Efficacy and safety of esophagectomy via left thoracic approach versus via right thoracic approach for middle and lower thoracic esophageal cancer: a multicenter randomized clinical trial (NST1501).

Background: Left thoracic approach (LTA) has been a favorable selection in surgical treatment for esophageal cancer (EC) patients in China before minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) is popular. This study aimed to demonstrate whether right thoracic approach (RTA) is superior to LTA in the surgical treatment of middle and lower thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TESCC). Methods: Superiority clinical trial design was used for this multicenter randomized controlled two-parallel group study. Between April 2015 and December 2018, cT1b-3N0-1M0 TESCC patients from 14 centers were recruited and randomized by a central stratified block randomization program into LTA or RTA groups. All enrolled patients were followed up every three months after surgery. The software SPSS 20.0 and R 3.6.2. were used for statistical analysis. Efficacy and safety outcomes, 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were calculated and compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Results: A total of 861 patients without suspected upper mediastinal lymph nodes (umLN) were finally enrolled in the study after 95 ineligible patients were excluded. 833 cases (98.7%) were successfully followed up until June 1, 2020. Esophagectomies were performed via LTA in 453 cases, and via RTA in 408 cases. Compared with the LTA group, the RTA group required longer operating time (274.48±78.92 vs. 205.34±51.47 min, P<0.001); had more complications (33.8% vs. 26.3% P=0.016); harvested more lymph nodes (LNs) (23.61±10.09 vs. 21.92±10.26, P=0.015); achieved a significantly improved OS in stage IIIa patients (67.8% vs. 51.8%, P=0.022). The 3-year OS and DFS were 68.7% and 64.3% in LTA arm versus 71.3% and 63.7% in RTA arm (P=0.20; P=0.96). Conclusions: Esophagectomies via both LTA and RTA can achieve similar outcomes in middle or lower TESCC patients without suspected umLN. RTA is superior to LTA and recommended for the surgical treatment of more advanced stage TESCC due to more complete lymphadenectomy. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02448979.

Nomogram for predicting the overall survival of the patients with oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the prognostic factors of oesophageal signet ring cell (SRC) carcinoma and to construct a nomogram for predicting the outcome of SRC carcinoma of oesophagus. METHODS: A total of 968 cases of oesophageal SRC carcinoma were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2016. Cases were divided into training cohort and validation cohort. Univariate and multivariable Cox analyses was performed to select the predictors of overall survival (OS for the nomogram. The performance of nomogram was validated with Harrell's concordance index (C-index), calibration curves and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: The 1- and 5-year OS in the training cohort were 0.446 and 0.146, respectively, and the 1- and 5-year OS in the validation cohort were 0.459 and 0.138. The independent prognostic factors for establishing the nomogram were marital status, invasion of the surrounding tissue, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, surgery and chemotherapy. The Harrell's c-index value of the training cohort and validation cohort were 0.723 and 0.708. In the calibration curves, the predicted survival probability and the actual survival probability have a considerable consistency. DCA indicated the favourable potential clinical utility of the nomogram. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram to predict the OS of patients with oesophageal SRC carcinoma was established. The validation of the nomogram fully demonstrates its great performance.

Log odds of positive lymph nodes is a better prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma than N stage.

BACKGROUND: Signet ring cell carcinoma is a rare type of oesophageal cancer, and we hypothesized that log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) is a better prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma. AIM: To explore a novel prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma by comparing two lymph node-related prognostic factors, log odds of positive LODDS and N stage. METHODS: A total of 259 cases of oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma after oesopha-gectomy were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database between 2006 and 2016. The prognostic value of LODDS and N stage for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. The Akaike information criterion and Harrell's C-index were used to assess the value of two prediction models based on lymph nodes. External validation was performed to further confirm the conclusion. RESULTS: The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of all the cases were 41.3% and 27.0%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier method showed that LODDS had a higher score of log rank chi-squared (OS: 46.162, CSS: 41.178) than N stage (OS: 36.215, CSS: 31.583). Univariate analyses showed that insurance, race, T stage, M stage, TNM stage, radiation therapy, N stage, and LODDS were potential prognostic factors for OS (P < 0.1). The multivariate Cox regression model showed that LODDS was an significant independent prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring carcinoma patients after surgical resection (P < 0.05), while N stage was not considered to be a significant prognostic factor (P = 0.122). Model 2 (LODDS) had a higher degree of discrimination and fit than Model 1 (N stage) (LODDS vs N stage, Harell's C-index 0.673 vs 0.656, P < 0.001; Akaike information criterion 1688.824 vs 1697.519, P < 0.001). The results of external validation were consistent with those in the study cohort. CONCLUSION: LODDS is a superior prognostic factor to N stage for patients with oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma after oesophagectomy.

