The importance of the concept and histological criteria of "intraepithelial squamous cell carcinoma" of the esophagus: in comparison between Western and Japanese criteria.

BACKGROUND: There are differences in the histological diagnostic criteria for early stage gastrointestinal carcinoma between Western and Japanese pathologists. Western histological criteria of carcinoma are "presence of stromal invasion of neoplastic cells", while Japanese criteria are "the degree of cytological and structural abnormality of neoplastic cells, regardless of stromal invasion". The aim of the present study is to clarify and review the present status of the Western and Japanese histological criteria of early stage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and also to clarify their significance and accuracy. METHODS: Twenty-nine Polish, German, and Japanese pathologists participated in this study. A total of 18 histological slides of biopsy, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), and surgical resection of esophageal squamous lesions were diagnosed using a virtual slide system. RESULTS: Most of noninvasive (intraepithelial) carcinomas diagnosed by Japanese pathologists were diagnosed as high- or low-grade dysplasia (intraepithelial neoplasia) or reactive atypia by the majority of Polish and German pathologists. Diagnoses of not only high-grade dysplasia but also low-grade dysplasia or reactive lesion by Western criteria were given for many biopsy specimens of cases in which the corresponding ESD or surgical specimens showed definite stromal invasion. CONCLUSION: There still exist differences in the histological diagnostic criteria for early stage esophageal carcinoma between Western and Japanese pathologists. The Japanese diagnostic criteria could improve agreement of diagnoses between biopsy and resected specimens of esophageal SCC. Moreover, diagnostic approaches using Western criteria may cause delay in the early diagnosis and treatment of esophageal SCC.

Effectiveness of counseling provided by primary care doctors and nurses in increasing glaucoma screening rates.

Introduction. An effective screening that can prevent glaucoma-related blindness largely depends on successful recruitment. This study was to assess the effectiveness of one-on-one counseling carried out by primary care doctors and nurses to increase glaucoma screening rates. Material and Methods. The study, carried out in an urban primary care center, involved 308 persons aged 35-87 years who were assigned to a doctor's, nurse's, or control group (N = 109, 110, and 89, resp.). Interventions by doctors and nurses included a brief one-on-one counseling session, while only a screening history was taken from controls. The number of people in each group with a positive screening status was assessed by telephone interview three months after the visit. Results. The percentage of persons in the nurse's counseling group who claimed being subjected to screening was more than four times higher than in the control group (20.9% versus 4.5%, P = 0.002). The doctor's interventions resulted in almost a tripled screening rate as compared to the control group (12.8% versus 4.5%, P = 0.052). There was no significant difference between screening rates in doctor's and nurse's groups (P = 0.212). Conclusions. In the studied population, counseling provided by nurses proved to be an efficacious method to encourage patients to undergo glaucoma screening.