Randomised controlled, patient-blinded, multicentre, superiority trial to evaluate the efficacy of the line-attached sheath-type traction device for endoscopic submucosal dissection in patients with superficial gastric neoplasms.

INTRODUCTION: EndoTrac is a line-attached sheath-type traction device that enables us to control the direction and the force of traction during endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). The efficacy of EndoTrac for gastric ESD has not been fully verified. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The G-Trac study is a multicentre (nine general hospitals and two university hospitals in Japan) collaborative trial assessing the efficacy of EndoTrac for gastric ESDs. Patients with superficial gastric neoplasms will be enrolled and randomly assigned to undergo either conventional ESD or EndoTrac ESD. Allocation will be stratified according to tumour location, operator experience and tumour diameter at an allocation rate of 1:1. The type of endoknife used will be confirmed before randomisation. The primary outcome, procedure time, will be compared between the groups in both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The efficacy-related, safety-related and device-related outcomes will be assessed in the secondary analysis. The planned sample size of the 142 patients in the two groups will enable us to detect a difference with a power of 80% by using the Wilcoxon rank sum test, assuming an effect size of 0.54, asymptotic relative efficiency of 0.864 and a two-sided type 1 error rate of 5%. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This trial was approved by the certified review board of Kobe University (22 December 2022). The results from this trial will be disseminated through peer-review journals, presentations at national and international conferences, and data sharing with other researchers. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: jRCT1052220166.

Outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal cancer with segmental absence of intestinal musculature.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Perforation during esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) typically results from electrical damage. However, there are cases in which perforation occurs because of segmental absence of intestinal musculature (SAIM) without iatrogenic muscular injury. We investigated the occurrence rate and clinical course of SAIM during esophageal ESD. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of esophageal ESDs performed between 2013 and 2019 at 10 centers in Japan. RESULTS: Five of 1708 (0.29%) patients received ESD for esophageal cancer and had SAIM. The median muscular defect size was 20 mm. All lesions were resected without discontinuation. After resection, 3 patients were closed with Endoloop. Four patients had mediastinal emphysema. All patients were managed conservatively. CONCLUSIONS: SAIM is a very rare condition that is usually only diagnosed during ESD. Physicians performing esophageal ESD should be aware of SAIM. When SAIM is detected, the ESD technique should be modified to prevent full-thickness perforation.

A case of acute recurrent pancreatitis caused by biliopancreatic reflux without pancreaticobiliary maljunction.

Acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) is a clinical condition characterized by repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis. In this case study, a 62-year-old man was diagnosed with mild pancreatitis five years ago, with alcohol intake initially considered the cause. Since then, he experienced three episodes of pancreatitis despite ceasing alcohol consumption completely. Consequently, the patient was diagnosed with ARP. Various diagnostic and imaging tests were performed to determine the etiology of his condition, including blood tests, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic ultrasonography, and contrast-enhanced computed tomography. The results were inconclusive; however, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed the reflux of bile and pancreatic juice into the alternative ducts, despite the absence of anatomical abnormalities in the biliary tract or pancreatic duct. These findings subsequently led to the diagnosis of biliopancreatic reflux, which activated pancreatic enzymes causing ARP. Endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy was performed to alleviate the patient's symptoms. One year later, the patient remained symptom-free. This case highlights the importance of examining bile and pancreatic juice components before considering endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients with unexplained ARP.

