Yoshiki Hiki

Survival after surgical treatment of early gastric cancer: surgical techniques and long-term survival.

Background and aimsRecent results from long-term follow-up of a large number of patients who have undergone gastric resection for early gastric cancer (EGC) have not yet been fully evaluated.Patients and methodsA total of 848 patients who had undergone gastric resection for EGC (262 female, 586 male; mean age 58.0 years; range 20–86 years) were studied with respect to surgical technique, long-term survival and prognostic factors on the basis of current TNM classification.ResultsDeath related to recurrence occurred in only eight patients (0.9%). Hematogenous metastasis to the liver or bone represented the most common pattern of recurrence, developing in six of the eight recurrences (75%). The 5-year and 10-year cancer-related survival rates were 98.6% and 94.8%, respectively. The 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates were 95.2% and 85.0%, respectively. Lymph node metastasis represented an independent prognostic factor when analyzed on the basis of cancer-related survival.ConclusionThe present findings indicate that long-term survival of patients who undergo gastric resection for EGC is extremely good and that lymph node metastasis represents an independent prognostic factor when analyzed according to cancer-related survival. Future developments for the treatment of EGC are expected to improve quality of life for patients after gastric resection.

Cooperative clinical trial of photodynamic therapy with photofrin II and excimer dye laser for early gastric cancer

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a recently developed endoscopic method for treating malignant tumors. For obtaining more photodynamic action with less thermal effect, we employed as the excitation light source for PDT an excimer dye laser, which is a pulsed laser with extremely high peak power, instead of an argon dye laser, which is a continuous wave laser and has been used conventionally.

Photodynamic Therapy for Cancers: A Clinical Trial of Porfimer Sodium in Japan

Photodynamic therapy utilizing Photofrin has proven to be an effective modality that can be used in the treatment of a wide variety of solid tumors and luminal cancers. An argon pumped dye laser or excimer dye laser was used to deliver 630 nm light via quartz fibers passed through the biopsy channel subsequent to i.v. injection of photosensitizer. In this study, 64 patients with superficial cancers were treated in this manner but only 58 patients, including 21 with roentgenographically occult lung cancer, 8 with stage I lung cancer, 5 with esophageal cancer, 12 with gastric cancer, 8 with cervical cancer and 4 with bladder cancer were evaluable. Complete remission was obtained in 48 out of 58 cases (82.8%). There was no serious complication except skin photosensitivity, which was seen in 13 patients. We conclude that photodynamic therapy is efficacious in the treatment of superficial cancers where complete remission may be achieved.

Endoscopic treatment of gastric cancer

SummaryWe analyzed 445 cases of early gastric cancer to confirm which were associated with lymph-node metastases. Overall, gastric cancers less than 2 cm in size, without an ulcer or ulcer scar, or protuberant or mixed morphology could be expected to be free of lymph-node metastases. In these patients with early gastric cancer without lymph-node metastasis, local treatment using surgical endoscopy could effectively eradicate the disease. Laser irradiation was performed in 44 cases and mucosal resection in 18 cases. All early gastric cancers less than 2 cm in size, with the exception of those located in the prepylorus or high on the posterior wall of the body of the stomach were eradicated by laser irradiation. Mucosal resection was used to ablate cancers less than 1 cm in size and with the exception of 1 case, total clearance was obtained. We conclude that early gastric cancer without lymph-node metastases can be eradicated by surgical endoscopic treatment.

Thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy for the relief of intractable abdominal pain

Video-thoracoscopic transthoracic splanchnicectomy has been applied to patients in the end stage of pancreas cancer who had intractable pain mediated through the splanchnic nerve in the left upper quadrant. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia in a right hemilateral position. Following the establishment of access to the thoracic cavity, the left splanchnic nerve is cut off at the level immediately above the aortic hiatus, through a small opening made in the pleura between the descending aorta and the vertebrae. All patients had immediate and complete relief of pain postoperatively. Only a transient drop in the mean arterial pressure was observed immediately after cutting off the nerve. No other detrimental effect of the procedure on the general condition was observed. No patients developed postoperative complications. The present method may, thus, be a treatment of choice directed toward the relief of intractable abdominal pain in selected patients with pancreatic cancer.

