Abstract： Objective To investigate the indications， surgical techniques and postoperative complication management of transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy for patients with esophageal cancer. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical records of 105 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between July 2002 and July 2010， including 28 patients who received video-assisted mediastinoscopy. There were 59 male patients and 46 female patients with their average age of 63 （48-81） years. There were 51 patients with upper thoracic esophageal cancer， 18 patients with middle thoracic esophageal cancer and 36 patients with lower thoracic esophageal cancer. Surgical outcomes and safety were evaluated. Results Mean operation time was 153 （140-210） minutes， mean intraoperative blood loss was 150 （100 to 250） ml， and mean hospital stay was 15 （10-35） days. There was no in-hospital death or residual tumor cells in esophagus stumps. Twenty-seven patients had postoperative complications， including 3 patients with anastomotic leakage at neck， 4 patients with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury， 5 patients with pleural effusion， 2 patients with pneumothorax， 3 patients with pneumonia， 3 patients with arrhythmia， 1 patient with chylothorax， 2 patients with incision infection， 2 patients with delayed gastric emptying， and 2 patients with anastomotic stenosis， who were all cured after treatment. Ninety-seven patients were followed up from 16 months to 5 years， and 8 patients were lost during follow-up. During follow-up， there were 94 patients who had lived for 1 year， 67 patients who had lived for 3 years， and 34 patients who had lived for 5 years postoperatively， and some patients needed further follow-up. Conclusion Transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy is a minimally traumatic procedure and can provide fast postoperative recovery. It is especially suitable for patients with stageⅡor earlier esophageal cancer who can’t tolerate or aren’t suitable for transthoracic esophagectomy.
ObjectiveTo compare the clinical efficacy of cone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis and conventional tubular stomach combined with neck end-to-end mechanical side-to-side anastomosis in thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. MethodsThe clinical data of consecutive patients treated by thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the First People's Hospital of Neijiang from January 1, 2018 to March 25, 2021 were analyzed. The patients were divided into a cone-shaped gastric tube manual group (treated with cone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis) and a conventional tubular stomach mechanical group (treated with conventional tubular stomach+end-to-end mechanical side-to-side anastomosis). The anastomotic time, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node dissection, anastomotic fistula, anastomotic stenosis, anastomotic cost, sternogastric dilatation, gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and postoperative complications were compared and analyzed between the two groups. ResultsA total of 161 patients were enrolled, including 112 males and 49 females aged 40-82 years. There were 80 patients in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group, and 81 patients in the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group. There was no statistical difference in the intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected, hoarseness, pulmonary infection, arrhythmia, respiratory failure or chylothorax between the two groups (P>0.05). The anastomosis time of the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group was longer than that of the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group (28.35±3.20 min vs. 14.30±1.26 min, P<0.001), but the anastomotic cost and incidence of thoracogastric dilatation in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were significantly lower than those of the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group [948.48±70.55 yuan vs. 4 978.76±650.29 yuan, P<0.001; 3 (3.8%) vs. 14 (17.3%), P=0.005]. The incidences of anastomotic fistula and anastomotic stenosis in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were lower than those in the conventional tubular gastric mechanical group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The gastroesophageal reflux scores in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were lower than those in the conventional tubular gastric mechanical group at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the operation (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that digestive tract reconstruction method was the influencing factor for postoperative thoracogastric dilation, which was reduced in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group. ConclusionCone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis can significantly reduce the incidence of thoracogastric dilatation after thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer and save hospitalization costs, with mild gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and it still has certain advantages in reducing postoperative anastomotic fistula and anastomotic stenosis, which is worthy of clinical promotion.
Objective To explore the safety of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) with three-field lymphadenectomy (3-FL) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by comparing the short-term outcomes between the 3-FL and the two-field lymphadenectomy (2-FL) in MIE. Methods The clinical data of patients with ESCC who underwent minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy in our hospital from July 2015 to March 2022 were collected retrospectively. Patients were divided into a 3-FL group and a 2-FL group according to lymph node dissection method. And the clinical outcomes and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 257 patients with ESCC were included in this study. There were 211 males and 46 females with an average age of 62.2±8.1 years. There were 109 patients in the 3-FL group and 148 patients in the 2-FL group. The operation time of the 3-FL group was about 20 minutes longer than that of the 2-FL group (P<0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the intraoperatve blood loss (P=0.376). More lymph nodes (P<0.001) and also more positive lymph nodes (P=0.003) were obtained in the 3-FL group than in the 2-FL group, and there was a statistical difference in the pathological N stage between the two groups (P<0.001). But there was no statistical difference in the incidence of anastomotic leak (P=0.667), chyle leak (P=0.421), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (P=0.081), pulmonary complications (P=0.601), pneumonia (P=0.061), cardiac complications (P=0.383), overall complications (P=0.147) or Clavien-Dindo grading (P=0.152) between the two groups. Conclusion MIE 3-FL can improve the efficiency of lymph node dissection and the accuracy of tumor lymph node staging, but it does not increase the postoperative complications, which is worthy of clinical application.
