Outcomes for endoscopic submucosal dissection of pathologically staged T1b esophageal cancer: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for T1b esophageal cancer (EC) and its recurrence rates remain unclear in the West. Using a multicenter cohort, we evaluated technical outcomes and recurrence rates of ESD in the treatment of pathologically staged T1b EC. METHODS: We included patients who underwent ESD of T1b EC at 7 academic tertiary referral centers in the United States (n = 6) and Brazil (n = 1). We analyzed demographic, procedural, and histopathologic characteristics and follow-up data. Time-to-event analysis was performed to evaluate recurrence rates. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients with pathologically staged T1b EC after ESD were included in the study. A preprocedure staging EUS was available in 54 patients and was Tis/T1a in 27 patients (50%) and T1b in 27 patients (50%). En-bloc resection rate was 92.4% (61/66) and R0 resection rate was 54.5% (36/66). Forty-nine of 66 patients (74.2%) did not undergo surgery immediately after resection and went on to surveillance. Ten patients had ESD resection within the curative criteria, and no recurrences were seen in a 13-month (range, 3-18.5) follow-up period in these patients. Ten of 39 patients (25.6%) with noncurative resections had residual/recurrent disease. Of the 10 patients with noncurative resection, local recurrence alone was seen in 5 patients (12.8%) and metastatic recurrence in 5 patients (12.8%). On univariate analysis, R1 resection had a higher risk of recurrent disease (hazard ratio, 6.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-30.36; P = .023). CONCLUSIONS: EUS staging of T1b EC has poor accuracy, and a staging ESD should be considered in these patients. ESD R0 resection rates were low in T1b EC, and R1 resection was associated with recurrent disease. Patients with noncurative ESD resection of T1b EC who cannot undergo surgery should be surveyed closely, because recurrent disease was seen in 25% of these patients.

Threshold Analysis of the Cost-effectiveness of Endoscopic Ultrasound in Patients at High Risk for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Data from the International Cancer of the Pancreas Screening Consortium studies have demonstrated that screening for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma can be effective and that surveillance improves survival in high-risk individuals. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and cross-sectional imaging are both used, although there is some suggestion that EUS is superior. Demonstration of the cost-effectiveness of screening is important to implement screening in high-risk groups. METHODS: Results from centers with EUS-predominant screening were pooled to evaluate efficacy of index EUS in screening. A decision analysis model simulated the outcome of high-risk patients who undergo screening and evaluated the parameters that would make screening cost-effective at a US $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year willingness to pay. RESULTS: One-time index EUS has a sensitivity of 71.25% and specificity of 99.82% to detection to detect high-risk lesions. Screening with index EUS was cost-effective, particularly at lifetime pancreatic cancer probabilities of greater than 10.8%, or at lower probabilities if life expectancy after resection of a lesion that was at least 16 years, and if missed, lesion rates on index EUS are 5% or less. CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatic cancer screening can be cost-effective through index EUS, particularly for those individuals at high-lifetime risk of cancer.

Insulin resistance, central obesity, and risk of colorectal adenomas.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence supports insulin resistance (IR) as the underpinning of the obesity-colorectal neoplasia link. The homeostasis model assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) is a widely accepted index of evolving hyperinsulinemia and early IR. Studies of the relation between HOMA-IR and colorectal adenomas are limited. Therefore, the authors sought to determine the associations of HOMA-IR and central obesity (waist to hip ratio [WHR]) with risk of colorectal adenomas in a screening colonoscopy-based study. METHODS: The authors collected lifestyle information and fasting blood samples from 1222 participants (320 incident adenoma cases and 902 without adenomas) before their screening colonoscopies. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to assess risk associations. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis of participants (n = 1093) reporting no antidiabetic medication use, those in the top quartile of WHR were twice as likely (odds ratio [OR], 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-3.57; P-trend = .003) and those in the top quartile of HOMA-IR were 63% more likely (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.09-2.44; P-trend = .01) to have adenomas compared with those in the bottom quartiles. Stratified analysis revealed a statistically significant interaction between HOMA-IR and sex (P-interaction = .04), with the association largely limited to men; compared with those in the bottom tertile, men in the top tertile of HOMA-IR were twice more likely to have adenomas (OR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.18-3.78; P-trend = .01). CONCLUSIONS: The results support central obesity and insulin resistance, particularly in men, as important risk factors for the development of early colorectal neoplasia.