Safety and feasibility of a novel chest tube placement in uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The type and placement of chest tube for patients undergoing uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of a novel technique in which a pigtail catheter was used alone as the chest tube and placed near the incision for chest drainage after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and extended lymphadenectomy. METHODS: A total of 217 patients undergoing uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two groups. In group A, a 12-Fr pigtail catheter with several side ports was placed next to the uniportal wound. In group B, a conventional 20-Fr chest tube was placed through the uniportal wound itself. Postoperative complications related to chest tube placement and patients' subjective satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Postoperative pain management effect and other clinical outcomes such as duration of chest drainage and postoperative stay were also compared. RESULTS: There were 112 patients in group A and 105 patients in group B. A significantly lower incidence of wound complications was found in group A postoperatively (p = 0.034). The pain score on coughing in group A was significantly lower than that in group B on postoperative day two (POD2) (p = 0.021). There was no significant difference of other clinical outcomes such as duration of chest drainage and postoperative stay as well as major complications between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Placing a 12-Fr pigtail catheter alone next to the uniportal wound for chest drainage might be effective and safe after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and extended lymphadenectomy.

Comparison of the clinical outcomes after esophagectomy between intrathoracic anastomosis and cervical anastomosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Esophageal cancer is a high-mortality disease. Esophagectomy is the most effective method to treat esophageal cancer, accompanied with a high incidence of post-operation complications. The anastomosis has a close connection to many severe post-operation complications. However, it remains controversial about the choice of intrathoracic anastomosis (IA) or cervical anastomosis (CA). The study was conducted to compare the clinical outcomes between the two approaches. METHODS: We searched databases for both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing post-operation outcomes between IA and CA. Primary outcomes were the incidences of anastomotic leakage and mortality. Secondary outcomes were the incidences of anastomotic stenosis, pneumonia and re-operation. RESULTS: Twenty studies with a total of 7,479 patients (CA group: n = 3,183; IA group: n = 4296) were included. The results indicated that CA group had a higher incidence of anastomotic leakage than IA group (odds ratio [OR] = 2.05, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.61-2.60, I2 = 53.31%, P < 0.01). Subgroup analyses showed that CA group had higher incidences of type I (OR = 2.19, 95%CI = 1.05-4.57, I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.04) and type II (OR = 2.75, 95%CI = 1.95-3.88, I2 = 1.80%, P < 0.01) anastomotic leakage than IA group. No difference was found in type III anastomotic leakage (OR = 1.23, 95%CI = 0.82-1.86, I2 = 20.92%, P = 0.31). The 90-day mortality (OR = 1.66, 95%CI = 1.11-2.47, I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.01) in IA group were lower than that in CA group. No difference was found in in-hospital mortality (OR = 1.31, 95%CI = 0.91-1.88, I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.15) and 30-day mortality (OR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.69-1.70, I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: IA might be a better anastomotic approach than CA, with a lower incidence of anastomosis leakage and no increase in short-term mortality. Significant heterogeneity and publication bias might limit the reliability of the results. More high-quality studies are needed to verify and update our findings.

Predicting prognosis for patients with ESCC before surgery by SVMs ranking with nomogram analyses.

OBJECTIVE: A SVM predictive model consisting of preoperative tumor markers and inflammatory factors was established to explore its significance in evaluating the prognosis of patients with ESCC. METHODS: Clinical data of 311 patients with ESCC who underwent surgery were collected and followed up until October 2019. Statistical software SPSS version 22.0, and R (version 3.6.1) were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: In the Test, Val1 and Val2 groups, the sensitivity of preoperative optimal combination (SVM5) to predict the prognosis of patients with ESCC was 88.89%, 76.92%, and 73.68%, respectively. The specificity was 92.00%, 74.42%, and 78.00%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were not statistically different from those of SVM9 (P > 0.05), while the sensitivity of SVM9+5 for predicting the prognosis of patients with ESCC was 91.84%, 82.26%, and 80.36%, respectively. The specificity was 97.44%, 75.93%, and 78.00%, respectively. Its sensitivity and specificity were higher than those of SVM9 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We used a nomogram to input the indicators in the SVM5 into the artificial intelligence program for patients with ESCC who have not yet developed an individualized plan. It can predict and evaluate the postoperative outcome of patients with ESCC with a sensitivity of 79.04%, specificity of 81.82%, PPV of 83.54%, NPV of 76.97%, and accuracy of 80.32%. For patients who have undergone surgery, we can enter the indicators in SVM9+5 into the artificial intelligence program.

