Efficacy of Wuda Granule on Recovery of Gastrointestinal Function after Laparoscopic Bowel Resection: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Wuda Granule (WDG) on recovery of gastrointestinal function after laparoscopic bowel resection in the setting of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)-based perioperative care. METHODS: A total of 108 patients aged 18 years or older undergoing laparoscopic bowel resection with a surgical duration of 2 to 4.5 h were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either WDG or placebo (10 g/bag) twice a day from postoperative days 1-3, combining with ERAS-based perioperative care. The primary outcome was time to first defecation. Secondary outcomes were time to first flatus, time to first tolerance of liquid or semi-liquid food, gastrointestinal-related symptoms and length of stay. Subgroup analysis of the primary outcome according to sex, age, tumor site, surgical time, histories of underlying disease or history of abdominal surgery was undertaken. Adverse events were observed and recorded. RESULTS: A total of 107 patients [53 in the WDG group and 54 in the placebo group; 61.7 ± 12.1 years; 50 males (46.7%)] were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The patients in the WDG group had a significantly shorter time to first defecation and flatus [between-group difference -11.01 h (95% CI -20.75 to -1.28 h), P=0.012 for defecation; -5.41 h (-11.10 to 0.27 h), P=0.040 for flatus] than the placebo group. Moreover, the extent of improvement in postoperative gastrointestinal-related symptoms in the WDG group was significantly better than that in the placebo group (P<0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed that the benefits of WDG were significantly superior in patients who were male, or under 60 years old, or surgical time less than 3 h, or having no history of basic disease or no history of abdominal surgery. There were no serious adverse events. CONCLUSION: The addition of WDG to an ERAS postoperative care may be a viable strategy to enhance gastrointestinal function recovery after laparoscopic bowel resection surgery. (Registry No. ChiCTR2100046242).

Acupuncture for Quality of Life in Gastric Cancer Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

CONTEXT: Patients with gastric cancer experience health-related quality of life (HRQOL) decline during adjuvant chemotherapy following gastrectomy. OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the preliminary effect and feasibility of electro-acupuncture (EA) for HRQOL and symptom burden in these patients. METHODS: In this open-label, multicenter, parallel controlled trial, gastric cancer patients who planned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive high-dose EA (seven times each chemotherapy cycle for three cycles), low-dose EA (three times each chemotherapy cycle), or usual care only. The acupoints prescription consisted of bilateral ST36, PC6, SP4, and DU20, EX-HN3, and selected Back-shu points. Patients completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Gastric (FACT-Ga) weekly, and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). The primary outcome was the difference among the groups on the gastric cancer subscale (GaCS) of the FACT-Ga. RESULTS: Of the 66 randomized patients, 58 were analyzed according to intention-to-treat principle, and 45 were in the per-protocol set (PPS). The average scores in PPS of GaCS were 52.12±9.71, 51.85±12.36, and 45.37±8.61 in high-dose EA, low-dose EA, and control groups, respectively. EA was significantly associated with improved average GaCS scores when compared with control group (51.98±10.91 vs. 45.37±8.61, P = 0.039). EA treatment also produced ESAS relief at the end of intervention (14.36 ± 12.28 vs. 23.91 ± 15.52, P = 0.027). Participants in EA groups had fewer grade ≥3 leukopenia (0% vs. 15.79%, P = 0.031) and neutropenia (2.56% vs. 26.31%, P = 0.012). CONCLUSION: EA showed promising effects in improving HRQOL, controlling symptom burden, and reducing toxicity during adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients. Future adequately powered trials are feasible and needed to confirm the specific effect of EA.

Surgical skills for laparoscopic resection of the bursa omentalis and lymph node scavenging with radical gastrectomy.

