Minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in the People's Republic of China: an overview

Clinical characteristics and survival of esophageal cancer patients: annual report of the surgical treatment in Shanghai Chest Hospital, 2016

Background

Esophageal cancers present a significant burden of disease and remain one of the most lethal of cancers worldwide, particular in China. Surgical treatment remains the cornerstone of esophageal cancers, and a real-world data from a high-volume esophageal cancer center have guiding significance in evaluation of the current clinical practice. This report describes the clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes, and survival of surgical treatment in patients with esophageal cancer in Shanghai Chest Hospital (SCH).

Methods

All patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer who received esophagectomy or endoscopic resection at SCH in 2016 were included in this study. The baseline characteristics, treatment-related outcomes, and follow-up data were collated from the medical records and a prospectively maintained database. The clinicopathological characteristics, surgical complications, and oncologic outcomes were summarized. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate their survival and Cox regression model was used to estimate the associated risk factors.

Results

In 2016, a total of 546 patients with esophageal cancer received surgical or endoscopic resection at SCH (including 517 esophagectomies and 29 endoscopic resections). Most patients (52.4%) were between 60-69 years old, 79.5% were male, and for more than half of all patients (51.3%), the tumor was located at the middle thoracic esophagus. Overall, 11.0% (60/546) of patients received neoadjuvant therapy and 45.8% (250/546) of patients were treated with adjuvant therapy. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (including thoracoscopy and robot-assisted) was performed in 58.0% of patients and the R0 resection rate was 90.3%. The postoperative 30- and 90-day mortality was 0.73% and 1.1%, respectively. For the esophagectomy cohort, the 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 86.5%, 67.8%, 59.9%, 54.5%, 51.8%, and for cancer specific survival (CSS), the rates were 91.8%, 74.2%, 66.6%, 61.2%, and 59.1%, respectively.

Conclusions

Through a standardized surgical procedure, the short- and long-term outcomes of patients with esophageal cancer were acceptable with good safety and oncological control in a high-volume center in China. This study reveals important surgical treatment effects of esophageal cancer patients and contributes to improvement of clinical management and future treatment development.

Comparisons between minimally invasive and open esophagectomy for esophageal cancer with cervical anastomosis: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

As an extensive surgery, minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has advantages in reducing morbidity and improving quality of life for patients suffering from esophageal cancer. This study aims to investigate differences between MIE and open esophagectomy (OE) for considerations of the safety of procedures, rate of tumor resection, postoperative complications, and quality of life. This paper also tends to provide some references for MIE on esophageal cancer therapy.

METHODS

A retrospective data analysis was undertaken on 140 patients who either underwent MIE or OE for esophageal cancer with cervical anastomosis from March 2013 to May 2014 by our surgical team. Preoperative characteristics were analyzed for both groups. Differences in perioperative and oncologic outcomes were compared in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, lymph nodes retrieved, and R0-resection rate. Accordingly, a comparative analysis was conducted on complications namely anastomotic leakage, pulmonary infection, in-hospital mortality, and short-term (3 months) postoperative EORTC C30 Global health as well.

RESULTS

A total of 140 patients (87 with MIE and 53 with OE) were enrolled and the two groups were homogeneous in terms of patient- and tumor-related data. There was no difference on postoperative ICU stay (21.15 ± 1.54 h vs 21.75 ± 1.68 h, p = 0.07) and R0-resection rate (100% vs 100%, p = 1.00). The operation time for MIE was significantly shorter (146.08 ± 17.35 min vs 200.34 ± 14.51 min, p <  0.0001), the intraoperative blood loss was remarkably saved (MIE vs OE, 83.91 ± 24.72 ml vs 174.53 ± 35.32 ml, P <  0.0001) and more lymph nodes were retrieved (MIE vs OE, 38.89 ± 4.31 vs 18.42 ± 3.66, P <  0.0001). There was no difference between the groups to postoperative complications and mortality. However, pulmonary infection in MIE was higher than in OE and the difference was not statistically significant (MIE vs OE, 20.75% vs 31.03%, P = 0.24). Complications such as in-hospital mortality and short-term (3 months) postoperative EORTC C30 Global health displayed no difference between both groups as well.

CONCLUSIONS

The number of lymph nodes and intraoperative blood loss were significantly ameliorated in MIE. A 4-5 cm longitudinal incision below the xiphoid process was made to create the gastric conduit under direct vision assisting in shortening the total operation time significantly.

Recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node dissection in minimally invasive esophagectomy

Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has become increasingly important in the treatment for resectable esophageal cancer. However, it's still controversial about the effects of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lymph node dissection in MIE. Patient was placed in the lateral prone position. RLN lymph node dissection was performed in MIE. MIE can get comparable results of RLN lymph node dissection as open surgery. The number of dissected lymph nodes is 9.8±4.3 pieces and the time of lymphadenectomy is about 24 mins. RLN lymph node dissection is feasible and safe in MIE. The helpful surgical techniques include clear exposure of RLN, good collaboration with assistant, esophageal suspension, and so on.

Minimally invasive esophagectomy: Chinese experiences

BACKGROUND

Esophageal cancer is one of the four most common cancers in China. Its pathological type of esophageal cancer in China is mostly squamous cell carcinoma, which is quite different from western countries. Surgery is the first choice for resectable patients. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has become a standard surgical approach for esophageal cancer in the world, including China. This paper provides some introduction and experience of MIE in China.

METHODS

As one of the largest esophageal cancer center in China, our center performed the first case of MIE in China in 1994, and the total number of our MIE cases has exceeded 1,300. The development of MIE in China contains the lateral prone position, the esophageal suspension, and so on.

RESULTS

In the past two decades, we have performed more than 1,300 cases of MIE. The incidence of perioperative cardiopulmonary complications was decreased in MIE group. The technical progress and innovation, including patient position and esophageal suspension, helps shorten the duration of operation, and facilitate the dissection of lymph nodes.

CONCLUSIONS

MIE has become the standard surgical procedure for resectable esophageal cancer patients in China. The advantages of MIE are the lower incidence of perioperative complication than open surgery. Technical improvement is still in progress.

Lymph node dissection in esophageal carcinoma: Minimally invasive esophagectomy vs open surgery

AIM: To compare lymph node dissection results of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and open surgery for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from patients who underwent MIE or open surgery for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from January 2011 to September 2014. Number of lymph nodes resected, positive lymph node (pN+) rate, lymph node sampling (LNS) rate and lymph node metastatic (LNM) rate were evaluated.

RESULTS: Among 447 patients included, 123 underwent MIE and 324 underwent open surgery. The number of lymph nodes resected did not significantly differ between the MIE and open surgery groups (21.1 ± 4.3 vs 20.4 ± 3.8, respectively, P = 0.0944). The pN+ rate of stage T3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the open surgery group was higher than that in the MIE group (16.3% vs 11.4%, P = 0.031), but no differences was observed for stages T1 and T2 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The LNS rate at left para-recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) site was significantly higher for open surgery than for MIE (80.2% vs 43.9%, P < 0.001), but no differences were noted at other sites. The LNM rate at left para-RLN site in the open surgery group was significantly higher than that in the MIE group, regardless of pathologic T stage.

CONCLUSION: For stages T1 and T2 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the lymph node dissection result after MIE was comparable to that achieved by open surgery. However, the efficacy of MIE in lymphadenectomy for stage T3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, particularly at left para-RLN site, remains to be improved.

Technical and early outcomes of Ivor Lewis minimally invasive oesophagectomy for gastric tube construction in the thoracic cavity

OBJECTIVES

Ivor Lewis minimally invasive oesophagectomy (ILMIE) is a complex surgery aiming to remove an oesophageal tumour and to create a new gastric tube in the abdomen. The objective was to assess the technical and early outcomes of ILMIE for gastric tube construction in the thoracic cavity.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted in 25 middle or lower oesophageal cancer patients treated with ILMIE between August and December 2012. A gastric tube was constructed in the thoracic cavity in all patients. The gastric tube and the oesophagus were anastomosed using a circular stapler. Clinical data (age, gender, pathological pattern and TNM stage), surgical data (operation time, intraoperative blood loss and intraoperative complications) and follow-up data (postoperative complications, length of stay, thoracic tube drainage time and time before eating) were assessed.

RESULTS

The mean age was 61 ± 8 years. Sixteen patients were male and 9 were female. Oesophageal cancer was located in the middle oesophagus in 5 cases and in the lower oesophagus in 20. No conversion to open surgery was performed. The mean operative time and intraoperative blood loss were 320 ± 63 min and 137 ± 95 ml, respectively. A mean of 2.4 ± 0.5 linear stapler cartridges was used per patient. A mean of 14.6 ± 5.4 lymph nodes was dissected per patient. Postoperative hospital stay was 13.2 ± 2.4 days. Intraoperative and postoperative complications occurred in 12% (3 of 25) and 20% (5 of 25) of patients, respectively, including 1 case of anastomotic fistula. The patients were followed up for a mean of 3.5 ± 1.2 months, and there was no relapse or death.

CONCLUSIONS

The construction of a gastric tube through the thoracic cavity using ILMIE is feasible and safe in patients with middle or lower oesophageal cancer. However, longer follow-up and larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate the oncological efficacy.