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 longitudinally investigate the characteristics of postoperative weight changes in patients with esophageal cancer and analyze its influencing factors, which can provide certain guidance for nutritional intervention in patients with esophageal cancer. MethodsPatients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgical treatment at the Sichuan Cancer Hospital from December 2020 to February 2022 were prospectively included. The general information questionnaire and body composition analyzer were used to longitudinally investigate the patients’ weight and body composition before surgery (T0), 1 month after surgery (T1), 3 months after surgery (T2) and 6 months after surgery (T3), and the change characteristics were analyzed. The generalized estimating equation was used to analyze the influencing factors for postoperative weight changes in patients with esophageal cancer. ResultsA total of 130 patients were enrolled, including 110 males and 20 females, aged 42-79 (63.33±8.16) years. The weight and body composition of patients with esophageal cancer showed a continuous slow downward trend within 6 months after surgery. The weight loss rate of patients at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery was 5.10%, 7.76%, and 9.86%, respectively. At the same time, the analysis results of the influencing factors for postoperative weight showed that patients with the following characteristics had more weight loss: female (β=−7.703, P=0.001), ≥60 years (β=−3.657, P=0.010), smoking (β=4.622, P=0.010), low tumor differentiation degree (β=4.314, P=0.039), and high frequency of eating (β=−3.400, P=0.008). ConclusionWeight loss is an important health problem for patients with esophageal cancer after surgery, and patients have a continuous downward trend in weight within 6 months after surgery. Medical staff should pay special attention to the patients who are female, ≥60 years, having smoking history and low tumor differentiation degree.
Objective To investigate the related factors affecting the metastases to left gastric artery lymph nodes in patients of esophageal cancer, and evaluate the clinical significance of resection of left gastric artery. Methods One hundred and eighty-six patients with esophageal cancer undergone esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy were involved in these case-control study. The left gastric artery, lymph nodes and fat tissue around it were removed in these patients. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the occurrence of metastases to para left gastric artery lymph nodes. Chi-square test, rank sum test, t-test and the logistic regression were adopted to analyze the correlations between these related factors and the metastases to para left gastric artery lymph nodes. Results Thirty-three patients had para left gastric artery lymph nodes metastases （17. 74%）. Related factors that affect the metastases to para left gastric artery lymph nodes were showed by monovariate analysis as follows： TNM staging of tumor, the metastases to paraesophageal nodes, paracardial nodes and subcarinal nodes （P〈0.001, P=0.025, 0.047,0.038）. Multivariate analysis showed that location of tumor was the only independent factor that influences the metastases of para left gastric artery lymph nodes（P= 0. 002）. Skip metastasis was a distinct feature of esophageal cancer, with a frequency of 78.79%（26/33）. Conclusions This study suggests that the major correlative factor of para left gastric artery lymph node metastasis is location of tumor. Resection of left gastric artery as a routine procedure in radical operation of esophageal cancer should be considered.
Objective To investigate the effects of one-lung ventilation time on the concentration of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), serum inflammatory markers and early pulmonary infection after radical resection of esophageal cancer. Methods Ninety patients with thoracoscope and laparoscopic radical resection of esophageal carcinoma were chosen. According to the thoracoscope operation time, the patients were divided into 3 groups including a T1 (0.5–1.5 hours) group, a T2 (1.5–2.5 hours) group and a T3 (>2.5 hours) group. Immediately after the operation, the ventilated and collapsed BALF were taken. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to determine the concentration of IL-6 and tumour necrosis TNF-α. The concentrations of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell (WBC) were measured on the first, third, fifth day after operation. The incidence of pulmonary infection was observed within 3 days after operation. Result The IL-6 values of the right collapsed lung in all groups were higher than those in the left ventilated lung. The TNF-α value of the right collapsed lung in the T2 group and T3 group was higher than that in the left ventilated lung (P<0.05). Compared with in the right collapsed lung, the TNF-α and IL-6 values gradually increased with the the duration of one-lung ventilation (P<0.05). Compared with the left ventilated lung groups, the IL-6 value increased gradually with the duration of one-lung ventilation time (P<0.05). The TNF-α value of the T3 group was higher than that of the T1 and T2 groups (P<0.05). The PCT value of the T3 group was higher than that of the T1 group and T2 group on the third, fifth day after operation (P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in CRP and WBC among the three groups at different time points. The incidence of pulmonary infection in the T3 group was significantly higher than that in the T1 group within 3 days after operation (P<0.05). Conclusion With the extension of one-lung ventilation time, the release of local and systemic inflammatory mediators is increased, and the probability of pulmonary infection is higher.
