Clinicopathologic Characteristics of Barrett's Cancer in Korea

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Superficial Barrett’s Neoplasia in Korea: a Single-Center Experience

Purpose

While the incidence of Barrett’s neoplasia has been increasing in Western countries, the disease remains rare in Asian countries. Therefore, very few studies have investigated the endoscopic treatment for Barrett’s neoplasia in Korea. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) enables en bloc and complete resection of gastrointestinal neoplastic lesions. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes of ESD for Barrett’s neoplasia in a single center in Korea and to examine the predictive factors for incomplete resection.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a retrospective observational study of 18 patients who underwent ESD for superficial Barrett’s neoplasia (dysplasia and early cancer) between January 2010 and December 2019 at Pusan National University Hospital. The therapeutic outcomes of ESD and procedure-related complications were analyzed.

Results

En bloc resection, complete resection, and curative resection were performed in 94%, 72%, and 61% of patients, respectively. Histopathology (submucosal or deeper invasion of the tumor) was a significant predictive factor for incomplete resection (P=0.047). Procedure-related bleeding and stenosis were not observed, whereas perforation occurred in one case. During the median follow-up period of 12 months (range, 6–74 months), local recurrence occurred in 2 patients with incomplete resection, one patient underwent repeat ESD, and the other patient received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The 3-year overall and disease-specific survival rates were 73% and 93%, respectively.

Conclusions

ESD seems to be an effective and safe treatment for superficial Barrett’s neoplasia in Korea. Nevertheless, the suitability of ESD for Barrett’s cancer cases should be determined considering the high risk of deep submucosal invasion.

Factors Associated With Outcomes in Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Gastric Cardia Tumors: A Retrospective Observational Study

Tumors of the gastric cardia are among the most technically difficult lesions to remove by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes of ESD in gastric cardia tumors according to clinicopathologic characteristics, and to assess the predictive factors for incomplete resection.We conducted a retrospective observational study of 82 patients with adenomas and early cancers of the gastric cardia who underwent ESD between January 2006 and December 2013 at the Pusan National University Hospital. Therapeutic outcomes of ESD and procedure-related complications were analyzed.En bloc resection, complete resection, and curative resection rates were 87%, 79%, and 66%, respectively. Deep submucosal invasion was the most common cause of noncurative resection in the cases in which complete resection was achieved. On multivariate analyses, hemispheric distribution (anterior hemisphere; odds ratio [OR] 4.808) and depth of tumor invasion (submucosal cancer; OR 22.056) were independent factors associated with incomplete resection. The rates of procedure-related bleeding, perforation, and stenosis were 6%, 1%, and 0%, respectively; none of the complications required surgical intervention.In conclusion, ESD is a safe, effective, and feasible treatment for gastric cardia tumors. However, the complete resection rate decreases for tumors that are located in the anterior hemisphere or have deep submucosal invasion.