The useful combination of a higher frequency miniprobe and endoscopic submucosal dissection for the treatment of T1 esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: There are few published data on the discrimination ability of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) among each subdivision of T1 cancer, and overdiagnosis is an unsolved problem that eventually causes overtreatment. The purpose of this study was to verify whether our treatment strategy incorporating EUS realizes a tailored patient management of T1 esophageal cancer. METHODS: This study comprised 20 esophageal cancer patients undergoing 12- to 20-MHz miniprobes for T staging and a 7.5-MHz dedicated echoendoscope for N staging. Initial therapy constituted endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for endosonographically node-negative, mucosal, or slight submucosal cancers and a primary esophagectomy with three-field lymphadenectomy for deeper cancers. If the ESD specimen revealed no cancer involvement of the muscularis mucosa, the patients entered a follow-up program; otherwise, they were advised to undergo a subsequent esophagectomy and three-field lymphadenectomy. RESULTS: Perfect discrimination accuracy was achieved among T1, T2, and T3 cancers. Whether cancer depth was up to the slight submucosal layer or deeper was correctly differentiated in 12 of 14 T1 cancers (86%). EUS categorized all patients correctly into candidates for either ESD or surgery. The pathological cancer depth of the resected specimens revealed that no patients experienced unnecessary overtreatment. CONCLUSIONS: A higher frequency miniprobe is useful for the detailed evaluation of cancer depth, contributing to decision making for treatment options of T1 esophageal cancer. A miniprobe and echoendoscope in combination with ESD provide an appropriately tailored management plan on an individual basis, avoiding unnecessary treatment or indicating radical surgery.

Effect of acriflavine on the hexokinase isozyme pattern of a yeast, Hansenula jadinii.

Dried cells of a yeast, Hansenula jadinii, that had been cultured aerobically with acriflavine, contained three hexokinase isozymes and metabolized glucose at 0.6 M to produce ATP to phosphorylate nucleotides in the presence of a high concentration of phosphate. Dried cells cultured aerobically without acriflavine contained two hexokinase isozymes and could not metabolize glucose under the same conditions. Two of the isozymes of the yeast cultured with acriflavine were similar to isozymes of the yeast cultured without acriflavine. However, the third isozyme was resistant to a high phosphate concentration and caused regeneration of ATP through glycolysis and phosphorylation of nucleotides.