Home enteral nutrition for patients with esophageal cancer undergoing esophagectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Home enteral nutrition (HEN) is a relatively new nutritional intervention that provides patients with EN support at home through jejunostomy or nasogastric feeding tubes. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the safety and effect of HEN compared with normal oral diet (NOD) in postoperative patients with esophageal cancer (EC). Methods: EMBASE, Medline, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were used to search articles in English-language journals. The intervention effect was expressed using risk ratios (RRs) for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences (MDs) for continuous outcome measures, with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). The chi-square test and I-square test were used to test heterogeneity among studies. Results: Four studies were eventually included in this meta-analysis. Compared with NOD, HEN has a favorable impact on postoperative body mass index (BMI) (weighted mean difference [WMD] = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.09-1.30, P = 0.02), lean body mass (LBM) (WMD = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.04-1.48, P = 0.04), and appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) (WMD = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.02-0.58, P = 0.03). Physical function (WMD = 9.26, 95% CI: 8.00-10.53, P < 0.001), role function (WMD = 9.96, 95% CI: 8.11-11.82, P < 0.001), and social function (WMD = 8.51, 95% CI: 3.48-13.54, P = 0.001) of the HEN group were better than those of the NOD group at 3 months, and HEN could reduce the fatigue of patients (WMD = -12.73, 95% CI: -14.8 to -10.66, P < 0.001) and the incidence of postoperative pneumonia (RR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.34-0.81, P = 0.004). There was no significant difference in albumin between HEN and NOD groups (WMD = 0.05, 95% CI: -0.03 to 0.13, P = 0.20). Conclusion: HEN improved nutritional status and quality of life (QOL) in postoperative patients with EC and reduced fatigue and the incidence of postoperative pneumonia. All in all, the results of our meta-analysis support the use of HEN after esophagectomy.

Efficacy of immunonutritional supplement after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, preoperative nutrition has received great attention, especially for patients who received surgical reconstruction of the digestive tract such as esophagectomy. Preoperative nutrition therapy was reported to accelerate the patient's postoperative recovery. In addition, immune suppression, nausea, and vomiting may lead to poor immune and nutritional status of patients with esophageal cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), which is not conducive to surgery. Therefore, preoperative nutritional treatment is necessary for patients with esophageal cancer who underwent NAC. METHOD: Patients with esophageal cancer who received NAC at Nanjing Jinling Hospital from January 2018 to September 2020 were retrospectively identified. Patients were divided into enteral immunonutrition (EIN) group (those who received a conventional diet and immunonutrition supplement, Peptisorb, Nutricia, 500 mL/day * 7 via oral intake), and control group (those who only received a conventional diet were divided into). The primary outcomes were immune and nutritional indicators changes, including immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and albumin (ALB), which were measured at preoperative day (PRD) 7, PRD-1, postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD-7. The secondary outcomes were postoperative complications, adverse reactions, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: A total of 124 eligible patients were included in the study, with 21 patients in EIN group. After 1:2 matching, significant difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups was not observed (EIN: n = 21, Control group: n = 42). Compared with the control group, the IgA is significantly increased in the EIN group at POD-7 (p = 0.017). However, we observed that the IgM level in the control group was significantly higher than those in the EIN group at POD-7 (p = 0.007). The incidence of pneumonia and total complications in the EIN group were significantly lower than those in control group (p = 0.024, p = 0.028, respectively). There is no significant difference in ALB and adverse reactions between two groups (p = 0.303, p = 0.108, respectively). CONCLUSION: Immunonutritional supplement after NAC is an effective strategy to improve the postoperative immune status of esophageal cancer patients and could reduce the incidence of infectious complication. More well-designed prospective studies are needed to verify and update our finding.

Prognostic significance of tumor regression grade in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant chemoradiation.

