Use of positron emission tomography in surgery follow-up of esophageal cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Although the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer has been improved by extended dissection, the incidence of recurrence still remains high. In esophageal cancer, positron emission tomography (PET) using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) already demonstrated to be useful for initial staging and monitoring response to therapy. This prospective study compared the ability of FDG-PET and conventional imaging to detect early recurrence of esophageal cancer after initial surgery in asymptomatic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between October 2003 and September 2006, 41 patients with esophageal cancer were included in a prospective study after initial radical esophagectomy. FDG-PET, thoracoabdominal computed tomography (CT), abdominal ultrasonography, and endoscopy were performed every 6 months after initial treatment. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Twenty-three patients had recurrent disease (56%), mostly within the first 6 months after surgery (70%). Despite two false-positive scans due to postoperative changes, FDG-PET was more accurate than CT (91% vs. 81%, p = 0.02) for the detection of recurrence with a sensitivity of 100% (vs. 65%), a specificity of 85% (vs. 91%), and a negative predictive value of 100% on a patient-by-patient-based analysis. For the detection of locoregional recurrence, FDG-PET was more accurate than CT (96.2% vs. 88.9%). FDG-PET was also more accurate than CT for the detection of distant metastases (92.5% vs. 84.9%), especially when involving either bones (100%) or liver (98.1%). A lower sensitivity of FDG-PET (57%) for the early detection of small lung metastases did not affect patient management (accuracy = 92.5%). CONCLUSION: FDG-PET appears to be very useful for the systematic follow-up of asymptomatic patients after esophagectomy with an initial scan performed 6 months after surgery.

Metachronous cancer of gastroplasty after esophagectomy.

We reviewed two cases of adenocarcinoma of the gastric tube used for reconstruction after esophagectomy for cancer. The first case gastric cancer was detected during follow-up by endoscopic examination. Total resection of the gastric tube and reconstruction by Roux-en-Y was performed each time. The patient was alive and disease-free 1 year after surgery. In the second case the tumor was revealed via thoracic pain. Chemotherapy, using carboplatin-5-fluorouracil, was performed because of lung metastasis but the patient died 1 year later. The incidence of gastric tube cancer after esophagectomy has recently increased in conjunction with the lengthening of survival of esophageal cancer patients. The clinical symptoms related to tumors are associated with short-term survival, whereas the cancers detected by routine endoscopy screening have occasional long-term survival. Gastrectomy is proposed for surgical treatment but the operating procedure is complex with a high morbidity rate. Lesions detected at an early stage could be treated by minimally invasive surgery such as endoscopic mucosal resection.

Right hepatectomies without vascular clamping: report of 87 cases.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Portal triad clamping and total or intermittent hepatic vascular exclusion are usually used to reduce blood loss during major liver resections. We report, in this retrospective study, the results of right hepatectomy without vascular clamping. METHODS: From January 1986 to July 2001, 87 right hepatectomies, including 14 extended right hepatectomies, were performed without vascular clamping. There was 53 men and 34 women, with a mean age of 60.2 +/- 12.5 years. Indications were 58 metastases, 16 hepatocellular carcinomas, 5 cholangiocarcinomas, 4 adenomas, 3 angiomas, and 1 carcinoid tumor. All the procedures were carried out using an ultrasonic dissector and intraoperative ultrasonography with only vascular control (looping of the hepatic pedicle and supra; and infrahepatic vena cava). RESULTS: There were four postoperative deaths and 23 complications (26%), including hepatocellular failure (6), pulmonary complications (6), transient bile leakage (5), digestive bleeding (2), subphrenic abscess (1), inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombosis (1), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC; 1), and evisceration (1). Forty-two patients (48%) had no blood transfusion. The mean blood transfusion requirement was 1.5 +/- 2.7 units. The mean operative length was 280 +/- 60 min and the mean hospital stay was 12.8 +/- 8.1 days. Liver function test results were similar to those in other studies on days 1, 4, and 7 postoperatively, with a return to normal values after 1 week. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience with major liver resections, vascular clamping is not necessary.

[Intrathyroid metastases from kidney cancers: two case reports]. / Métastases intrathyroïdiennes des cancers du rein: à propos de deux cas.

The thyroid metastasis are under estimated in clinical practice because they are in the vast majority of cases "silent". Over than 50% of clinically apparent metastatic lesions are due to kidney carcinomas. We report two cases of thyroid metastasis from clear-cell renal carcinoma occurred 3 years and 8 years after nephrectomies. The previous history of any type of carcinoma should suggest a possibility of metastasis for every thyroid nodules. Fine-needle aspiration cytology is recommended by some authors. Finally, clear-cell carcinoma metastases seem to have a propensity to occur in abnormal thyroid tissue and further study could be interesting.