Optimal preoperative neoadjuvant therapy for resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, especially in East Asia. ESCC accounts for more than 90% of esophageal cancer. Currently, neoadjuvant therapy in combination with surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment. However, the overall survival rate of patients with locally advanced ESCC is not satisfactory even when treated following the standard treatment guidelines. With neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, chemotherapy, or emerging immunotherapy, continuous exploration of efficacy in relation to ESCC is expected to improve overall survival further. Here, we review and summarize current evidence for efficacy of preoperative therapy for locally advanced ESCC.

Long-term survival of the middle and lower thoracic esophageal cancer patients after surgical treatment through left or right thoracic approach.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies with a high incidence and mortality in China, the main treatment for esophageal cancer at present is still surgery-based multimodality treatment, and surgery is still the most effective measure. However, the modes of surgical treatment for esophageal cancer have been diverse. The surgical approaches can be mainly divided into the left thoracic approach and right thoracic approach in China. The long-term survival of the patients treated through right approach was reported better than that through left thoracic approach, but until now no statistically significant difference was found between two approaches, especially, for those with middle and lower thoracic esophageal cancer without suspected upper mediastinal lymph node metastasis in preoperative examinations, no definite conclusion have been made on selection of the approach, therefore, this studies try to compare the long-term survival between two approaches . METHODS: The data of 402 cases with complete resection and two-field lymph node dissection from January, 2011 to December, 2011 in the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences was retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis and life-table in SPSS 22.0 and Stata 14.0 were used to analyze the survival. RESULTS: Totally, 402 cases were surgically treated either via left or right thoracic approach. The overall 5-year survival rate of this series was 38%, it was 37% in 281 cases surgically treated through left approach, and 39% in 121 cases through right approach (P=0.908). The 5-year survival of 256 patients without suspected lymph node metastasis in the upper mediastinum based on the preoperative examinations surgically treated through left approach was 38% versus 43% of 88 cases through right approach (P=0.404). After PSM, the 5-year survival of 110 cases surgically treated through left approach was 32% versus 40% of another matched 110 cases through right approach (P=0.146). for the patients without suspected lymph node metastasis in the upper mediastinum based on preoperative examinations, the 5-year survival of 88 surgically treated through left approach was 33% versus 44% of another matched 88 cases through right approach (P=0.239). CONCLUSIONS: For the middle and lower thoracic esophageal cancer patients, whether or not who has suspected lymph node metastasis in the upper mediastinum based on preoperative CT and EUS, the surgical treatment through right thoracic approach can achieve better but not significantly better overall survival than that through left thoracic approach. Further prospective randomized clinical trials are still needed to verify this disputed issue on approach selection.

BCSG1 siRNA delivered by lentiviral vector suppressed proliferation and migration of MDA-MB-231 cells.