ObjectiveTo investigate the value of esophageal activity examination under X-ray fluoroscopy and chest CT in evaluating the resectability of upper thoracic esophageal cancer.MethodsA total of 221 upper thoracic esophageal carcinoma patients underwent radical operation between 2009 and 2015 in our hospital were enrolled, including 141 males and 80 females with a median age of 59 (47-79) years. Preoperative routine esophageal activity examination under X-ray fluoroscopy and chest enhanced CT were performed to determine whether the tumor had external invasion. The results of the two methods were compared with that observed during the operation.ResultsThe number of patients with esophageal activity score 1-6 was 70, 85, 32, 29, 2 and 3, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of esophageal activity examination was 0.897 (95%CI 0.85-0.93, P<0.001), and the cut off value was >3. According to the ROC curve activity score, 4-6 points were considered as invasion, and 1-3 points were non-invasion. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and misdiagnosis rate of esophageal activity examination was 75.0%, 89.3%, 88.2%, 10.7%, respectively, and those of CT scan were 75.0%, 66.8%, 67.4%, 33.2%, respectively. Compared with CT scan, the specificity of esophageal activity examination was higher and the misdiagnosis rate was lower. Compared with the detection during the operation, 86.7% of patients with actual invasion of trachea and 85.7% of patients with actual invasion of other parts were in accordance with the esophageal activity examination results.ConclusionEsophageal activity examination under X-ray fluoroscopy can accurately predict the resectability of upper thoracic esophageal cancer, which is a useful supplement to chest CT examination, especially in the aspect of judging the relationship between lesions and the trachea.
Nowadays, the popularization of endoscopic technology makes a substantial increase in the diagnosis rate of esophageal multiple primary carcinoma. However, the multiple primary carcinoma combined with esophageal cancer, lung cancer and cardiac cancer is relatively rare. This paper reported a 64-year-old male with multiple primary cancer who received one-stage complex radical surgery, including radical resection of esophageal cancer, lung cancer and cardiac cancer. After the operation, the patient presented chylothorax and conservative treatment was ineffective. Then we preformed ligation of thoracic duct through single-portal thoracoscope. The patient recovered successfully after surgery and the follow-up results showed well.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) esophagectomy and routine operation on the short-term quality of life in patients with esophageal cancer. MethodsFrom January 2012 through January 2014, 157 esophageal cancer patients were classified into a VATS group (n=42) and a routine operation group (n=115) in our hospital. All patients in the two groups completed the Chinese versions of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-C30 and QLQ-OES18 at one, six and 12 months after operation separately. ResultsAt the end of 6, 12 months after operation, the evaluation on global health status was higher in the VATS group(68.8±12.3 vs. 62.7±13.7, P<0.05; 76.2±10.4 vs. 68.6±8.8, P<0.05). At the end of 1, 6, 12 months after operation, the scores of symptom pain were less significantly in the VATS group than those in the routine operation group (P<0.05). One month after operation, the score of active ability in the VATS group was higher (P<0.05). At the end of 6, 12 months after operation, the score of emotional function and social role in the VATS group was higher (P<0.05). At the end of 12 months after operation, the score of role function and cognitive function in the VATS group was also higher (P<0.05). ConclusionVATS is of better effect on improving short-term quality of life of esophageal cancer patients compared with routine operation.
The incidence of complications after radical resection of esophageal carcinoma is high up to about 20%-50%. The incidence of pneumonia, pleural effusion, tracheal intubation, anastomotic fistula and cardiac events is relatively high. Among them, pulmonary complications are the most common complications after esophageal cancer operation and cause the most perioperative deaths. Among the factors that influence the occurrence of postoperative complications of esophageal cancer, the amount of fluid infusion during and after the operation is closely related to the occurrence of postoperative complications. Moreover, in the environment of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), it is more important to optimize the postoperative fluid management of esophageal cancer. Restricted fluid therapy plays a more and more important role in patients undergoing esophagectomy. This review integrated the relevant research results and discussed the advantages of the restricted fluid therapy compared with other fluid therapy, how to control the restricted infusion volume and infusion speed and how to monitor and evaluate the infusion process and the selection of infusion types, so as to provide reference for clinical practice test.
Objective To investigate the necessity of further surgery for patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma following treatment with the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, and to assess its impact on survival. MethodsPatients with stage ⅡA to ⅢB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy at our hospital from January 2020 to June 2022 were selected for this study. Based on whether they underwent surgery after receiving PD-1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, patients were divided into a surgery group and a non-surgery group. We compared the general clinical data, side effects, clinical complete response rates, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) between the two groups. Results A total of 58 patients were included in the study, comprising 45 males and 13 females, with an average age of (65.5±6.9) years. There were no statistical differences in general clinical data or adverse reactions between the two groups. Univariate analysis revealed that the objective response rate and surgery were significantly associated with PFS (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that surgery was the only independent risk factor for PFS (P=0.003). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the PFS and OS in the surgery group were significantly higher than those in the non-surgery group (HR=0.13, 95%CI 0.036 to 0.520, P＜0.001; HR=0.17, 95%CI 0.045 to 0.680, P=0.004). ConclusionAfter treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma still require surgical intervention to achieve improved PFS and OS.
Nowadays, thoracoscopic laparoscopic esophagectomy (TLE) has been widely used in the treatment of esophageal cancer. In recent years, robot assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) has been developing vigorously. According to the research progress and practical experience in the world, RAMIE has the same safety and effectiveness as TLE. In this paper, several aspects on this novel operation were demonstrated, including the safety evaluation, lymph node dissection, prognosis of RAMIE, comparison of RAMIE and TLE, and the role of RAMIE in multidisciplinary treatment of esophageal cancer, in order to promote the rational application of RAMIE in esophagectomy.