Backgrounds: Trimodal therapy (neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy) for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is associated with a significant survival benefit. Modified Ryan score is an effective tool to evaluated the tumor regression grade (TRG) after neoadjuvant therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of TRG for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in ESCC patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Methods: The study retrospectively reviewed 523 ESCC patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and radical esophagectomy at Jinling Hospital from January 2014 to July 2020. Kaplan-Meier curves with log-rank test and Cox regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic factor of TRG based on modified Ryan scoring system on OS and DFS. Results: After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 494 patients with ESCC following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and radical esophagectomy were available for analysis. The TRG scores are significantly associated with smoke history (p = 0.02), lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and/or peripheral nerve invasion (PNI) (p < 0.01), and postoperative adjuvant therapy (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, tumor characteristics including tumor length (p < 0.01) and tumor differentiation grade (p < 0.01) are also significantly associated with TRG score. The results of multivariable Cox regression modal showed that TRG is not an independently prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.922) or DFS (p = 0.526) but tumor length is an independently prognostic factor for DFS (p = 0.046). Conclusions: This study evaluated the prognostic value of modified Ryan scoring system for ESCC after trimodal therapy and concluded that modified Ryan scoring system can predict survival and recurrence rates but is not an independently prognostic factor for OS and DFS.

Predictive value of postoperative C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio in anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Among the many possible postoperative complications, anastomotic leakage (AL) is the most common and serious. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the ability of various inflammatory and nutritional markers to predict postoperative AL in patients after esophagectomy. METHODS: A total of 273 patients were retrospectively evaluated and enrolled into this study. Perioperative, surgery-related, tumor-related and laboratory tests data were extracted and analyzed. The discriminatory ability and optimal cut-off value was evaluated according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to access the potential risk factors for AL. RESULTS: The overall incidence of AL was 12.5% (34/273). C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CRP/ALB ratio) [AUC 0.943 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.911-0.976, p <  0.001)] and operation time [AUC 0.747 (95% CI = 0.679-0.815, p <  0.001)] had the greatest discrimination on AL prediction. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that CRP/ALB ratio and operation time were two independent risk factors for AL, and CRP/ALB ratio (OR = 102.909, p <  0.001) had an advantage over operation time (OR = 9.363, p = 0.020; Table 3). CONCLUSION: Operation time and postoperative CRP/ALB ratio were two independent predictive indexes for AL. Postoperative CRP/ALB ratio greater than 3.00 indicated a high risk of AL. For patients with abnormal postoperative CRP/ALB ratio, early non-operative treatment or surgical intervention are needed to reduce the serious sequelae of AL.

The ratio of gastric tube length to thorax length: a vital factor affecting leak after esophageal cervical anastomosis.

BACKGROUND: Esophagogastric anastomotic leak (AL) is a severe complication following esophageal resection. This study aims to explore preliminarily whether the ratio of the gastric conduit length to the thorax length can be regarded as a potential prognostic variable for AL, and if so, a cut-off value can be found to divide the patients into distinct risk groups. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 273 patients who underwent esophagectomy. The gastric conduit length, the thorax length, and other covariates were collected. Logistic regression was first conducted to probe the rationality of the ratio as a risk indicator of AL. Then the dichotomizing analysis was applied to find the optimal cut-off value. RESULTS: The incidence of AL was 12.5% (34/273). The coefficient of the ratio in the logistic regression equation was -7.901 with P<0.001, which indicated that the larger the ratio, the smaller the risk of AL. Further smoothed scatter plots revealed that a potential step function of the ratio of AL incidence exists, of which the steep part ranges from 1.74 to 1.90. Results of the accurate cut-off value search through a minimum P value approach give the optimal dichotomization point of 1.79. CONCLUSIONS: The ratio of the gastric conduit length to the thorax length can reflect the tension in the anastomosis. The research proposes that surgeons can control the length of the gastric conduit during reconstruction to reduce the tension in the anastomosis and thus lead to a decrease in the incidence of AL.

Comparison of short-term clinical outcomes between robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy and video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Though robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) is demonstrated to offer a better visualization and provide a fine dissection of the mediastinal structures to facilitate the complex thoracoscopic operation, the superiorities of RAMIE over MIE have not been well verified. The aim of this study was to explore the actual superiorities through comparing short-term results of RAMIE with that of MIE. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE and web of science databases were systematically searched up to September 1, 2020 for case-controlled studies that compared RAMIE with TLMIE. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were identified, with a total of 2,887 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer, including 1,435 patients subjected to RAMIE group and 1,452 patients subjected to MIE group. The operative time in RAMIE was still significantly longer than that in MIE group (OR =0.785; 95% CI, 0.618-0.952; P<0.001). The incidence of pneumonia was significantly lower in RAMIE group compared with MIE group (OR =0.677; 95% CI, 0.468-0.979; P=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: RAMIE has the superiorities over MIE in short-term outcomes in terms of pneumonia and vocal cord palsy. Therefore, RAMIE could be considered as a standard treatment for patients with esophageal cancer.