Breast cancer-specific gene 1 (BCSG1), also referred to as γ-synuclein (SNCG), is highly expressed in human infiltrating breast carcinomas, but not in normal or benign breast tissue. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of BCSG1 siRNA delivered by lentiviral vector on breast cancer cells and investigate the underlying mechanisms. BCSG1 RNAi lentiviral vector was constructed and transfected into MDA-MB-231 cells. BCSG1 mRNA levels were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis were evaluated by using the cell counting kit­8, Transwell assay and flow cytometry, respectively, followed by western blotting to determine the relative levels of AKT, extracellular signal­regulated kinase (ERK), p-AKT and p-ERK expression. BCSG1 mRNA levels were significantly reduced in MDA-MB­231 cells following transfection of BCSG1 siRNA delivered by lentiviral vector. Cell migration and proliferation were significantly decreased and the cell cycle was arrested. Western blot analysis indicated that the protein levels of p-AKT and p-ERK were significantly lower in the BCSG1 siRNA-treated groups compared with the control and negative control groups. Therefore, BCSG1 siRNA delivered by lentiviral vector was able to significantly reduce BCSG1 expression, suppress cell migration and proliferation, possibly through the reduction of the protein levels of p-AKT and p-ERK.

Long-term outcomes of 307 patients after complete thymoma resection.

BACKGROUND: Thymoma is an uncommon tumor without a widely accepted standard care to date. We aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic variables of patients with thymoma and identify possible predictors of survival and recurrence after initial resection. METHODS: We retrospectively selected 307 patients with thymoma who underwent complete resection at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (Beijing, China) between January 2003 and December 2014. The associations of patients' clinical characteristics with prognosis were estimated using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. RESULTS: During follow-up (median, 86 months; range, 24-160 months), the 5- and 10-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 84.0% and 73.0%, respectively, and the 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 91.0% and 74.0%, respectively. Masaoka stage (P < 0.001), World Health Organization (WHO) histological classification (P < 0.001), and postoperative radiotherapy after initial resection (P = 0.006) were associated with recurrence (52/307, 16.9%). Multivariate analysis revealed that, after initial resection, WHO histological classification and Masaoka stage were independent predictors of DFS and OS. The pleura (25/52, 48.0%) were the most common site of recurrence, and locoregional recurrence (41/52, 79.0%) was the most common recurrence pattern. The recurrence pattern was an independent predictor of post-recurrence survival. Patients with recurrent thymoma who underwent repeated resection had increased post-recurrence survival rates compared with those who underwent therapies other than surgery (P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Masaoka stage and WHO histological classification were independent prognostic factors of thymoma after initial complete resection. The recurrence pattern was an independent predictor of post-recurrence survival. Locoregional recurrence and repeated resection of the recurrent tumor were associated with favorable prognosis.

Comparison of short-term outcomes and three yearsurvival between total minimally invasive McKeown and dual-incision esophagectomy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the short-term outcomes and three-year survival between dual-incision esophagectomy (DIE) and total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy (MIME) for esophageal cancer patients with negative upper mediastinal lymph nodes requiring esophagectomy and neck anastomosis. METHODS: One hundred and fifty patients underwent DIE, while 361 patients received total MIME. Perioperative outcomes and three-year survival were compared in unmatched and propensity score matched data between two groups. RESULTS: Both unmatched and matched analysis demonstrated that there were no significant differences in the number of lymph nodes harvested, or major or minor complication rates between the DIE and MIME groups. Compared with patients who underwent DIE, patients who underwent total MIME had longer operation duration (310 minutes vs. 345 minutes; P = 0.002). However, there was significantly less intraoperative blood loss in the total MIME compared with the DIE group (191 mL vs. 287 mL, respectively; P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated a trend that patients who underwent MIME had longer overall (79.5% vs. 64.1%; P = 0.063) and disease-free three-year survival (65.3% vs. 82.8%; P = 0.058) compared with patients who underwent DIE. CONCLUSIONS: Both total MIME and DIE are feasible for the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer patients with negative upper mediastinal lymph nodes requiring esophagectomy and neck anastomosis. However, MIME was associated with better overall and disease-free three-year survival compared with DIE.