Kombiniertes laparoskopisch-endoskopisches Vorgehen beim Magencarcinom

Abstract. The purpose of this review is to outline the laparoscopic-endoscopic procedures that we perform for early gastric cancer. These procedures were applied to 29 patients. Preoperative work-up included gastric endoscopy, barium X-ray examination, endoscopic ultrasonography, and histological examination, and surgery was performed in patients diagnosed as having mucosal gastric cancer for which endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) was difficult. Laparoscopic wedge resection of the stomach using the lesion-lifting method, by which a wedge resection is made while pulling up the full-thickness gastric wall, was carried out in the 16 patients with lesions of the anterior wall, lesser curvature, and greater curvature of the stomach. On pathological examination of resected specimens, the surgical margin and lymphatic or venous invasion were negative in all these patients. The histological depth of the lesions was m (mucosal cancer) in 15 patients and sm1 (slight cancer infiltration into the submucosal layer) in one. This one patient later underwent gastrectomy but no lymph node metastases were found. Oral nutrition was resumed for a mean (± SD) of 2.9 ± 0.8 days after operation, and the duration of hospitalization after operation was 12.3 ± 3.4 days. The 13 patients with lesions of the posterior wall of the stomach and near the cardia or the pylorus received laparoscopic intragastric mucosal resection. Laparotomy was required in 1 of these patients due to intraoperative hemorrhage. The surgical margins were negative in all 12 patients in whom laparoscopic intragastric mucosal resection was successful. Lymphatic or venous invasion was positive in 2, both of whom had sm1 cancer lesions of both of these patients were located in the cardiac region, total gastrectomy was avoided, and careful observation is continued. Oral nutrition was resumed 4.0 ± 1.6 days after operation, and the duration of hospitalization after operation was 12.0 ± 3.5 days. In addition, no postoperative complication was noted after either procedure, and all patients have been recurrence free for a follow-up period of 460 months. Selected properly, these laparoscopic endoscopic procedures are considered to be curative and minimally invasive treatments for early gastric cancer.Zusammenfassung. In dieser Darstellung sollen die laparoskopisch-endoskopischen Verfahren beschrieben werden, die bei uns zur Therapie des Magenfrühcarcinoms durchgeführt werden. Die Kombinationsverfahren wurden in 29 Fällen durchgeführt. Bei Patienten mit einem Mucosacarcinom des Magens, bei denen eine Mucosaresektion (EMR) als zu schwierig erschien, wurde präoperativ eine Endoskopie, eine Röntgen-Kontrastmittel-Darstellung des Magens mit Barium, eine endoskopische Ultraschalluntersuchung sowie eine histologische Untersuchung durchgeführt. Die laparoskopische tangentiale Resektion der Magenwand („Wedge-Resektion“) mit der sog. „lesion-lifting“-Methode, bei der die gesamte Magenwand einschließlich des Tumors angehoben und anschließend reseziert wird, wurde bei 16 Patienten mit Läsionen sowohl an der Vorderwand als auch an der kleinen und großen Kurvatur des Magens durchgeführt. Bei allen Patienten wurden die Resektate histologisch untersucht. In allen Fällen waren die Resektionsränder tumorfrei und es gab keine lymphatische oder venöse Tumorinfiltration. Die histologische Aufarbeitung ergab bei 15 Patienten das Tumorstadium T1m und bei einem Patienten T1sm. Bei diesem Patienten wurde anschließend eine Gastrektomie durchgeführt. Ein Lymphknotenbefall fand sich nicht. Alle Patienten waren nach im Median 2,9 ± 0,8 Tagen postoperativ voll oral enteralisiert. Die postoperative Hospitalisationsdauer betrug 12,3 ± 3,4 Tage. Bei 13 Patienten mit Tumorlokalisation im Bereich der Magenhinterwand, der Kardia oder des Pylorus, wurde eine laparoskopische intragastrale Mucosaresektion durchgeführt. Bei einem der Patienten war wegen einer intraoperativen Blutung eine Laparotomie erforderlich. Bei allen 12 Patienten, bei denen die laparoskopische intragastrale Mucosaresektion durchgeführt wurde, waren die Resektionsränder tumorfrei. Eine lymphatische oder venöse Tumorinfiltration wurde in 2 Fällen mit Tsm-Stadium nachgewiesen. Bei beiden Patienten war die Läsion nahe der Kardia lokalisiert, so daß auf eine totale Gastrektomie verzichtet wurde. Beide Patienten wurden sorgfältig nachbeobachtet. Der postoperative orale Kostaufbau war nach 4 ± 1,6 Tagen und die postoperative Hospitalisationsdauer nach 12 ± 3,5 Tagen abgeschlossen. Der postoperative Verlauf war komplikationslos. Die Gesamtheit der Patienten ist nach einer Follow-up-Periode von im Median 36,3 Monaten tumorfrei. Bei strenger Indikationsstellung können die endoskopisch-laparoskopischen Eingriffe als kurative und minimal-invasive Behandlungsmöglichkeit des Magenfrühcarcinoms angesehen werden.

