1–11.74 and OR 5.07, 95%CI 1.6–16.08; respectively).

Conclusions

Although the number of cases is limited, the results of this analysis show acceptable en‐bloc and R0 rates in gastric ESD considering the wide variability in experience among the operators. Fibrosis and poor maneuverability were associated with more difficulty in completing ESD.

Summarize the established knowledge on this subject

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is the standard of care for treatment of early gastric cancers (GC). Due to a lower incidence of GC in European countries, the introduction of gastric ESD has been more gradual than in the East.

ESD complications, technical and clinical success depend on the endoscopist's experience, the presence of submucosal fibrosis or invasive cancer, and poor access location.

What are the significant and/or new findings of this study?

This study shows the results from a prospective nationwide registry of gastric ESD in a low GC incidence country. Despite a relative low number of cases, quite acceptable outcomes (en‐bloc, R0 and curative resection of 91.3%, 75.2% and 70.9%, respectively) were observed considering the wide variability in experience among the operators.

Difficult ESD were mainly associated with the presence of submucosal fibrosis and poor maneuverability; however, independent pre‐procedural factors were not identified. There was a trend of association between ESD difficulty and the location of the lesion in the upper/middle stomach