Neoadjuvant therapy has become the standard treatment for locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer, significantly improving long-term survival compared to surgery alone. Neoadjuvant therapy has evolved to include various strategies, such as concurrent chemoradiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted combination therapy. This enriches clinical treatment options and provides a more personalized and scientific treatment approach for patients. This article aims to comprehensively summarize current academic research hot topics, review the rationale and evaluation measures of neoadjuvant therapy, discuss challenges in restaging methods after neoadjuvant therapy, and identify the advantages and disadvantages of various neoadjuvant therapeutic strategies.
ObjectiveTo analyze the characteristics and risk factors of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).MethodsThe clinical data of 407 patients with ESCC who underwent radical resection of esophageal carcinoma from December 2012 to October 2018 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. There were 390 males and 17 females with a median age of 63 (38-82) years. Esophageal lesions were found in 26 patients of upper thoracic segment, 190 patients of middle thoracic segment and 191 patients of lower thoracic segment. ResultsAmong the patients, 232 (57.0%) were found to have cervical, thoracic and/or abdominal lymph node metastasis. The lymphatic metastasis rates of cervical, upper, middle, lower mediastinal nodes and abdominal nodes were 0.7%, 8.8%, 21.4%, 16.7% and 37.1%, respectively. The adjacent lymph node metastasis alone occurred in 50.0% patients, and the multistage or skip lymph node metastasis accounted for 29.3% and 20.7%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the length of esophageal lesion, T stage, degree of tumor differentiation, vascular cancer embolus and nerve invasion were independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis.ConclusionThe rates of lymph node metastasis are similar in the upper, middle and lower thoracic ESCC. The main pattern of lymph node metastasis is the adjacent lymph node metastasis, followed by multistage and skip lymph node metastases. The length of esophageal lesion, T stage, degree of tumor differentiation, vascular cancer embolus and nerve invasion are independent factors for lymph node metastasis. The operation and dissection range should be selected according to the location of tumor and the characteristics of the lesion.
Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy followed by minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for locally advanced esophageal cancer. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 56 consecutive patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer treated by neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery in our hospital between January 2015 and December 2016. There were 51 males and 5 females. The patients were divided into 2 groups. Neoadjuvant therapy followed by open surgery esophagectomy group was as an OE group with 25 patients aged 61 (50-73) years. And neoadjuvant therapy followed by MIE was as a MIE group with 31 patients aged 60 (55-79) years. Results The pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of 28 patients with neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy was significantly higher than that of 28 patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (21.4% vs. 10.7%, P<0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, R2 rate and the number of lymph nodes dissection in the MIE group were obviously better than those of the OE group with statistical differences (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the number of resected lymph nodes along the bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves and lymph node metastasis rate (P>0.05) between the two groups. The incidence of postoperative respiratory complications in the MIE group was lower than that of the OE group (P=0.041). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of other complications, re-operation, re-entry to ICU, median length of stay or perioperative deaths (P>0.05). There was only one patient with neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the OE group died due to gastric fluid asphyxia caused by trachea-esophageal fistula. Conclusion Neoadjuvant therapy followed by MIE for locally advanced esophageal cancer is safe and feasible. The oncological outcomes seem comparable regardless of OE.