Prognostic value of preoperative serum lactate dehydrogenase in thymic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) has been demonstrated in various solid tumors. We attempted to determine whether serum LDH was predictive of survival in thymic carcinoma after surgical resection. METHODS: Ninety-five patients with thymic carcinoma treated in our hospital between January 2005 and December 2015 were retrospectively enrolled. Serum LDH was measured before surgery and categorized as low or high relative to the upper limit of normal (ULN) (225 U/L). The relationships of serum LDH level and other clinical variables with survival were estimated by Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. RESULTS: Serum LDH levels were found to be significantly associated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of these patients. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS were 76%, 51%, and 38%, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS were 97%, 75%, and 46%, respectively. Univariate analysis found that high serum LDH (>225 U/L) was associated with both lower OS [hazard ratio (HR) =2.710; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.363-1.5.391; P=0.004] and PFS (HR =3.365; 95% CI: 1.776-6.374; P<0.001). Multivariate analysis found that high serum LDH was associated with lower PFS (HR =2.122; 95% CI: 1.056-4.267; P=0.035). Moreover, high LDH was significantly associated with advanced Masaoka stage (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High serum LDH (>225 U/L) was an independent predictor of decreased PFS in thymic carcinoma patients. It was also significantly associated with reduced OS, but was not an independent predictor of death in those patients.

A propensity matched comparison of effects between video assisted thoracoscopic single-port, two-port and three-port pulmonary resection on lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: To summarize our experiences of single-port, two-port vs. three-port VATS pulmonary resection for lung cancer patients. METHODS: Data of consecutive 1,553 patients who underwent video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) pulmonary resection for lung cancer in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College between November 2014 and January 2016 were prospectively collected and analyzed. A propensity-matched analysis was used to compare the short-term outcomes of lung cancer patients who received VATS single-port, two-port and three-port pulmonary resection. RESULTS: There were 716 males and 837 females. The mean age was 58.90 years (range, 25-82 years) and the conversion rate was 2.7% (42/1,553) in this cohort. After propensity score matching, there were 207 patients in single-port and two-port group, and 680 patients in three-port group. Propensity-matched analysis demonstrated that there were no significant differences in duration of operation (129 vs. 131 min, P=0.689), intra-operative blood loss (63 vs. 70 mL, P=0.175), number of dissected lymph nodes (12 vs. 13, P=0.074), total hospital expense (﹩9,928 vs. ﹩9,956, P=0.884) and cost of operation (﹩536 vs. ﹩535, P=0.879) between VATS single-port, two-port and conventional three-port pulmonary resection groups. There was no significant difference in the complication rate between two groups (5.3% vs. 4.7%, P=0.220). However, compared with three-port group, patients who underwent single port and two-port experienced shorter postoperative length of stay (6.24 vs. 5.61 d, P=0.033), shorter duration of chest tube (4.92 vs. 4.25 d, P=0.008), and decreased volume of drainage (926 vs. 791 d, P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The short term outcomes between VATS single-port, two-port and conventional three-port groups for the surgical treatment of lung cancer were comparable. However, compared with three-port VATS pulmonary resection, single-port and two-port were associated with shorter postoperative length of stay, shorter duration of chest tube, and decreased volume of drainage.

Prognostic value of preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is superior to platelet-lymphocyte ratio for survival in patients who underwent complete resection of thymic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have prognostic value in patients with various operable tumors. The aim of our study was to determine whether NLR and PLR are predictive of survival in thymic carcinoma patients after complete resection. METHODS: A total of seventy-nine patients who underwent complete resection of thymic carcinoma at our hospital between January 2005 and December 2015 were retrospectively enrolled. Differential leukocyte counts were collected before surgery, and the relationships of NLR, PLR, and other patient clinical variables with survival were estimated by Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. RESULTS: Univariate analysis found that a high level of NLR was associated with lower disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 3.385, 95% CI: 1.073-10.678, P=0.037) and lower overall survival (OS) (HR: 12.836, 95% CI: 1.615-101.990, P=0.016). The optimal NLR threshold of 4.1 could stratify the patients with high risk of recurrence or metastasis (P=0.026) and death (P=0.006). Meanwhile, the NLR value of >4.1 in those patients was associated with bigger tumor size (P=0.035) and more advanced Masaoka stages (P=0.040) compared with NLR ≤4.1. However, the PLR and other variables were not significantly associated with survival in thymic carcinoma patients. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative NLR of >4.1 was significantly associated with larger tumor size, more advanced Masaoka stages and reduced DFS and OS, but was not an independent predictor of survival in thymic carcinoma patients after complete resection.