Assessment of predictive factors associated with the technical difficulty of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Japanese multicenter retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is performed for the treatment of lesions with varied backgrounds and factors. However, the predictive factors associated with the technical difficulty of ESD remain unknown in patients with varied lesions. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the predictive factors associated with the technical difficulty of ESD for ESCC using a retrospective cohort. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was conducted in 10 hospitals in Japan. Consecutive patients who underwent esophageal ESD between January 2013 and December 2019 were enrolled. Lesions of subepithelial tumors, adenocarcinoma, and adenoma were excluded. Difficult lesions were defined as ESD requiring a long procedure time (≥120 min), perforation development, piecemeal resection, or discontinued ESD. In the present study, the clinical factors were assessed to identify the technical difficulty of ESD using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Among 1708 lesions treated with esophageal ESD, eight subepithelial tumors, 44 adenocarcinomas, and two adenomas were excluded. Finally, 1505 patients with 1654 lesions were analyzed, and 217 patients with 217 lesions (13.1%) were classified as patients with difficult lesions. In multivariate analysis, the predictive factors associated with the technical difficulty of ESD were as follows: tumors with varices, tumors with diverticulum, antiplatelet use (discontinued), circumference of tumor (≥1/2), preoperative tumor size ≥30 mm, trainee, and nonhigh-volume center. CONCLUSION: This multicenter retrospective study identified the predictive factors associated with the technical difficulty of ESD for ESCC with varied backgrounds and factors.

Long-Term Outcomes of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Early Remnant Gastric Cancer: A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

INTRODUCTION: Favorable long-term outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early remnant gastric cancer (ERGC) have been reported in single-center studies from advanced institutions. However, no studies have examined the long-term outcomes using a multicenter database. This study aimed to investigate the long-term outcomes of the aforementioned approach using a large multicenter database. METHODS: This retrospective multicenter cohort study included 242 cases with 256 lesions that underwent ESD for ERGC between April 2009 and March 2019 across 12 centers. We investigated the long-term outcomes of these patients with the Kaplan-Meier method, and the relationship between curability, additional treatment, or hospital category, and the survival time was evaluated using the log-rank test. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 48.4 months, the 5-year overall survival rate was 81.3%, and the 5-year gastric cancer-specific survival rate was 98.1%. The survival time of patients of endoscopic curability (eCura) C-2 without additional surgery was significantly shorter than the corresponding of patients of eCura A/B/C-1 and eCura C-2 with additional surgery. There was no significant difference in either overall survival or gastric cancer-specific survival rate between the high-volume and non-high-volume hospitals. CONCLUSION: The gastric cancer-specific survival of ESD for ERGC using a multicenter database was favorable. ESD for ERGC is widely applicable regardless of the hospital case volume. Management in accordance with the latest guidelines will lead to long-term survival.

Safety and efficacy of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal cancer with esophageal varices.

BACKGROUND: Heavy drinking is associated with esophageal cancer and esophageal varices. However, there are limited reports of endoscopic resection for esophageal cancer with esophageal varices. In this multicenter study, we clarified the safety and efficacy of endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal cancer with esophageal varices. METHODS: In this multicenter, retrospective, observational study, patients underwent esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection at 10 referral centers in Japan from January 2013 to December 2019. We analyzed characteristics including backgrounds and varices, treatment outcomes, and adverse events in cases with esophageal varices. RESULTS: A total of 1708 patients were evaluated, 27 (1.6%) of whom had esophageal varices. In patients with esophageal varices, the en bloc resection rate and R0 resection rate were 100% and 77.8%, respectively. Patients with esophageal varices had longer procedure times than patients without esophageal varices (p = 0.015). There was no significant difference in adverse events. There was no significant difference in procedure time and number of adverse events between patients who underwent pretreatment and those who did not. There was no significant difference in these outcomes for patients with lesions on varices compared to those without. Child-Pugh classification and location of the lesions also did not affect these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal cancer with esophageal varices could be treated endoscopically safely and effectively.

Endoscopic diagnosis of chronic diarrhea.

The prevalence of chronic diarrhea in the general population is reported to be 4%-5%. Since various pathological conditions cause diarrheal symptoms, etiological diagnosis of chronic diarrhea is difficult in many cases. Medical history taking, physical examinations, and laboratory testing are not adequately sensitive or specific, thus a colonoscopic investigation is frequently employed for etiological evaluation. However, for cases with non-bloody chronic diarrhea, the diagnostic yield of a colonoscopy procedure is reported to be not high enough. Furthermore, endoscopically identifiable findings are not adequately specific for the diagnosis of diarrheal disease, except for inflammatory bowel disease, while microscopic colitis, amyloidosis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, celiac disease, and bile acid diarrhea are difficult to definitively diagnose using endoscopic findings. Thus, a histopathological examination of biopsy samples obtained with endoscopy is critically important. Endoscopists should consider obtaining biopsy samples from even normal-appearing gastrointestinal mucosa for chronic diarrhea diagnosis.