Controlling nutritional status is a prognostic factor for patients with lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, controlling nutritional status (CONUT) has been used as a prognostic factor in variety of cancers. However, no consensus has been reached on the prognostic value of CONUT in lung cancer. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of CONUT in survival of patients with lung cancer. METHODS: EMBASE, web of science, and Medline were used to search articles in English-language journals. The association between CONUT score and survival of patients with lung cancer was evaluated by using pooled HRs and their 95% CIs. Chi-square test and I-Square was used to test heterogeneity among studies. Analyses were all performed using Stata 13.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX). RESULTS: Eight studies with 1,836 patients were eventually included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that high CONUT score had an unfavorable impact on OS (HR =1.63, 95% CI: 1.30-2.04), DFS (HR =1.75, 95% CI: 1.35-2.26), CSS (HR =1.45, 95% CI: 1.01-2.07) and PFS (HR =1.67, 95% CI: 0.99-2.35), compared with those with low-CONUT. CONCLUSIONS: CONUT can be used as a predictor of prognosis in patients with lung cancer. High-CONUT score was significantly associated with poor OS, DFS, CSS and PFS.

Does robot-assisted minimally invasive oesophagectomy have superiority over thoraco-laparoscopic minimally invasive oesophagectomy in lymph node dissection?

Although robotic techniques have been used for oesophagectomy for many years, whether robot-assisted minimally invasive oesophagectomy (RAMIE) can actually improve outcomes and surpass thoraco-laparoscopic minimally invasive oesophagectomy (MIE) in the success rate of lymph node dissection remains to be empirically demonstrated. Therefore, we performed this systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies to systematically compare the effect of lymph node dissection and the incidence of vocal cord palsy between RAMIE and MIE. The PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched up to December 1, 2019, for case-control studies that compared RAMIE with MIE. Thirteen articles were included, with a total of 1,749 patients with esophageal cancer, including 866 patients in the RAMIE group and 883 patients in the MIE group. RAMIE yielded significantly larger numbers of total dissected lymph nodes (WMD = 1.985; 95% CI, 0.448-3.523; P = 0.011) and abdominal lymph nodes (WMD = 1.686; 95% CI, 0.420-2.951; P = 0.009) as well as lymph nodes along RLN (WMD = 0.729; 95% CI, 0.348-1.109; P < 0.001) than MIE. Additionally, RAMIE could significantly decrease estimated blood loss (WMD = -11.208; 95% CI, -19.358 to -3.058; P = 0.007) and the incidence of vocal cord palsy (OR = 0.624; 95% CI, 0.411-0.947; P = 0.027) compared to MIE. Compared with MIE, RAMIE resulted in a higher total lymph node yield and a higher lymph node yield in the abdomen and along RLN, along with reduced blood loss during surgery and the incidence of vocal cord palsy. Therefore, RAMIE could be considered to be a standard treatment, with less blood loss, lower incidence of vocal cord palsy, and more radical lymph node dissection, exhibiting superiority over MIE.

Development and validation of a new clinical staging system to predict survival for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients: Application of the nomogram.

INTRODUCTION: Survival of patients with the same clinical stage varies widely and effective tools to evaluate the prognosis utilizing clinical staging information is lacking. This study aimed to develop a clinical nomogram for predicting survival of patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: On the basis of data extracted from the SEER database (training cohort, n = 3375), we identified and integrated significant prognostic factors for nomogram development and internal validation. The model was then subjected to external validation with a separate dataset obtained from Jinling Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (validation cohort, n = 1187). The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by concordance index (C-index), Akaike information criterion (AIC) and calibration curves. And risk group stratification was performed basing on the nomogram scores. RESULTS: On multivariable analysis of the training cohort, seven independent prognostic factors were identified and included into the nomogram. Calibration curves presented good consistency between the nomogram prediction and actual observation for 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS. The AIC value of the nomogram was lower than that of the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM (AJCC) staging system, whereas the C-index of the nomogram was significantly higher than that of the AJCC staging system. The risk groups stratified by CART allowed significant distinction between survival curves within respective clinical TNM categories. CONCLUSIONS: The risk stratification system presented better discriminative ability for survival prediction than current clinical staging system and might help clinicians in decision making.

