When laparoscopic repair is feasible for diaphragmatic hernia in adults? A retrospective study and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Diaphragmatic hernia (DH), congenital or traumatic, is uncommon but sometimes can lead to a serious surgical emergency. There are no clinical guidelines or approved recommendations for the management of this condition, and most data are from retrospective, single-institution series. The aim is to analyze the management of the DH at our institution and review the indications for laparoscopic repair. METHODS: A retrospective serie of patients diagnosed of DH with surgical treatment at our institution between 2009 and 2019. Literature review was carried out to establish the current indications of laparoscopic repair in each type of DH. RESULTS: Surgery was carried out in 15 patients with DH, 5 congenital and 10 traumatic hernias. Traumatic hernias were classified as acute (n = 2) and chronic (n = 8). 53.4% of all cases (8 patients) required urgent surgery using an abdominal approach (5 open and 3 laparoscopic) and elective surgery was performed in 46.6% of all cases (7 patients) with an abdominal approach (3 open and 4 laparoscopic) and 2 patients with a combined approach. Primary repair was performed in 4 patients (26.6%), closure and mesh reinforcement in 9 cases (60%) and only mesh placement in 2 patients (13.4%). Postoperative morbidity and mortality were 20% and 0%, respectively. No recurrences were detected. CONCLUSIONS: DH may pose different scenarios which require urgent or elective surgical treatment. Laparoscopic approach may be a first option in elective surgery; and in emergency setting taking into account hemodynamic stability and associated injuries.

Characteristics of gastrointestinal stromal tumors associated to other tumors: Características de los tumores del estroma gastrointestinal asociados a otras neoplasias.

INTRODUCTION: Our aim is to analyze the differences between sporadic gastrointestinal stromal tumors and those associated with other tumors. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study including patients with diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors operated at our center. Patients were divided into two groups, according to whether or not they had associated other tumors, both synchronously and metachronously. Disease free survival and overall survival were calculated for both groups. RESULTS: 96 patients were included, 60 (62.5%) were male, with a median age of 66.8 (35-84). An association with other tumors was found in 33 cases (34.3%); 12 were synchronous (36.3%) and 21 metachronous (63.7%). The presence of mutations in associated tumors was 70% and in non-associated tumors 75%. Associated tumors were classified as low risk tumors based on Fletcher's stratification scale (p = 0.001) as they usually were smaller in size and had less than ≤5 mitosis per 50 HPF compared to non-associated tumors. When analyzing overall survival, there were statistically significant differences (p = 0,035) between both groups. CONCLUSION: The relatively high proportion of gastrointestinal stromal tumors cases with associated tumors suggests the need to carry out a study to rule out presence of a second neoplasm and a long-term follow-up should be carried out in order to diagnose a possible second neoplasm. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors associated with other tumors have usually low risk of recurrence with a good long-term prognosis.

Prognostic insights after surgery for advances in understanding signet ring cell gastric cancer: a machine learning approach.

BACKGROUND: Signet ring cell (SRC) gastric carcinoma is traditionally associated with a poor prognosis. However, the literature has presented contradictory results. Linear models are the standard statistical tools typically used to study these conditions. However, machine learning (ML) models have the potential to replace or even outperform linear models in terms of predictive performance. METHODS: This study analyzed 608 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer at our institution. The analysis compared traditional linear models and ML models. Variables examined included demographic data, presence of an SRC component, lymph nodes (LNs) resected and affected (ratio), stage of the disease, body mass index, pathologic features, type of surgery, tumor location, and carcinoembryonic antigen levels to evaluate their influence on 5-year mortality and 2-year recurrence rates. RESULTS: SRC carcinoma was associated with poorer prognosis in terms of 5-year overall survival than non-SRC carcinoma. In addition, SRC exhibited higher rates of LN metastasis and a higher LN ratio (resected/affected) and was more prevalent in younger patients (<65 years). However, SRC was not an independent factor in the multivariate analysis. Linear models showed worse predictions for 5-year mortality and 2-year recurrence than ML models. The ML models did not consider the presence of the SRC component as an important variable. CONCLUSION: SRC gastric carcinoma continues to present an uncertain prognosis. ML models can evaluate prognosis more accurately than traditional linear models. Large-scale studies using ML algorithms are necessary to elucidate the predictive potential of such models.

Pilot Trial on Ischemic Conditioning of the Gastric Conduit in Esophageal Cancer: Feasibility and Impact on Anastomotic Leakage (TIGOAL-I).