A case of COVID-19 diarrhea relieved by bile acid sequestrant administration.

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 exhibit various gastrointestinal symptoms. Although diarrhea is reported in many cases, the pathophysiology of diarrhea has not been fully clarified. Herein, we report a case of coronavirus disease 2019 with diarrhea that was successfully relieved by the administration of a bile acid sequestrant. The patient was a 59-year-old man whose pneumonia was treated by the administration of glucocorticoids and mechanical ventilation. However, beginning on the 30th hospital day, he developed severe watery diarrhea (up to 10 times a day). Colonoscopy detected ulcers in the terminal ileum and ascending colon. The oral administration of a bile acid sequestrant, colestimide, improved his diarrhea quickly. Ileal inflammation is reported to suppress expression of the gut epithelial apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter. It decreases bile acid absorption at the distal ileum and increases colonic delivery of bile acids, resulting in bile acid diarrhea. In summary, the clinical course of the case presented in this report suggests that bile acid diarrhea is a possible mechanism of watery diarrhea observed in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.

The risk scoring system for assessing the technical difficulty of endoscopic submucosal dissection in cases of remnant gastric cancer after distal gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for remnant gastric cancer (RGC) after distal gastrectomy (DG) is considered technically challenging due to the narrow working space, and severe fibrosis and staples from the previous surgery. Technical difficulties of ESD for RGC after DG have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to develop and validate a risk-scoring system for assessing the technical difficulty of ESD for RGC after DG in a large multicenter cohort. METHODS: We investigated patients who underwent ESD for RGC after DG in 10 institutions between April 2008 and March 2018. A difficult case was defined as ESD lasting ≥ 120 min, involving piecemeal resection, or the occurrence of perforation during the procedure. A risk-scoring system for the technical difficulty of the procedure was developed based on multiple logistic regression analyses, and its performance was internally validated using bootstrapping. RESULTS: A total of 197 consecutive patients with 201 lesions were analyzed. There were 90 and 111 difficult and non-difficult cases, respectively. The scoring model consisted of four independent risk factors and points of risk scores were assigned for each as follows: tumor size > 20 mm: 2 points; anastomosis site: 2 points; suture line: 1 point; and non-expert endoscopist: 2 points. The C-statistics of the scoring system for technical difficulty was 0.72. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a validated risk-scoring model for predicting the technical difficulty of ESD for RGC after DG that can contribute to its safer and more reliable performance.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy for advanced achalasia with megaesophagus.

BACKGROUND: The outcomes of peroral endoscopic myotomy for advanced achalasia are not well known. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of peroral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia with megaesophagus, which is one of the characteristics of advanced achalasia. METHODS: In total, 234 patients with achalasia who underwent peroral endoscopic myotomy in our hospital from April 2015 to March 2019 were included in this retrospective observational study. Megaesophagus was defined as a maximum esophageal diameter of 6 cm or more. Outcomes, including clinical success (Eckardt score ≤ 3 without retreatment) at the 1-year follow-up, technical success, and perioperative complications, were investigated and compared between patients with and without megaesophagus. RESULTS: Eleven patients (4.7%) were diagnosed with megaesophagus. The clinical success rate achieved was 63.6% in patients with megaesophagus, with a significant decrease in the Eckardt score (6 vs. 2, p = 0.003) and integrated relaxation pressure (28 mmHg vs. 9 mmHg, p = 0.028). The technical success rate was 100%. However, patients with megaesophagus had a significantly lower clinical success rate than those without megaesophagus (63.6% vs. 96.0%, p = 0.002). Furthermore, patients with megaesophagus had significantly higher rates of major adverse events than those without megaesophagus (18.2% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Peroral endoscopic myotomy improved achalasia-related symptoms, and this was technically feasible in patients with megaesophagus. However, the clinical success rate was somewhat low, and the rate of major adverse events was high. Therefore, peroral endoscopic myotomy should be carefully performed for advanced achalasia with megaesophagus.