The impact of operative approaches on outcomes of middle and lower third esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the perioperative outcomes and 3-year overall survival (OS) of 2 approaches including Sweet and open Ivor Lewis esophagectomy in the surgical treatment of middle and lower third esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: The medical records of 1,746 consecutive patients who underwent esophagectomy for middle and lower esophageal cancer between January 2009 and September 2015 at the First Department of Thoracic Oncologic Surgery of Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical variables and 3-year survival were compared between Sweet (n=1,701) and open Ivor Lewis (n=45) approaches in unmatched and propensity score matching analysis. RESULTS: Patients who received esophagectomy by Sweet approach had shorter duration of surgery (mean 212 vs. 390 min; P<0.001), more lymph nodes removed (mean 24 vs. 19; P=0.005), lower overall complications rate (24.4% vs. 11.7%; P=0.009), lower total hospital cost (¥77,200 vs. 106,000; P=0.045) compared with patients who received open Ivor Lewis approach. After propensity score matching analysis, Sweet approach was still associated with decreased duration of surgery (mean 210 vs. 390 min; P<0.001), more lymph nodes removed (mean 24 vs. 19; P=0.050), and lower total hospital cost (¥86,800 vs. 106,000; P=0.045) compared with Ivor Lewis approach. However, there were no significant differences in overall complication rates (24.4% vs. 24.4%; P=1.000) between two approaches. There was no significant difference in 3-year OS between Sweet and open Ivor Lewis approaches (59.9% vs. 61.4%; P=0.637) in unmatched analysis and in matched analysis (77.8% vs. 61.4%; P=0.264). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, for middle and lower third esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients, both Sweet and open Ivor Lewis approaches are feasible in terms of perioperative outcomes and 3-year OS.

Updated experiences with minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.

AIM: To update our experiences with minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 445 consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy between January 2009 and July 2015 at the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and used 103 patients who underwent open McKeown esophagectomy in the same period as controls. Among 375 patients who underwent total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy, 180 in the early period were chosen for the study of learning curve of total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy. These 180 minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomies performed by five surgeons were divided into three groups according to time sequence as group 1 (n = 60), group 2 (n = 60) and group 3 (n = 60). RESULTS: Patients who underwent total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy had significantly less intraoperative blood loss than patients who underwent hybrid minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy or open McKeown esophagectomy (100 mL vs 300 mL vs 200 mL, P = 0.001). However, there were no significant differences in operation time, number of harvested lymph nodes, or postoperative morbidity including incidence of pulmonary complication and anastomotic leak between total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy, hybrid minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy and open McKeown esophagectomy groups. There were no significant differences in 5-year survival between these three groups (60.5% vs 47.9% vs 35.6%, P = 0.735). Patients in group 1 had significantly longer duration of operation than those in groups 2 and 3. There were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, number of harvested lymph nodes, or postoperative morbidity including incidence of pulmonary complication and anastomotic leak between groups 1, 2 and 3. CONCLUSION: Total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy was associated with reduced intraoperative blood loss and comparable short term and long term survival compared with hybrid minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy or open Mckeown esophagectomy. At least 12 cases are needed to master total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy in a high volume center.

Comparative study of video-assisted thoracic surgery versus open thymectomy for thymoma in one single center.

