Liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy for dysphagia palliation in patients with inoperable esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Dysphagia is a debilitating symptom in patients with inoperable esophageal cancer that contributes to poor quality of life and worsening nutritional status. The 2 most commonly used palliative modalities for dysphagia are radiation therapy and esophageal stent placement. However, radiation therapy is limited by adverse events (AEs) and total dose, and stent placement has a high rate of AEs, including reflux, migration, and chest pain. A relatively new modality of liquid nitrogen endoscopic spray cryotherapy has been described as salvage when other options have been exhausted and when patients are no longer receiving systemic therapy. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of cryotherapy as the primary modality for relieving dysphagia in inoperable esophageal cancer including patients receiving systemic cancer therapy. METHODS: This is a retrospective, multicenter, consecutive case series of 49 inoperable esophageal cancer patients undergoing palliative endoscopic cryotherapy at 4 specialized cancer centers from May 2014 to May 2016. The primary outcomes were change in dysphagia scores between pre- and postcryotherapy and AEs. Dysphagia was measured using a 5-point Likert scale: 0, no dysphagia; 1, dysphagia to solids; 2, dysphagia to semisolids; 3, dysphagia to liquids; 4, dysphagia to saliva. RESULTS: Thirty-nine men and 10 women with a mean age of 58 years underwent a total of 120 cryotherapy treatments. The mean dysphagia score improved significantly from 2.4 precryotherapy to 1.7 postcryotherapy (improvement of .7 points; P < .001). Minor AEs were seen in 6 of 120 (5.0%) cryotherapy treatments (1 intraprocedural and 5 postprocedural). In addition, 1 patient developed a severe intraprocedural AE of dilation-related perforation, whereas another patient developed a benign stricture requiring dilation. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary retrospective study suggests that liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy may be safe and effective for dysphagia palliation in inoperable esophageal cancer. Large prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and identify patient and procedure characteristics associated with the greatest benefit.

Prophylactic Total Gastrectomy for Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer.

Germline mutations in the CDH1 gene that produces E-cadherin have been implicated in the development of early-onset diffuse gastric cancer, termed hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. The mean age of gastric cancer diagnosis in affected individuals is 37 years. By age 80, CDH1 mutation carriers who fulfill the clinical criteria for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer have an estimated lifetime risk of gastric cancer development of 67% for men and 83% for women. Data suggest that endoscopic surveillance for mutation carriers is largely ineffective. Prophylactic total gastrectomy between the ages of 18 and 40 years is recommended in carriers of germline-truncating E-cadherin mutations.

Endosonographic examination of thyroid gland among patients with nonthyroid cancers.

OBJECTIVES: There is limited endosonographic literature regarding thyroid gland pathology, which is frequently visualized during upper endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Our objective was to assess the prevalence of benign and malignant thyroid lesions encountered during routine upper EUS within a cancer center setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data were prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed. All upper EUS procedures performed between October 2012 and July 2014 were reviewed at a large referral cancer center. Data collected included patient demographics, preexisting thyroid conditions, thyroid gland dimensions, the presence or absence of thyroid lesions, and EUS morphology of lesions if present, and interventions performed to characterize thyroid lesions and pathology results when applicable. RESULTS: Two hundred and forty-five EUS procedures were reviewed. Of these, 100 cases reported a detailed endosonographic examination of the thyroid gland. Most of the thyroid glands were endosonographically visualized when the tip of the scope was at 18 cm from the incisors. Twelve cases showed thyroid lesions, out of which three previously undiagnosed thyroid cancers were visualized during EUS (two primary papillary thyroid cancers and one anaplastic thyroid cancer). Transesophageal EUS-guided fine needle aspiration of thyroid lesions was feasible when the lesion was in the inferior portion of the thyroid gland, and the tip of the scope was at 18 cm or more from the incisors. CONCLUSIONS: Routine EUS examination may detect unexpected thyroid lesions including malignant ones. We encourage endosonographers to screen the visualized portions of the thyroid gland during routine withdrawal of the echoendoscope.