EUS-guided drainage for a non-dilated pancreatic duct using a re-puncture technique in a patient with stricture-related pancreatitis (with video).

Highlight EUS-guided pancreatic duct drainage has emerged as an effective method for the treatment of post-pancreaticojejunostomy anastomotic stricture, but cases with non-dilated pancreatic duct usually represent a great challenge. Fujigaki and colleagues demonstrate the feasibility of EUS-guided pancreatic duct drainage with the re-puncture technique in a case with non-dilated pancreatic duct.

Development of a preoperative risk-scoring system for predicting poor responders to peroral endoscopic myotomy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is an effective treatment for esophageal motility disorder. However, some people are poor responders who will probably need retreatments, such as endoscopic pneumatic dilation or re-POEM, and a scoring system for the prediction of poor responders preoperatively has not yet been established. We aimed to develop and validate a preoperative scoring system for predicting poor responders. METHODS: Overall, 244 patients who underwent POEM for esophageal motility disorders in our hospital from April 2015 to March 2019 were retrospectively included in this study. Poor responders were defined as patients with any of following: (1) Eckardt score ≥3 at 1-year follow-up, (2) endoscopic findings of food retention at 1-year follow-up, and (3) retreatments within 1 year after POEM. A risk-scoring system for poor responders was developed based on multiple logistic regression analysis, and its performance was internally validated using bootstrapping. RESULTS: Forty patients were diagnosed as poor responders at the 1-year follow-up. In the multivariate study, points for risk scores were assigned for 4 independent risk factors as follows: pretreatment Eckardt score (1-point increments), previous treatments (4 points), sigmoid-type esophagus (4 points), and esophageal dilation grade ≥II (4 points). The scoring system could predict an estimated risk for poor responders and provided satisfactory discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.88) and calibration (slope = 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-1.31). CONCLUSIONS: A validated risk-scoring system for predicting poor responders preoperatively was established; this system could be useful for selecting treatment strategies and postoperative surveillance.

Comparison of the safety and efficacy of peroral endoscopic myotomy between octogenarians and non-octogenarians.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the safety and efficacy of peroral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal motility disorders between octogenarians and non-octogenarians. METHODS: This retrospective observational study recruited 321 patients (28 octogenarians and 293 non-octogenarians) who underwent peroral endoscopic myotomy from two institutions. Clinical success (postoperative Eckardt score ≤ 3), technical success (completion of gastric and esophageal myotomy), and perioperative adverse events were compared between octogenarians and non-octogenarians. Perioperative adverse events were classified into major and minor adverse events based on the International Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy Survey criteria and were subdivided into technical and non-technical adverse events according to the presence of a direct causal relationship with the procedure. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the rates of clinical success 1 year after treatment (100% vs. 97.3%, P = 0.64) and technical success (100% vs. 99.7%, P = 0.91) between octogenarians and non-octogenarians. Octogenarians had a higher incidence of perioperative adverse events (28.6% vs. 10.2%, P = 0.00097), particularly major adverse events (25.0% vs. 3.0%, P < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the incidence of minor adverse events (7.1% vs. 7.9%, P = 0.67). Although there was no difference in the incidence of technical adverse events (10.7% vs. 9.2%, P = 0.74), octogenarians had a significantly higher incidence of non-technical adverse events (17.9% vs. 1.0%, P = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences in short-term clinical success and technical success between octogenarians and non-octogenarians. However, octogenarians showed a significantly higher incidence of perioperative adverse events, particularly in major adverse events and non-technical adverse events. Peroral endoscopic myotomy for octogenarians should be carefully applied.

The number and size of Lugol-voiding areas were reduced by pneumatic dilation in a patient with achalasia and esophageal cancer.

