Abstract： Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of bilateral supraclavicular lymph node dissection after esophagectomy for patients with intrathoracic esophageal carcinoma. Methods A total of 197 patients with esophageal carcinoma but no obvious supraclavicular lymph node metastasis who underwent esophagectomy in Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University from March 1997 to September 2004 were included in this study. All the patients were divided into 2 groups， the control group and the study group. In the control group (non-supraclavicular lymphadenectomy group)， there were 96 patients including 62 males and 34 females with their age of 40-69 （55.2±3.1） years， who received 2-field lymphadenectomy (intrathoracic lymphatic drainage area and left paracardial lymph nodes) without supraclavicular lymph node dissection. In the study group (supraclavicular lymphadenectomy group)， there were 101 patients including 68 males and 33 females with their age of 41-68 （53.8±4.5） years， who received 3-field lymphadenectomy including intrathoracic lymphatic drainage area， left paracardial lymph nodes and bilateral supraclavicular lymph node dissection. Postoperative survival rate， lymph node metastasis rate， anastomotic site recurrence rate， and long-term supraclavicular lymph node metastasis rate were compared between the 2 groups. Results The overall 5-year survival rate of all the patients was 39.59% （78/197）. There was no statistical difference in 5-year survival rate between the 2 groups ［37.50％ （36/96） vs. 41.58％（42/101）， P＞0.05］. However， the 5-year survival rate of the patients with esophageal carcinoma in the upper third of the esophagus in the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group ［38.10％（8/21） vs. 29.17％ （7/24）， P＜0.05］. The intrathoracic lymph node metastasis rate （14.58% vs. 12.87%）， abdominal lymph node metastasis rate （6.25% vs. 7.92%）and anastomotic site recurrence rate （5.20% vs. 5.94%）of the control group and study group were not statistically different （P＞0.05）. However， long-term supraclavicular lymph node metastasis rate of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group （2.97％ vs. 8.33％， P＜0.05） Conclusion Bilateral supraclavicular node dissection can significantly increase postoperative survival rate and decrease long-term supraclavicular lymph node metastasis rate of patients with esophageal carcinoma in the upper third of the esophagus.
Abstract： Objective To investigate prognosis factors of primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus （PSCCE）, and to optimize the treatment strategy of PSCCE. Method We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 15 patients （13 males and 2 females with an age of 57.7±2.3 years） with middle thoracic PSCCE in West China Hospital from June 2005 to February 2010. We searched ISI and MEDLINE from April 2001 to February 2010 to extract clinical data of 139 PSCCE patients with 94 males and 45 females with an age of 63.3±10.7 years. We analyzed prognosis factors of the 139 patients including gender, age, tumor location, pathological type, lesions stage and treatment strategy by Kaplan-Meier. Difference in survival curves between limited disease patients and extended disease patients was tested by log-rank test. Results Among the 15 patients, 14 patients had limited disease, and 1 patient had extended disease. Their data were not included in survival analysis because the follow-up was incomplete. Among the 139 patients, 88 patients had limited disease with their 2-year survival rate of 31.8% （28/88）. Fifty-one patients had extended disease with their 2-year survival rate of 7.8% （4/51）. The 2-year survival rate between limited-disease patients and extended-disease patients was statistically different（P＜0.05）. Radiation therapy in combination with chemotherapy had significant influence on the survival rate of patients with either local lesions or advanced lesions（P＜ 0.05）, while other factors such as gender, age and tumor location had no significant influence on their survival rate（P＞0.05）. Conclusion Chemotherapy is the fundamental treatment of PSCCE, which plays an important role in reducing PSCCE preoperative staging and restraining PSCCE postoperative recurrence and metastasis. Surgery and radiation therapy are effective for patients with local lesions. Local treatment in combination with chemotherapy is effective for patients with limited disease. Radiation therapy in combination with chemotherapy is the standard therapy for patients with extended lesions,
Objective To evaluate the safety，efficacy，short- and long-term clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods Clinical data of231 consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent complete VATS lobectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of NanjingMedical University between June 2006 and March 2011 were retrospective analyzed. There were 132 male and 99 femalepatients with their age of 15-81 （59.51±11.90） years. Preoperative cancer staging wasⅠa in 149 patients，Ⅰb in 50 patients，Ⅱa in 14 patients，Ⅱb in 13 patients and Ⅲa in 5 patients. There were 152 patients with adenocarcinoma，41 patients with squamous carcinoma，23 patients with bronchioalveolar carcinoma，5 patients with adenosquamous carcinoma，4 patients with large cell carcinoma，and 6 patients with other carcinoma. Follow-up data were statistically analyzed，and short-and long-term survival rates were calculated. Results No perioperative mortality was observed. Operation time was 60-370（199.14±51.04） minutes，and intraoperative blood loss was 10-2 300 （168.19±176.39） ml. Thirty-seven patients had postoperative complications including air leak，pulmonary infection，atelectasis，arrhythmia，subcutaneous emphysema andothers，who were all cured after conservative treatment. Mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 11.14±5.49，and meannumber of explored nodal stations was 3.66±1.52. There were 51 patients （22.08%） whose postoperative cancer staging wasmore advanced than preoperative cancer staging. Postoperative hospital stay was 3-36 （10.79±5.13） days. Primary causesof prolonged postoperative hospitalization included pulmonary air leak，pulmonary infection，preoperative concomitant chronic pulmonary diseases （COPD，asthma），and moderate to severe pulmonary dysfunction. A total of 228 patients werefollowed up for a mean duration of 40.83 months （22-82 months），and 3 patients were lost during follow-up. Overall 5-yearsurvival rates were 85.78%，52.54% and 32.70% for stageⅠ，stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. Five-year cancerfreesurvival rates were 80.00%，45.37% and 20.99% for stageⅠ，stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. ConclusionThe advantages of VATS lobectomy include smaller surgical incision，less injury and postoperative pain，quicker postoperative recovery and shorter hospital stay. Long-term survival rate is comparable to previous international and Chinese studies. VATS lobectomy can anatomically achieve complete tumor resection and systematic lymph node dissection. VATS lobectomy will become a standard surgical procedure for NSCLC patients.