Long-term outcomes of robotic-assisted versus thoraco-laparoscopic McKeown esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: a propensity score-matched study.

The long-term outcomes of robotic-assisted McKeown esophagectomy (RAME) compared to thoraco-laparoscopic McKeown esophagectomy (TLME) for the patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the number of dissected lymph nodes and long-term survival between RAME and TLME using a propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis. A total of 721 patients undergoing minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy at our department from February 2015 to October 2019 were analyzed, including 310 patients in RAME group and 411 in TLME group. The exact numbers of lymph nodes including those among thoracic and abdominal categories as well as those along the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) were all recorded. PSM analysis was applied to generate matched pairs for further comparison. All patients with R0 resection were followed with a strict follow-up period which range from 1 to 56 months. The effect of lymphadenectomy was compared between all patients in unmatched and matched groups. Long-term outcomes consisting of overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and recurrence rate (including regional recurrence rate, systemic recurrence rate and mediastinal lymph nodes recurrence rate) were compared in R0 resection patients. Finally, 292 patients were identified for each cohort after PSM. RAME was found to yield significantly more left RLN lymph nodes (mean: 2.27 ± 0.90 vs. 2.09 ± 0.79; P = 0.011) and more thoracic lymph nodes (mean: 12.60 ± 4.22 vs. 11.83 ± 3.12, P = 0.012) compared with TLME after PSM analysis. There was no significant difference in the OS and DFS between the RAME and TLME group. Besides, total recurrences were recognized in 33 (11.7%) patients in the RAME group and 36 (12.9%) in the TLME group (P = 0.676). The mediastinal lymph nodes recurrence rate in the RAME group was tended to be lower than that in the TLME group (2.5% vs. 5.4%, P = 0.079). Therefore, RAME might be an alternative approach for the treatment of ESCC with more lymph nodes dissected and similar long-term survival outcomes compared to TLME.

Enteral immunonutrition versus enteral nutrition for patients undergoing esophagectomy: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, immunonutrition has been introduced and proposed to have a positive modulatory effect on inflammatory and immune responses and gut function for surgical patients, especially for patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer resection. We conducted this parallel-group, randomized and double-blind clinical controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of perioperative enteral immunonutrition (EIN) on clinical and immunological outcomes of patients undergoing esophageal resection. METHODS: A randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, clinical trial was conducted between December 1, 2017 and March 1, 2018. This study enrolled 120 patients with esophageal cancer. And 112 patients were divided into two groups randomly: EIN group and enteral nutrition (EN) group. The EIN contained extra immunonutritional substrates, including a consistent combination of arginine, RNA and the omega-3 fatty acids compared with EN. Immune indicators were measured at preoperative day 7, postoperative day (POD) 1, 3, 7 and post-discharge day (PDD) 30. RESULTS: There were 56 participants randomized to each group. Finally, 53 patients in EIN and 50 patients in EN were analyzed. Immune indicator was the primary outcome in this study. EIN yielded a significantly lower rate of CD8/CD3 (%) at POD 3 compared with EN group (P=0.005). The rate of CD4/CD8 (%) in EIN group was higher than that in EN group at POD3 (P=0.004). The serum levels of IgM at POD 3 and 7 were significantly higher in EN group compared with EIN group (P=0.025 and P=0.009, respectively). The rate of NK (%) and the serum level of IgA were significantly higher in EIN group compared with EN group at PDD 30 (P=0.022 and P=0.041, respectively). No significant differences were found in 2-year progressionfree survival and overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Immunonutrition is a safe and feasible nutritional treatment, which has a positive modulatory impact on immune responses after esophagectomy. Although no significant difference was found in clinical and survival outcomes between EIN and EN groups, immunonutrition could still have a positive effect on immunological function of patients undergoing esophagectomy.