Feasibility of a novel weekday-on/weekend-off oral UFT schedule as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer

Purpose: When oral anticancer agents are used for adjuvant chemotherapy of colorectal cancer, compliance and feasibility become issues because of the long treatment time. Appropriate studies of these issues are lacking. We investigated compliance and feasibility during a weekday-on/weekend-off schedule of oral UFT (uracil-tegafur) over a period of 1 year administered as adjuvant chemotherapy to patients with colorectal cancer. Patients and methods: A UFT dose of 600 mg/day was prescribed according to a weekday-on/weekend-off schedule to 87 patients after potentially curative resection. Compliance was investigated in three ways: physician interview, patient self-report, and chemical analysis of urine. The results were compared with the dose prescribed. Feasibility was evaluated on the basis of two indices: relative performance (RP), which was the ratio of the actual total dose taken to the total dose planned, and individual dose intensity (IDI), which was the ratio of the actual dose taken to the dose planned during a given period. Results: The compliance assessed by physician interview and by patient self-report conformed well with the prescribed dose, the rate of agreement among the three compliance measures being more than 94%. Chemical analysis of urine in 38 of the patients revealed that they were actually taking the drug. The RP was 0.72, and the IDI was 0.8. Conclusion: From these results, the feasibility of the weekday-on/weekend-off schedule was judged to be good. It is suggested that the feasibility would be even better if the dose of UFT was set according to body surface area.

Preoperative evaluation to predict technical difficulties of laparoscopic cholecystectomy on the basis of histological inflammation findings on resected gallbladder

BACKGROUND No papers have heretofore documented histological studies of cases involving the inflammation of resected gallbladder or examined surgical difficulties on the basis of pathological findings. METHODS On the basis of the histological inflammation findings on the resected gallbladders of 437 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), the factors affecting the technical difficulty of the operation were examined through preoperative clinical findings (13 items), diagnostic imaging (22 items), and blood test findings (6 items), using multivariate analysis. RESULTS In accordance with the four-stage classification of inflammation findings for the resected gallbladder, the inflammation findings on the resected gallbladder indicated a higher correlation with the time required for gallbladder dissection (30.2 +/- 16.3 minutes) than with the operation time (77.6 +/- 32.7 minutes). Thus, the technical difficulty of the operation was judged according to the time required for gallbladder dissection. For the preoperative findings on 418 patients who underwent successful LC, the most influential factors on the time required for gallbladder dissection were the presence of abnormal findings on computed tomography, the degree of fever, obesity index, nonvisualized gallbladder cholangiography, and cystic duct length. According to the multiple regression equation of these five factors, the gallbladder dissection for the 19 patients who underwent conversion to open cholecystectomy (OC) due to extreme inflammation was calculated to require 61.9 +/- 12.3 minutes, and the patients who showed a gallbladder dissection time longer than 49.6 minutes were judged to have high technical difficulty predicted from the preoperative evaluation. In the preoperative evaluation, sensitivity was 79.6%, specificity was 97.6%, accuracy was 95.0%, positive predictive value was 85.0%, and negative predictive value was 96.6%. Next, each finding was scored on the basis of a multiple regression equation of five factors, and the technical difficulty of the operation was quantified using these scores. The score of the patients who underwent conversion to OC was 8.0 +/- 2.0, and the patients who showed a score higher than 6 were judged to have high technical difficulty. Almost the same results as in the aforementioned preoperative evaluation were obtained using these scores. CONCLUSION The judgment using the scores was satisfactory in terms of the simplicity of evaluating the technical difficulties associated with each patient and the ease of obtaining information for each factor. The quantification of technical difficulty using the scores is useful for preoperative prediction of which patients will have difficulties in gallbladder dissection and the conversion to OC in LC. Our results suggest that the consideration of technical difficulties is important for conducting safe operations with avoiding intraoperative complications.

The concepts, procedures, and problems related in endoscopic laser therapy of early gastric cancer

SummaryWe report 34 cases of early gastric cancer in which endoscopic laser therapy was performed at the Kitasato University Hospital. The problems encountered were the size and location of the tumor, the presence of lymphatic metastasis or concomitant disorders, and technical problems associated with the irradiation procedure. Of the 34 cases, 22 cases were considered as completely cured (no malignancy was detected after laser therapy), 11 cases were incompletely cured (malignant cells were detected after laser therapy), and 1 case was undetermined.

Benign esophageal schwannoma: Report of a case

We report herein the case of an otherwise asymptomatic 62-year-old woman who was found to have an incidental esophageal lesion during endoscopic follow-up of an unrelated disorder. An esophageal submucosal tumor was diagnosed, and the patient was subsequently monitored on a regular yearly basis. As the diameter of the tumor doubled over a 4-year period, the possibility of a malignant lesion could not be excluded, and she was admitted to our hospital for further investigations. Esophagography, endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography, and computed tomography confirmed a submucosal tumor, 35mm in length, in the thoracic midesophagus. A leiomyoma or leiomyosarcoma was suspected based on the known incidence of such tumors, and tumor enucleation was performed. Gross inspection revealed a solid tumor arising from the wall of the esophagus. Histopathologic examination showed intertwined bundles of spindle cells with spiral-like proliferation, and immunohistochemical studies were positive for S-100 protein, whereby a diagnosis of esophageal schwannoma was established. The patient experienced no postoperative complications, and her clinical course to date has been satisfactory. To date, 2 years 8 months after surgery, she has shown no sign of tumor recurrence and remains in good health.