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of gastric conditioning using preoperative arterial embolization (PAE) before McKeown esophagectomy at a tertiary university hospital. Background: Cervical anastomotic leakage (AL) is a common complication of esophagectomy. Limited clinical evidence suggests that gastric conditioning mitigates this risk. Methods: This pilot randomized clinical trial was conducted between April 2016 and October 2021 at a single-center tertiary hospital. Eligible patients with resectable malignant esophageal tumors, suitable for cervical esophagogastrostomy, were randomized into 2 groups: one receiving PAE and the other standard treatment. The primary endpoints were PAE-related complications and incidence of cervical AL. Results: The study enrolled 40 eligible patients. PAE-related morbidity was 10%, with no Clavien-Dindo grade III complications. Cervical AL rates were similar between the groups (35% vs 25%, P = 0.49), even when conduit necrosis was included (35% vs 35%, P = 1). However, AL severity, including conduit necrosis, was higher in the control group according to the Clavien-Dindo ≥IIIb (5% vs 30%, P = 0.029) and Comprehensive Complication Index (20.9 vs 33.7, P = 0.01). No significant differences were found in other postoperative complications, such as pneumonia or postoperative mortality. Conclusions: PAE is a feasible and safe method for gastric conditioning before McKeown minimally invasive esophagectomy and shows promise for preventing severe AL. However, further studies are required to confirm its efficacy.

Characteristics of gastrointestinal stromal tumors associated to other tumors / Características de los tumores del estroma gastrointestinal asociados a otras neoplasias

Introduction: Our aim is to analyze the differences between sporadic gastrointestinal stromal tumors and those associated with other tumors. Methods: Retrospective cohort study including patients with diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors operated at our center. Patients were divided into two groups, according to whether or not they had associated other tumors, both synchronously and metachronously. Disease free survival and overall survival were calculated for both groups. Results: 96 patients were included, 60 (62.5%) were male, with a median age of 66.8 years (35–84). An association with other tumors was found in 33 cases (34.3%); 12 were synchronous (36.3%) and 21 metachronous (63.7%). The presence of mutations in associated tumors was 70% and in non-associated tumors 75%. Associated tumors were classified as low risk tumors based on Fletcher's stratification scale (p=0.001) as they usually were smaller in size and had less than ≤5 mitosis per 50 HPF compared to non-associated tumors. When analyzing overall survival, there were statistically significant differences (p=0.035) between both groups. Conclusion: The relatively high proportion of gastrointestinal stromal tumors cases with associated tumors suggests the need to carry out a study to rule out presence of a second neoplasm and a long-term follow-up should be carried out in order to diagnose a possible second neoplasm. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors associated with other tumors have usually low risk of recurrence with a good long-term prognosis.(AU)

Introducción: El objetivo de este estudio es analizar si existen diferencias entre los GIST esporádicos y los que se presentan asociados a otros tumores. Métodos: Estudio de cohorte retrospectivo de pacientes operados de tumores del estroma gastrointestinal (GIST) en nuestro centro. Se dividió a los pacientes en función de si presentaban otros tumores asociados o no, de forma sincrónica o metacrónica. La supervivencia libre de enfermedad y la supervivencia global se calcularon en ambos grupos. Resultados: Se incluyeron un total de 96 pacientes, 60 (62,5%) eran hombres con una media de edad de 66,8 años (35-84). Se encontró una asociación con otros tumores en 33 casos (34,3%); 12 de manera sincrónica (36,3%) y 21 metacrónica (63,7%). La presencia de mutaciones en el grupo de tumores asociados fue de 70% y en el de no asociados de 75%. Los tumores asociados se clasificaron como tumores de bajo riesgo según la escala de Fletcher (p = 0,001), ya que fueron de menor tamaño y presentaron menos de ≤ 5 mitosis por 50 HPF en comparación con los no asociados. Al analizar la supervivencia global, hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre ambos grupos (p = 0,035). Conclusión: La proporción relativamente alta de casos de GIST con tumores asociados sugiere la necesidad de realizar un estudio para descartar la presencia de una segunda neoplasia y, tras el tratamiento de GIST, elaborar un seguimiento a largo plazo para diagnosticar una posible segunda neoplasia. Los GIST asociados a otros tumores suelen tener un riesgo bajo de recurrencia con un buen pronóstico a largo plazo.(AU)