The long-term quality of life after distal and pylorus-preserving gastrectomy for stage I gastric cancer: A prospective multi-institutional study (CCOG1601).

PURPOSE: While regarded as function-preserving gastrectomy, few prospective longitudinal clinical trials have addressed the postoperative quality of life (QOL) after pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG). We prospectively compared chronological changes in postoperative body weight and the QOL between PPG and distal gastrectomy (DG) for pathological Stage I gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: We conducted a multi-institutional prospective study (CCOG1601) to evaluate patients who underwent DG and PPG. The QOL was examined using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of life questionnaire-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Post-Gastrectomy Syndrome Assessment Scale-37 (PGSAS-37). A total of 295 patients were enrolled from 15 institutions, and propensity score matching was performed to adjust for the essential variables for comparison analyses. RESULTS: After propensity score matching, 25 pairs of patients were identified. In the first postoperative month, DG achieved a superior nausea and vomiting score (EORTC QLQ-C30) and meal-related distress, indigestion, and dumping scores (PGSAS-37). No significant differences were noted between DG and PPG in the long-term QOL. Postoperative body weight loss was similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective observational study failed to demonstrate the superiority of PPG over DG in terms of postoperative body weight changes and the QOL.

Controlling Nutritional Status Score Serves as a Prognosticator in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Optimal Timing of Evaluation of Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Usefulness of various nutritional indices for management of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been reported. Although Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is among promising indices to predict outcome, the optimal timing for its measurement during the perioperative period remains unknown. Here the prognostic value of the CONUT score was assessed among patients with ESCC. METHODS: We analyzed 464 patients who underwent subtotal esophagectomy of ESCC, of which 276 patients were treated with neoadjuvant treatment (NAT). The significance of the associations between candidate parameters including the CONUT score and postoperative prognosis were evaluated. RESULT: Among the 25 candidate predictors, the preoperative CONUT score had the highest correlation with overall survival (OS) after surgery. Patients were categorized as follows: normal, mild, and moderate or severe, on the basis of the preoperative CONUT score. OS was significantly shortened as the CONUT score worsened. Multivariable analysis revealed that the CONUT scores of the subgroups mild (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.69) and moderate or severe (HR 2.18) were independent predictors of poor prognosis for OS. Furthermore, in an analysis limited to patients who underwent NAT, OS was significantly shortened as the preoperative CONUT score worsened. On the contrary, there was no significant difference in RFS among patient groups stratified by the CONUT score determined before NAT. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that the preoperative CONUT score serves as a prognosticator in resectable ESCC. The preoperative CONUT value was more useful than that before NAT in patients administered NAT.

[A Case of Small Cell Carcinoma of Esophagus in Which Long-Term Survival Was Achieved with Multimodal Treatment].

A 79-year-old man presented to our hospital with 1-month history of discomfort on swallowing and pain in the thoracodorsal region. Image investigation revealed a tumor lesion affecting the area from the lower esophagus to the gastric antrum, and small cell carcinoma of esophagus was diagnosed based on biopsy. He was treated with resection of the lower esophagus and the upper part of the stomach and a postoperative chemoradiotherapy. The patient follow-upwas without recurrence until a malignant lymphoma developed 4 years and 5 months after the surgery. Chemotherapy was provided for the malignant lymphoma, however, the patient died 6 years and 4 months after the surgery for small cell carcinoma of esophagus. Small cell endocrine carcinoma of the esophagus is a relatively rare disease and its prognosis is poor. In our patient, long-term survival was achieved with multimodal treatment, however malignant lymphoma developed during the follow-upp eriod. This is the second case of metachronous cancer after the treatment for small cell carcinoma of the esophagus in Japan, and it is considered to be extremely rare.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of solid papillary carcinoma of the breast.

We report a case of solid papillary carcinoma (SPC) of the breast, of which the cytologic findings of the nipple discharge and the fine needle aspiration (FNA), and the pathology of the resected tumour are described in detail. Imaging studies demonstrated an intra-ductal tumour of the breast, which seemed responsible for the bloody nipple discharge. The cytologic features of the nipple discharge and the FNA targeted to the intra-ductal tumour suggested low-grade carcinoma. Additional findings of mucin production and rosette-formation (possibly neuroendocrine differentiation) indicated SPC as a major differential diagnosis. Histologically, the lesion consisted of mainly ductal proliferation of low-grade carcinoma associated with prominent rosette formation within the tumour and mucin production. Permeation of mucin with cancer cell clusters into the adjacent adipose tissue was also noted. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells, especially those forming rosettes, were partially positive for CD56. Histological diagnosis was SPC with invasion. SPC is a rare tumour, and its cytologic and pathologic features have only been sporadically reported. Our case was unique in that there was a good correlation between cytologic and histologic findings. The cytologic findings that are important to predict the histologic diagnosis are emphasized. A brief review of the relevant literature is also included.

[A Review of Six Cases of Neuro Endocrine Carcinoma of the Stomach].

Gastric endocrine carcinoma is a comparatively rare type of gastric cancer, accounting for 0.6% of all gastric cancers. Six cases of gastric endocrine carcinomas that were identified from November 2011 to March 2017 were reviewed. The mean age of the patients was 73.3 years, and 1 patient had StageⅠA cancer, 1 had Stage ⅡB, 2 had Stage ⅢA, and 2 had Stage Ⅳ. Three patients had concomitant conventional adenocarcinoma. Four patients underwent total gastrectomy, 3 of whom showed liver metastases after surgery. The prognosis of gastric endocrine carcinoma is poor because it rapidly metastasizes to the liver and lymph nodes. When unresectable metastatic disease occurs, systemic therapy with cytotoxic chemotherapy can be introduced. Chemotherapy is performed in accordance with that for small cell lung cancer; however, the response rate of chemotherapy is very low, so further studies are needed to improve this treatment.