ObjectiveTo give an annual data report of surgical treatment of esophageal cancer in Shanghai Chest Hospital to provide reference for treatment and research on esophageal cancer.MethodsThe clinical data of 414 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent endoscopy (9 patients) and esophagectomy (405 patients) in Shanghai Chest Hospital in 2015 were reviewed, including 334 males and 80 females. Their tumor biological characteristics and short-term and long-term treatment results were analyzed.ResultsPatients in this group were predominantly aged 60 to 69 years (46.9%), and the tumor was mainly located in the middle thorax (50.7%). About 79.9% of the patients received trans-right thoracic esophagectomy, 44.4% received minimally invasive surgery; 388 (93.7%) patients accepted upfront esophagectomy without induction therapy, and 179 (43.2%) patients received postoperative adjuvant therapy. The R0 resection rate was 90.6%, and the 30- and 90-day mortality rates were 1.4% and 2.4%, respectively. The 4-year overall survival rate of the R0 resection patients was 65.7%.ConclusionSatisfactory long-term survival results can be obtained for thoracic esophageal cancer if R0 resection can be achieved by trans-right thoracic esophagectomy and extended lymphadenectomy combined with appropriate postoperative adjuvant treatment.
ObjectiveTo explore the incidence and influencing factors of moderate-to-poor quality of recovery (QoR) in patients undergoing minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). MethodsA secondary analysis was conducted based on data from a randomized controlled study on the effects of different anesthesia methods on postoperative pulmonary complications after MIE. Patients who underwent elective MIE at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from May 2019 to December 2021 were included. The QoR-15 scale was used to assess the QoR 30 days postoperatively, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors affecting moderate-to-poor QoR (defined as a QoR-15 score≤121). ResultsA total of 541 patients were included, including 426 males and 115 females, with an average age of (63.0±8.3) years. At 30 days postoperatively, the numbers of patients with excellent, good, moderate, and poor QoR were 101 (18.7%), 273 (50.5%), 147 (27.2%), and 20 (3.7%), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that preoperative pain [OR=1.527, 95%CI (1.032, 2.258), P=0.034] and a nutrition risk screening-2002 score≥3 [OR=1.617, 95%CI (1.069, 2.447), P=0.023] were influencing factors for moderate-to-poor QoR 30 days postoperatively. ConclusionAbout 30.9% of patients undergoing MIE have a moderate-to-poor QoR 30 days postoperatively. Improving preoperative pain management and nutritional status may enhance postoperative QoR.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative inflammatory indexes in patients with local-advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical and prognostic data of 150 local-advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who were treated by esophagectomy in Guangyuan Central Hospital from July 2014 to July 2015. There were 128 males and 22 females with average age of 62.23±8.48 years. The optimal cutoff value was determined by receiver operation characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. Patients were grouped according to the optimal cutoff values (NLR=3.49, PLR=152.28, MLR=0.36). Log-rank test, and multivariate Cox logistic regression modelling were used to assess the simultaneous influences of prognostic factors for survival outcomes after esophagectomy.ResultsThe patients with higher ratio (NLR>3.49, PLR>152.28, MLR>0.36) had significantly shorter median progression free survival (PFS) and lower postoperative recurrent rate than those of the patients with lower ratio. The stratified analyses found that thelymph node staging and postoperative recurrent rate were positively correlated with the higher ratio. However, the tumor differentiation was negatively correlated with it. In univariate analyses, patients with preoperative NLR>3.49, PLR>152.28 and MLR>0.36 had a poorer prognosis. Furthermore, in multivariate analyses we found MLR>0.36 was also significantly associated with a decreased postoperative recurrent rate (HR=12.945, 95%CI 2.31 to 72.548, P=0.00).ConclusionsThe preoperative NLR, PLR and MLR are useful prognostic markers in patients with stage ⅢA-ⅣA esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who conducted esophagectomy.
ObjectiveTo explore the safety and feasibility of the modified and improved thoracoscopic surgery for esophageal cancer using the concept of "single-direction" thoracoscopic technique.MethodsThe clinical data of 65 patients undergoing this modified minimally invasive esophagectomy based on "single-direction" thoracoscopic system between June 2018 and April 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 54 males and 11 females aged 62.5±7.8 years.ResultsThe thoracoscopic operation time was 133.4±28.6 min, and intraoperative blood loss was 61.9±29.2 mL. No intraoperative blood transfusion was needed. One patient was transferred to open thoracotomy (due to severe pleural adhesion atresia). Major complications included anastomotic leak, pneumonia, chylothorax, incisional infection, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and gastric emptying disorders, which were recovered by conservative treatment. No postoperative death occurred. The median number of lymph nodes and lymph node station harvested was 19 and 10, respectively. The median postoperative hospital stay was 10 days. The volume of chest drainage was 1 117.3±543.4 mL.ConclusionThe minimally invasive operation mode of esophageal cancer based on "single-direction" thoracoscopic system is safe and feasible, and has good field vision and smooth and simplified procedure.