An artificial neural network model predicting pathologic nodal metastases in clinical stage I-II esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Current preoperative staging for lymph nodal status remains inaccurate. The purpose of this study was to build an artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict pathologic nodal involvement in clinical stage I-II esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients and then validated the performance of the model. METHODS: A total of 523 patients (training set: 350; test set: 173) with clinical staging I-II ESCC who underwent esophagectomy and reconstruction were enrolled in this study. Their post-surgical pathological results were assessed and analysed. An ANN model was established for predicting pathologic nodal positive patients in the training set, which was validated in the test set. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was also created to illustrate the performance of the predictive model. RESULTS: Of the enrolled 523 patients with ESCC, 41.3% of the patients were confirmed pathologic nodal positive (216/523). The ANN staging system identified the tumour invasion depth, tumour length, dysphagia, tumour differentiation and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) as predictors for pathologic lymph node metastases. The C-index for the ANN model verified in the test set was 0.852, which demonstrated that the ANN model had a good predictive performance. CONCLUSIONS: The ANN model presented good performance for predicting pathologic lymph node metastasis and added indicators not included in current staging criteria and might help improve the staging strategies.

Comparison of the progression-free survival between robot-assisted thymectomy and video-assisted thymectomy for thymic epithelial tumors: a propensity score matching study.

BACKGROUND: Robotic system was recently introduced to assist surgeons in performing thymectomy. However, whether robot-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy (RATT) could replace video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy (VATT) and be considered as a superior treatment for thymic epithelial tumors is still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the progression-free survival (PFS) and short-term clinical outcomes in patients undergoing RATT or VATT by comparing the matched two groups after performing propensity score analysis. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 295 patients diagnosed with thymic epithelial tumors. There were 60 patients in RATT group and 235 in VATT group. Propensity score matching was done between two groups with variables of age, gender, tumor size, organization histologic classification, original Masaoka stages, presence of myasthenia gravis (MG) and adjuvant therapy. Sixty patients from the RATT group and 60 from the VATT group were matched, fitting the model. The PFS and short-term clinical outcomes of matched groups were compared. RESULTS: After matching, the surgical time in RATT groups was significant shorter than that in VATT groups (P=0.042). Loco-regional recurrence and distal metastasis were detected in 4 patients with thymoma and 1 patient with thymic carcinoma in RATT group and in 25 patients with thymoma and 3 patients with thymic carcinoma in VATT group before matching. PFS were estimated in only thymoma cases. The PFS in RATT group (n=55) intended to be longer than that in VATT group (n=58) after matching (5-year PFS rate: 81.5% and 75.4%, respectively; log-rank P=0.095). CONCLUSIONS: RATT has the superiorities over VATT on short-term outcomes due to enabling surgeons to operate in a stable and comfortable environment. Meanwhile, RATT yielded a longer PFS compared with VATT, although the difference was not significant. Therefore, RATT could be considered as a standard approach for the treatment of thymic epithelial tumors.

Paravertebral block with modified catheter under surgeon's direct vision after video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy.

BACKGROUND: Paravertebral block (PVB) conducted by epidural catheter is a prevalent pain management for patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of paravertebral block with a modified PVB (MPVB) catheter under surgeon's direct vision after video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. METHODS: Three hundred fifty-six patients undergoing VATS lobectomy were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two groups consecutively according to the catheter applied in PVB procedure (PVB group and MPVB group). In the MPVB group, a modified catheter with a flexible forepart and more apertures distributing along the forepart than the conventional epidural catheter was introduced. An infusion pump containing of 150 mL mixture was connected to the catheter to provide sustained regional analgesia. Intramuscular dezocine 10 mg was administered as a rescue medication when necessary. Postoperative pain management effect was assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) at rest and on coughing. Spirometry values and blood gas analysis were monitored and recorded for the first 3 postoperative days (PODs). Analgesia-related adverse events, characteristics of PVB procedure and postoperative major complication were also compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were 172 patients who received PVB with conventional epidural catheter in the PVB group, and 184 patients were performed PVB with modified paravertebral catheter in the MPVB group. Significantly lower pain score at rest was found in MPVB group at 24 h postoperatively (P=0.006). The pain score on coughing in MPVB group was significantly lower than that in PVB group at 12 and 24 h postoperatively (P=0.037 and P<0.001, respectively). Patients needing for rescue medication was significantly lower in the MPVB group (P=0.028). The incidence of pleural perforation was lower in the MPVB group (P=0.020). Postoperative spirometry values revealed comparable pulmonary function between the two groups, and arterial blood gas analysis showed a normal range of pH and PaCO2 in both groups. There was no significant difference of analgesia-related adverse events as well as major complications between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: PVB with modified catheter under surgeon's direct vision was effective and safe after video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy.