BACKGROUND: Due to the popularity of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) techniques in clinical, thymoma patients via VATS thymectomy are increasing rapidly. However, compared with open thymectomy, the potential superiorities and defects of VATS thymectomy remain controversial. METHODS: A number of 129 patients who underwent thymectomy of early stage thymoma (Masaoka stage I and stage II) in one single center from January 2007 to September 2013 were selected in this retrospective study. Of those patients, 38 thymoma patients underwent VATS thymectomy (VATS group) and 91 underwent open thymectomy (open group) via either transsternal [44] or transthoracic approach [47] in the same period. The postoperative variables, which included postoperative hospital length of stay (LOS), the intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, the entire resection ratio, the number of thoracic drainage tubes, the quantity of output and duration of drainage, were analyzed. Meanwhile, the operation time and blood loss were considered as intraoperative variables. RESULTS: All thymoma patients in the analysis included 19 thymoma patients with myasthenia gravis, among which five patients via VATS thymectomy and 14 patients via open thymectomy respectively. There was no death or morbidity due to the surgical procedures perioperatively. The ICU LOS, operation time, entire resection ratio, and the number of chest tubes were not significantly different in two groups. The postoperative hospital LOS of VATS thymectomy was shorter than that of open thymectomy (5.26 versus 8.32 days, P<0.001). The blood loss of VATS thymectomy was less than open thymectomy (114.74 versus 194.51 mL, P=0.002). Postoperatively, the quantity of chest tubes output in VATS group was less than that in open thymectomy group (617.86 versus 850.08 mL, P=0.007) and duration of drainage in VATS group was shorter than that in open thymectomy group (3.87 versus 5.22 days, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: VATS thymectomy is a safe and practicable treatment for early-stage thymoma patients. Thymoma according with Masaoka staging I-II without evident invading seems to be performed through VATS approach appropriately, which has shorter postoperative hospital LOS, less blood loss and less restrictions to activities, hence patients will recover sooner.

[Nationwide speaking tour of standardized diagnosis and treatment for esophageal cancer].

For a long time, the diagnosis and treatment protocol for esophageal cancer has been made either entirely based on the experience of Western countries or on our own experience alone. A suitable standardized guideline for diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer in our country has not been established until 2010. Due to lack of opportunities for mutual exchange and learning, the overall level of standardized diagnosis and treatment was relatively low in China. In addition, less advanced technologies were applied and varying treatment protocols were implemented in different districts, the treatment results has been unsatisfactory, and the overall 5-year survival rate after surgical treatment has been maintained from 30% to 40%. Therefore, it is imperative that China needs to conduct its own clinical studies and establish its own suitable standardized treatment and diagnosis guideline for esophageal cancer. This article reviews and also made comments on the process of academic speaking tour and development of standardized diagnosis and treatment guidelines as well as the problems resolved by these activities for esophageal cancer since the beginning of this century.

Application of video-assisted thoracic surgery in the standard operation for thoracic tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term outcomes of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for thoracic tumors. METHODS: The data of 1,790 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed. These patients underwent VATS pulmonary resections, VATS esophagectomies, and VATS resections of mediastinal tumors or biopsies at the Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between January 2009 and January 2012. RESULTS: There were 33 patients converted to open thoracotomy (OT, 1.84%). The overall morbidity and mortality rate was 2.79% (50/1790) and 0.28% (5/1790), respectively. The overall hospitalization and chest tube duration were shorter in the VATS lobectomy group (n=949) than in the open thoracotomy (OT) lobectomy group (n=753). There were no significant differences in morbidity rate, mortality rate and operation time between the two groups. In the esophageal cancer patients, no significant difference was found in the number of nodal dissection, chest tube duration, morbidity rate, mortality rate, and hospital length of stay between the VATS esophagectomy group (n=81) and open esophagectomy group (n=81). However, the operation time was longer in the VATS esophagectomy group. In the thymoma patients, there was no significant difference in the chest tube duration, morbidity rate, mortality rate, and hospital length of stay between the VATS thymectomy group (n=41) and open thymectomy group (n=41). However, the operation time was longer in the VATS group. The median tumor size in the VATS thymectomy group was comparable with that in the OT group. CONCLUSIONS: In early-stage (I/II) non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent lobectomies, VATS is comparable with the OT approach with similar short-term outcomes. In patients with resectable esophageal cancer, VATS esophagectomy is comparable with OT esophagectomy with similar morbidity and mortality. VATS thymectomy for Masaoka stage I and II thymoma is feasible and safe, and tumor size is not contraindicated. Longer follow-ups are needed to determine the oncologic equivalency of VATS lobectomy, esophagectomy, and thymectomy for thymoma vs. OT.