The aim of the present study was to inquire into the feasibility, surgical skills required and short-term effect of a laparoscopic resection of the bursa omentalis and lymph node scavenging with radical gastrectomy. In this study, the clinical data of 18 patients who received a laparoscopic resection of the bursa omentalis with radical gastrectomy in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Guangdong Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Guangzhou, Guangdong, China) during the period between January 2012 and January 2014. A retrospective analysis was performed and the surgical duration, bursa omentalis resection time, amount of bleeding during the surgery, post-operative complications associated with the surgery, length of hospital stay, number of lymph nodes scavenged and short-term follow-up results were assessed. The results indicated that all of these 18 patients successfully received a resection of the bursa omentalis and no one required conversion to open surgery. The mean surgical duration was 289.3±30.3 min, the bursa omentalis resection time was 46.1±18.6 min and the amount of bleeding was recorded as 35.5±6.5 ml in these patients. No patients suffered from post-operative complications, such as pancreatic fistulae, anastomotic fistulae, intestinal obstructions or succumbing to the surgery, and no patients succumbed within a 6-month follow-up period. In conclusion, for advanced gastric carcinoma, laparoscopic resection of the bursa omentalis and lymph node scavenging with radical gastrectomy is feasible. In addition to meeting the requirement that the operator should be skilled and experienced in open bursa omentalis resection, and have well-knit basic skills in using a laparoscope, attention must also be paid to the construction of the surgical team.

Tissue metabolomic fingerprinting reveals metabolic disorders associated with human gastric cancer morbidity.

The principal way to improve the outcome of gastric cancer (GC) is to predict carcinogenesis and metastasis at an early stage. The aims of the present study were to test the hypothesis that distinct metabolic profiles are reflected in GC tissues and to further explore potential biomarkers for GC diagnosis. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was utilized to analyze tissue metabolites from 30 GC patients. A diagnostic model for GC was constructed using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and the metabolomic data were analyzed using the non-parametric Wilcoxon rank sum test to identify the metabolic tissue biomarkers for GC. Over 100 signals were routinely detected in one single total ion current (TIC) chromatogram, and the OPLS-DA model generated from the metabolic profile of the tissues adequately discriminated the GC tissues from the normal mucosae. Among the low-molecular-weight endogenous metabolites, a total of 41 compounds, such as amino acids, organic acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids and steroids, were detected, and 15 differential metabolites were identified with significant difference (p<0.05). A total of 20 variables were noted which contributed to a great extent in the discriminating OPLS-DA model (VIP value >1.0), among which 12 metabolites were identified using both VIP values (VIP >1) and the Wilcoxon test (p<0.05). In conclusion, the identification of the metabolites associated with GC morbidity potentially revealed perturbations of glycolysis, fatty acid ß-oxidation, cholesterol and amino acid metabolism. These results suggest that tissue metabolic profiles have great potential in detecting GC and may aid in understanding its underlying mechanisms.

Meta-analysis of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy and conventional open distal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: With the application of laparoscopy, laparoscopic gastrectomy for the treatment of patients with early gastric cancer has been performed, but the safety and effectiveness of this method need to be explored. This study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of laparoscopy-assisted and conventional open distal gastrectomy for patients with early gastric cancer. METHODS: A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) identified all the randomized clinical trials that compared laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy with open distal gastrectomy for patients with early gastric cancer published in the last 10 years. Quality assessment was done on each trial and relevant data were extracted from qualified trials. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 4.2.2 software (Cochrane). RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 218 patients were included. Comparing laparoscopic resection with open resection, results showed less estimated blood loss (WMD (weighted mean difference): -121.86; 95% CI (confidence interval): -145.61, -98.11; P < 0.001), earlier postoperative first flatus (WMD: -0.95; 95% CI: -1.09, -0.81; P < 0.001), and shorter durations of hospital stays (WMD: -2.27; 95%CI: -3.47, -1.06; P = 0.0002), but longer surgery times (WMD: 58.71; 95% CI: 52.69, 64.74; P < 0.001) and fewer lymph nodes dissected (WMD: -3.64; 95% CI: -5.80,-1.47; P = 0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in postoperative complications (OR (odds ratio): 0.57; 95% CI: 0.31,1.03; P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: The short-term outcome of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy for patients with early gastric cancer is superior to the open procedure, but its long-term outcome should be proven by further outcomes of RCTs.