Pyung n Goh

Clinical Outcomes of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Undifferentiated or Submucosal Invasive Early Gastric Cancer

Background/Aims Early gastric cancer (EGC) that is undifferentiated or shows submucosal invasion has not been generally accepted as an indication for endoscopic treatment. But recently, experiences with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for undifferentiated EGC or submucosal invasive (SM) EGC have increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes of ESD for EGC with undifferentiation or submucosal invasion. Methods Between August 2005 and August 2009, among 210 EGCs treated using ESD at our hospital, 18 lesions were diagnosed as undifferentiated gastric cancer and 41 as SM gastric cancer. A retrospective analysis was done on the medical records of these patients. Results Mean follow-up periods were 19.39±11.2 months. During the follow-up period, local recurrence was noted in 4 lesions. Local recurrence rates of the EGC groups (group 1, mucosal cancer with undifferentiation; group 2, SM cancer with differentiation; group 3, SM cancer with undifferentiation) were 10%, 4.5%, and 50%, respectively. Groups 1 and 2 were not significantly different in local recurrence rates compared to the mucosal cancer with differentiation group (p=0.061, p=0.125, respectively). The undifferentiated EGC group was significantly lower in curability using ESD than the differentiated EGC group (55.6% vs. 89.6%, p=0.000). The curability of the SM EGC group was lower than the mucosal EGC group (36.6% vs. 98.9%). Conclusions Complete resection using ESD is difficult in undifferentiated and SM gastric cancers. SM cancer with undifferentiation should be treated immediately by salvage operation. For mucosal cancer with undifferentiation or SM cancer with differentiation, one should consider careful short-term follow-up.

Reactivation of tuberculosis in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization: A report of 3 cases.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is an opportunistic infection that can be reactivated in immunocompromised conditions, for example, in malignancy or after liver transplantation. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high mortality rate because it is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage. Although surgical resection is the established curative measure for HCC, it is only feasible for early-stage HCC. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the most common treatment modality for patients with unresectable HCC. However, repeated TACE sessions and, occasionally, the tumor itself can further impair the reserve hepatic function and immunity. We report 3 recent cases of HCC with reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis after TACE.