Modified Collard versus end-to-side hand-sewn anastomosis for cervical anastomosis after McKeown esophagectomy.

BACKGROUND: According to previously published studies, esophagectomy with modified Collard anastomosis has been reported to have low incidences of anastomotic leak and stricture. However, the optional anastomotic method after esophagectomy is still controversial. We conducted this study to compare the incidence of postoperative anastomotic stricture formation and dysphagia over three years after an esophagectomy with modified Collard anastomosis (MC) or end-to-side (ETS) hand-sewn anastomosis. Meanwhile, the early postoperative anastomotic leakage and other complications, hospital stay and 30- and 90-day mortality were also evaluated. METHODS: The clinical data of 905 patients undergoing McKeown esophagectomy were retrospectively reviewed. The rate of postoperative stricture formation after three years was demonstrated by stricture-free survival which is the primary end-point of this study. The incidence of dysphagia, first time of onset of stricture and number of dilatations were also recorded during follow-up. RESULTS: The incidence of anastomotic leak tended to be higher in the MC group compared with that in the ETS group (13.0% vs. 8.7%, P = 0.064). The rates of anastomotic stricture in the MC group were significantly less than in the ETS group (P = 0.004). The number of dilatations in the MC group were significantly greater than those in the ETS group (2.34 vs. 2.46, P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: A modified Collard cervical esophagogastric anastomosis was associated with lower rates of anastomotic stricture and dysphagia, compared with ETS hand-sewn anastomosis. However, the modified Collard anastomosis is accompanied by an increased anastomotic leakage rate.

Clinical efficacy of robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumors.

BACKGROUND: Robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) has an increasing usage throughout the world. This retrospective cohort study aimed to objectively compare the surgical results between video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and RATS in posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumors (PMNT). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 130 patients diagnosed with posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumor between 2015 and 2018. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or enhanced computed tomography scan (CT-scan) was used to locate the tumor and investigate the Adamkiewicz's artery preoperatively. The individual surgical approach was determined by both tumor size and patient's willings. RESULTS: The surgical time in RATS (43.2±12.6 min) was tended to be less than that in VATS (47.4±11.9 min) (P=0.054). Meanwhile, the estimated blood loss in RATS group (85.8±22.6 mL) was significantly less than that in VATS group (95.3±28.4 mL) (P=0.040). However, the duration of chest tube (days) and volume of drainage (mL) had no significant difference between two groups (P=0.12 and P=0.68, respectively). The postoperative hospital stay (days) of patients in RATS group (2.2±0.4 days) was significantly shorter than that in VATS group (2.4±0.6 days) (P=0.031). There were no significant differences between two groups in the incidence of the postoperative complications and adverse reactions. CONCLUSIONS: RATS has the superiorities in terms of surgical blood loss and postoperative hospital stay over VATS for posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumor. In conclusion, RATS could be a feasible and safe way for resecting posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumor.

Efficacy of 4 wk of home enteral feeding supplementation after esophagectomy on immune function: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: In recent years, home enteral nutrition (HEN) has been adopted as a feasible and safe form of nutrition for patients undergoing esophagectomy. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 4 wk of HEN with standard enteral nutrition (SEN) on immune function, nutritional status, and survival in patients undergoing esophagectomy. METHODS: A parallel-group, randomized, single-blind, clinical trial was conducted between April 1 and August 1, 2017. Eighty patients were enrolled in the study and 62 were eligible for analysis. An enteral feeding pump was used to infuse enteral nutrition via jejunostomy tube postoperatively. Patients in HEN group were instructed to independently administer jejunostomy feeds at home. Immune parameters and nutritional indicators were measured at preoperative day 7 and at postoperative day 30. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. The levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG, which can reflect a patient's immune function, significantly increased in the HEN group compared with those in the SEN group (P = 0.042 and P = 0.003, respectively). Comparing the two groups, 2-y progression-free survival and overall survival had no significant differences in survival curves (P = 0.36 and P = 0.29, respectively). CONCLUSION: Four weeks of HEN is a safe and feasible nutritional strategy to improve immune function and nutritional status after esophagectomy. Although there was no significant difference in survival between the two groups, HEN could still be more effective and beneficial than SEN to patients with defective nutritional and immune status.