[Preliminary experience of clinical applications of the 7th UICC-AJCC TNM staging system of esophageal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the instructive value of the 6th and 7th editions of the UICC-AJCC staging system in prognosis of esophageal cancer (EC) patients. METHODS: The staging and prognosis of 1397 esophageal carcinoma patients undergoing curative resection from Jan. 2003 to Dec. 2006 in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed according to the 6th AJCC staging system and the 7th UICC-AJCC staging system. RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival (OS) of EC patients with curative resection was 38.5% (481/1250 cases), with a follow-up rate of 89.5% (1250/1397 case). In overall terms, both the editions were statistically significant discriminators of OS (P < 0.05). The 5-year OS of stages I, II and III patients were 64.9%, 43.5%, 25.2% according to the 6th edition, and 63.5%, 44.5%, 23.5% according to the 7th edition, respectively. Distinct differences in survival were present among patients categorized as stage Ia and Ib according to the 7th edition (P < 0.05), with a 5-year OS of 80.0% and 58.3%, respectively. Similarly, according to the 7th edition, the 5-year overall survivals (OS) of the stages IIIa, IIIb and IIIc patients were 28.2%, 18.4% and 16.7%, respectively, showing that the prognoses were significantly different (P < 0.05). In addition, according to the 7th edition, the prognoses of patients in stages N0, N1, N2 and N3 were also significantly different (P < 0.01), and the 5-year OS were 50.0%, 31.5%, 18.7% and 16.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both the 6th and 7th editions of UICC-AJCC staging system are significant discriminators for survival of esophageal cancer patients. The 7th edition is proved to be more accurate in prognosis. The number of lymph node metastases is an important predictor of prognosis.

[Diagnosis and surgical treatment of pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma].

OBJECTIVE: As a rare benign lung tumor, pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma (PSH) occurs predominantly in Asian women in their fifth and sixth decades of life. PSH is considered to be evolved from primitive undifferentiated respiratory epithelium. In this study, we summarized our experience in 89 cases of PSH. METHOD: There were a total of 89 patients who received surgical resection and were histopathologically diagnosed as PSH during the period January 2001 to December 2010 in department of thoracic surgery, Cancer Institute and Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The clinical data of these patients including symptoms, disease courses, image characteristics and surgical procedures were collected and reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The PSHs were most frequently (50.6%) found in the patients aged 41 to 60 years with a median age of 51 years (range: 24 - 71), and the sex ratio (male/female) was approximately 1:7 in this series. In the 89 patients, 53 (59.6%) were asymptomatic while the other 36 (40.4%) had some non-special symptoms such as cough (30.3%), hemoptysis (24.7%). There were only 3 cases (3.4%) with multiple PSHs, 4 cases (4.5%) combined with synchronous primary lung cancer, and 13 cases (14.6%) with lesions located in the hilar region. The median diameter of the 92 lesions was 2.3 cm (range: 0.3 - 6.0 cm), of which 38% located in the right lower lobe and 26.1% in the right middle lobe, and only about 1/3 were assumed as PSHs preoperatively based on CT imaging. One of the five patients who underwent PET-CT scan had been misdiagnosed as malignant. Of the 92 lesions, 47 were resected by enucleation, 29 by wedge resection, 14 by lobectomy, and 2 by pneumonectomy. CONCLUSION: PSH frequently occurs in the middle-aged women. Most individuals with PSH are asymptomatic or have some non-specific symptoms. Their lesions are usually found accidentally by chest imaging. Although PSH often shows typical imaging characteristics of benign neoplasm of the lung, it is difficult to establish a defined pathological diagnosis preoperatively. The significant error or deferred rate of intraoperative frozen-section evaluation for PSH may result in some unnecessarily extensive surgical procedures. The complete surgical resection is considered the only effective treatment for PSH, and the normal pulmonary tissue should be reserved as possible.

[Comparison of the results of lymph node dissection via left versus right thoracotomy].