Achalasia is a rare benign esophageal motility disease caused by the impaired relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter, which results from nerve damage. Patients with achalasia are known to have a high risk of esophageal cancer. Here, we present the case of a patient with achalasia and esophageal cancer in whom the Lugol-voiding areas (LVAs) could be improved by pneumatic dilation and the extending area of esophagus cancer could become clear. In achalasia patients, LVAs are modified by inflammation and appear wider than their actual size. Moreover, some parts of LVAs in achalasia patients might be reversible by treatments that improve delayed emptying. When the spread of esophagus cancer is unclear due to the detection of numerous LVAs by Lugol chromoendoscopy, the treatments that improve delayed emptying first may be effective in accurately diagnosing the extending area of esophagus cancer.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy alone is effective for esophageal motility disorders and esophageal epiphrenic diverticulum: a retrospective single-center study.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal epiphrenic diverticulum (ED) is associated with esophageal motility disorder (EMD). If a diverticulum associated with EMD is enlarging with worsening symptoms, surgical intervention, including laparoscopic epiphrenic diverticulectomy with myotomy and fundoplication, is indicated. However, some studies suggest that myotomy alone, with less adverse events, is sufficient to improve symptoms. Additionally, peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is considered effective and safe for EMD. Since theoretically, POEM is endoscopic Heller myotomy, POEM without diverticulectomy is considered a less invasive, promising treatment option for EMD and ED. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of POEM alone for ED with EMD. METHODS: This single-center study was retrospective. A total of 298 patients underwent POEM in Kobe University Hospital from April 2015 to October 2018. Of them, 14 patients had ED. Procedure-related outcomes and treatment outcomes 3 months post POEM were evaluated in these patients. RESULTS: The median maximum ED diameter was 29 (range 9-90) mm; and the median POEM procedure time, 77.5 (range 41-123) min. Pneumoperitoneum, which required needle decompression, occurred in one patient, but no fatal adverse events occurred. The median Eckardt score significantly decreased from 5 [range 2-11] pre POEM to 0 [range 0-2] post POEM (P < 0.0001). The median integrated relaxation pressure significantly decreased from 22.5 [13.9-34.3] mmHg pre POEM to 10.2 [0.7-23.9] mmHg post POEM (P < 0.0001). Of 14 patients, only one patient complained of gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms, which could be controlled with a potassium-competitive acid blocker. CONCLUSIONS: POEM alone seemed effective and safe for patients with EMD and ED.

Novel per-oral endoscopic myotomy method preserving oblique muscle using two penetrating vessels as anatomic landmarks reduces postoperative gastroesophageal reflux.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: One of the main concerns related to peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is postoperative gastroesophageal reflux (GER). The two penetrating vessels (TPVs) that are found at the boundary between the circular and oblique muscles in the posterior cardia wall have been suggested to be a good indicator of the optimal distal extent of POEM. However, the effect of performing myotomy using the TPVs as an anatomical reference on the frequency of post-POEM GER has not been studied. METHODS: This study involved consecutive patients who underwent POEM for the treatment of achalasia between April 2015 and June 2017. All enrolled patients underwent POEM in the 5 o'clock position and were divided into two groups: the conventional line group (CL group, n = 31), in which the TPVs were not exposed during submucosal tunnel dissection in the cardia, and the TPVs line group (TPVs group, n = 83), in which the TPVs were exposed and gastric myotomy was performed along the right side of the TPVs to preserve the oblique muscle. Examinations for post-POEM GER were conducted 3 months after the POEM. RESULTS: The frequency of grade B or higher reflex esophagitis was 26/83 (31.3%) in the TPVs group and 18/31 (58.1%) in the CL group (P = 0.017). Nine of 83 patients (10.8%) had GER symptoms in the TPVs group, and six of 31 (19.4%) had GER symptoms in the CL group (P = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS: The novel myotomy method preserving oblique muscle using TPVs as anatomical landmarks significantly reduced the frequency of post-POEM GER.