OBJECTIVE: Up to now surgical treatment has been still the most effective treatment for esophageal cancer. However, postoperative lymph node recurrence is still a frequent event and affects long term survival considerably. The aim of this study is to compare the results of lymph node dissection via left vs. right thoracotomies and to verify whether there is any essential difference in lymphadenectomy between these two approaches. METHODS: Five hundred and fifty-nine cases with thoracic esophageal cancer were randomly selected from the database of esophageal cancer patients who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital between May 2005 and January 2011, including 282 cases through left thoracotomy and 277 cases through right thoracotomy. This series consisted of 449 males and 110 females with a mean age of 58.8 years (age range: 36 - 78 years). The pathological types were mainly squamous cell carcinoma (548 cases) and other rare types (11 cases). The data were analyzed and compared using Chi-square test. The P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The actual 5-year survival rate was calculated based on the recent follow-up data of the patients who underwent surgery at least 5 years ago. RESULTS: The average number of dissected lymph nodes was 23.4 via left versus 24.6 via right thoracotomies. The overall lymph node metastasis rate was 48.9% via left thoracotomy and 53.8% via right thoracotomy, and 34.8% vs. 50.5% in the chest (P < 0.001), 29.1% vs. 17.7% in the abdomen (P = 0.001). The pathologically confirmed lymph node metastasis rate was 45.9%, 44.0% and 34.9% in the upper, middle and lower segments of thoracic esophagus, respectively. The lymph node metastasis rates detected via left and right thoracotomy in the stage T1 cases were 14.7% (5/34) vs. 42.9% (12/28) (P < 0.001), and in the stage T2 cases were 35.4% (17/48) vs. 52.8% (28/53) (P = 0.007); in the station of para-thoracic esophagus were 9.6% vs. 13.4%, in the left upper mediastinum were 2.1% vs. 7.6%, and in the right upper mediastinum were 1.4% vs. 26.0%, respectively. The preliminary actual 5-year survival rate was 38.2% in the cases via left thoracotomy vs. 42.1% in those via right thoracotomy. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that lymph node dissection is more complete via right thoracotomy than via left thoracotomy, especially for the tracheoesophageal groove and para-recurrent laryngeal nerve nodes, which may eventually improve the survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Therefore, surgical treatment via right thoracotomy by Ivor-Lewis (two incisions) mode or Levis-Tanner (three incisions) mode with two-field or three-field complete lymph node dissection may become prevalent in the future.

[Comparison of the short-term outcomes of surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer via video assisted thoracoscopic surgery and open thoracotomy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the short-term outcomes of surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and open thoracotomy (OT). METHODS: Data of 737 consecutive NSCLC patients who underwent surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and 630 patients who underwent pulmonary resection via open thoracotomy (as controls) in Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between January 2009 and August 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. The risk factors after lobectomy were also analyzed. RESULTS: In the 506 NSCLC patients who received VATS lobectomy, postoperative complications occurred in 13 patients (2.6%) and one patient died of acute respiratory distress syndrome (0.2%). In the 521 patients who received open thoracotomy (OT) lobectomy, postoperative complications occurred in 21 patients (4.0%) and one patient died of pulmonary infection (0.2%). There was no significant difference in the morbidity rate (P > 0.05) and mortality rate (P > 0.05) between the VATS group and OT group. In the 190 patients who received VATS wedge resections, postoperative complications occurred in 3 patients (1.6%). One hundred and nine patients received OT wedge resections. Postoperative complications occurred in 4 patients (3.7%). There were no significant differences for morbidity rate (P = 0.262) between these two groups, and there was no perioperative death in these two groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that age (OR = 1.047, 95%CI: 1.004 - 1.091), history of smoking (OR = 6.374, 95%CI: 2.588 - 15.695) and operation time (OR = 1.418, 95%CI: 1.075 - 1.871) were independent risk factors of postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: To compare with the NSCLC patients who should undergo lobectomy or wedge resection via open thoracotomy, a similar short-term outcome can be achieved via VATS approach.