Clinical impact of peroral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal motility disorders on esophageal muscle layer thickness.

Background and study aims Previously, we reported that esophageal muscle layer thickness was associated with technical complexity of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). However, there are no data regarding the mid-term effects of POEM procedures on esophageal muscle layer thickness. Therefore, we conducted this study to elucidate mid-term effects of POEM procedures, and to examine whether postoperative changes in esophageal muscle layer thickness were related to particular clinico-pathological features in patients with esophageal motility disorders. Patients and methods Seventy-four consecutive patients with esophageal motility disorders who underwent POEM at Kobe University Hospital from April 2015 to December 2016 were prospectively recruited into this study. First, we investigated the esophageal muscle layer thickness values obtained at 1 year after POEM. Second, we evaluated the effects of a reduction in muscle layer thickness on various clinico-pathological features. Results At 1 year after POEM, mean thickness of the inner circular muscle at 0 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm from the esophagogastric junction was 1.06 ±â€Š0.45 mm, 0.99 ±â€Š0.36 mm, and 0.97 ±â€Š0.44 mm, respectively. Among all sites, muscle layer thickness had significantly decreased after POEM. However, univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that no clinical factors were associated with esophageal muscle layer thickness after POEM procedure. Conclusions We demonstrated for the first time that thickness of the esophageal muscle layer was significantly decreased after POEM. This result reveals that changes in esophageal muscle layer thickness caused by esophageal motility disorders are reversible.

Effective treatment improves the body composition of patients with esophageal motility disorders.

Although treatment for esophageal motility disorder improves dysphagia and increases body weight, the effect of the treatment on body composition is unclear. This study aimed to assess the change in body composition between before and after treatment, the preoperative predictors of muscle increase, and the association between muscle increase and quality of life. Sixty-one patients (achalasia, n = 55; spastic esophageal disorder n = 6) who underwent per-oral endoscopic myotomy were analyzed in a single-arm prospective observational study. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was measured with dual X-ray absorptiometry before and 3 months after per-oral endoscopic myotomy. For subgroup analysis, patients with postoperative appendicular skeletal muscle mass increase were defined as the muscle-increase group and the rest as the non-muscle-increase group. Preoperative factors related to the muscle-increase group were clarified via multivariate analysis. Further, the improvement after per-oral endoscopic myotomy in health-related quality-of-life score (Short Form-36) was compared between the muscle-increase and non-muscle-increase groups. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass increased significantly 3 months after per-oral endoscopic myotomy (P = 0.0002). The patients who underwent effective treatment (postoperative Eckardt score < 3) showed a significant improvement in appendicular skeletal muscle mass compared to those who did not (P = 0.04). In the stepwise logistic regression analysis, the preoperative Eckardt score (odds ratio: 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.30-3.26, P = 0.0005) and preoperative serum prealbumin (odds ratio: 0.83, 95% confidence interval 0.70-0.97, P = 0.02) were identified as independent factors related to postoperative muscle increase. The improvements in the Short Form-36 domains of General Health (P = 0.0007) and Vitality (P = 0.003) were significantly higher in the muscle-increase group. The findings show that effective treatment improved the body composition of patients with esophageal motility disorder and that the Eckardt score and serum prealbumin may aid the prediction of increased appendicular skeletal muscle mass after treatment, resulting in a better quality of life.

New Development for Safer Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection using the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Laser (Secondary publication).

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) has been increasingly accepted as a minimally invasive treatment for the patients with early gastrointestinal cancers. However, reliable ESD technique demands high maneuverability, and the success of the operation is dependent on each operator's skill. We have developed a novel laser endoscopic system for ESD to overcome such technique-related difficulties. Compared to conventional ESD using electrosurgical knives, an ESD method using the CO2 laser offers the advantages of less risk of perforation and the prevention of extensive thermal damage, because the CO2 laser is strongly absorbed by water. Furthermore, due to the non-contact technique associated with the CO2 laser and adequate visualization of the treatment area, the laser system may provide every endoscopist with more precise and safer treatment.