Endoscopic ultrasound staging in gastric cancer: Does it help management decisions in the era of neoadjuvant treatment?

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has been shown to be the most accurate test for locoregional staging of upper gastrointestinal tumors; however, recent studies have questioned its accuracy level in daily clinical application. The present retrospective study analyzes the accuracy of EUS in guiding interdisciplinary treatment decisions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 123 primarily operated patients (63 % men, mean age 61.4 years) were included; only cases with tumor-free resection margins and without evidence of distant metastases were selected. EUS and histopathological findings were compared. Main outcome parameter was the distinction between tumors to be primarily operated (T1 /2N0) and those to be treated by neoadjuvant or perioperative chemotherapy (T3/4, or any N + ), based on an assumed algorithm for treatment stratification. RESULTS: Overall staging accuracy of EUS was 44.7 % for T and 71.5 % for N status irrespective of tumor location. Overstaging was the main problem (44.9 % for T, 42.9 % for N staging). The overall EUS classification was correct in 79.7 % (accuracy), with a sensitivity 91.9 % and specificity 51.4 %; only 19 out of 37 cases with histopathological T1/2N0 were correctly classified by EUS. Positive and negative predictive values of EUS in diagnosing advanced tumor stage for assignment to neoadjuvant therapy were 81.4 % and 73.1 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas EUS has a high sensitivity in the diagnosis of locally advanced gastric cancer, endosonographic overstaging of T2 cancers appears to be a frequent problem. EUS stratification between local (T1 /2N0) and advanced (T3/4 or any N + ) tumors would thus result in incorrect assignment to neoadjuvant treatment in half of cases.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage of abdominal abscesses and infected necrosis.

Traditionally abdominal abscesses have been treated with either surgical or radiologically guided percutaneous drainage. Surgical drainage procedures may be associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, and serious complications may also arise from percutaneous drainage. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage of well-demarcated abdominal abscesses, with adjunctive endoscopic debridement in the presence of solid necrotic debris, has been shown to be feasible and safe. This multicenter review summarizes the current status of the EUS-guided approach, describes the available and emerging techniques, and highlights the indications, limitations, and safety issues.

Total endoscopic resection of Barrett esophagus.

Barrett's esophagus with high grade intraepithelial neoplasia is associated with disease progression at rates of greater than 10% per year. Endoscopic resection is a lower risk alternative to surgery for the management of high grade intraepithelial neoplasia and intramucosal cancer. Two endoscopic approaches have been used, namely localized resection of the lesion and total endoscopic resection of all Barrett's mucosa. The latter strategy removes all at-risk mucosa. Currently it is performed mainly using piecemeal endoscopic mucosal resection techniques. In recent years endoscopic submucosal dissection has been attempted to obtain en bloc resection. This review will describe the techniques of total endoscopic resection, and summarize the key published data.

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography in the diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a less-invasive alternative to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for the diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of MRCP in PSC compared with ERCP, and assessed the diagnostic accuracy of different T2w sequences. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 95 patients (69 PSC, 26 controls) were evaluated using both ERCP and MRCP. Exclusion criteria included secondary sclerosing cholangitis and contraindications to MRCP. The diagnosis of PSC was confirmed in 69 patients based on ERCP as the reference gold standard. MRCP was performed using a 1.5 Tesla MR unit, using breath hold, coronal and transverse half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE), coronal-oblique, fat-suppressed half-Fourier rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE), and coronal-oblique, fat-suppressed, multisection, thin-section HASTE (TS-HASTE) sequences. The MRCP morphological criteria of PSC were evaluated and compared with ERCP. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were 86%, 77%, and 83%, respectively, using the MRCP-RARE sequence, and increased further to 93%, 77%, and 88%, respectively, by the inclusion of follow-up MRCP in 52 patients, performed at 6-12-month intervals. HASTE and TS-HASTE sequences showed significantly lower diagnostic accuracy but provided additional morphologic information. CONCLUSIONS: MRCP can diagnose PSC but has difficulties in early PSC and in cirrhosis, and in the differentiation of cholangiocarcinoma, Caroli's disease, and secondary sclerosing cholangitis. A positive MRCP would negate some diagnostic ERCP studies but a negative MRCP would not obviate the need for ERCP.

Endotherapy for chronic pancreatitis with intracanalar stones.

Endotherapy for pancreatic stone is an emerging specialty. The judicious application of extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in selected groups of patients has increased the success rates of endotherapy, with excellent long-term results. In this review the authors share their vast experience of treating patients with pancreatic stones. The article will focus on the basic principles of pancreatic endotherapy, the instrumentation required, details of the ESWL technique and its applications, as well as the limitations, success rate, and complications of endotherapy in selected patients.

Quality control of endoscopic ultrasound in preoperative staging of esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is generally established as the most sensitive diagnostic tool for the assessment of locoregional tumor stage in esophageal carcinoma. It therefore has a crucial impact on the decision whether patients should undergo surgery as primary treatment or should receive neoadjuvant therapy. This study retrospectively evaluates the accuracy of EUS in tumor and nodal staging of prospectively evaluated patients with esophageal carcinoma in relation to tumor type, tumor grading, tumor site, and the influence of dilation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All 214 patients included in the study underwent surgery without neoadjuvant therapy and had tumor-free resection margins with no evidence of distant metastasis. EUS investigations were done at our Department of Interdisciplinary Endoscopy. EUS results were compared with the pathological findings. RESULTS: EUS correctly identified T status in 141 patients (65.9 %). The sensitivity and specificity in relation to T status were 68.1 % and 98.2 % respectively for T1, 40.9 % and 83.4 % for T2, 84.3 % and 64.6 % for T3, and 14.3 % and 98.8 % for T4. The overall diagnostic accuracy of EUS in relation to N status was 64.5 % (n = 138); sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of N1 were 93.8 % and 20 %, respectively. Sixty-eight (80 %) of 85 pN0-staged tumors were overstaged as uN1. Dilation had a significant influence on the accuracy of EUS staging in advanced tumors ( P = 0.02), whereas tumor grading impacted on EUS staging in early tumors ( P = 0.01). Tumor site and tumor type did not show any influence. CONCLUSIONS: Endosonographic staging of esophageal carcinoma is still unsatisfactory. An improvement in staging accuracy may be achieved by adding fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) to EUS, because FNA improves N-stage accuracy, but it has no bearing on T-stage accuracy.

Endoscopic mucosal resection of Barrett's oesophagus containing dysplasia or intramucosal cancer.

Barrett's oesophagus is premalignant. Oesophagectomy is traditionally regarded as the standard treatment option in the presence of high grade intraepithelial neoplasia or intramucosal cancer. However, oesophagectomy is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity. Endoscopic ablative therapies are limited by the lack of tissue for histological assessment, and the ablation may be incomplete. Endoscopic mucosal resection is an alternative to surgery in the management of high grade intraepithelial neoplasia and intramucosal cancer. It is less invasive than surgery and, unlike ablative treatments, provides tissue for histological assessment. This review will cover the indications, techniques and results of endoscopic mucosal resection.

Radial EUS: the clinical impact of T staging.

Endoscopic ultrasound staging of gastrointestinal and pancreaticobiliary cancers is important in guiding the choice of an appropriate treatment strategy such as endoscopic mucosal resection, surgery or palliative chemotherapy. This review will summarize the principles of endoscopic ultrasound T staging using a radial echoendoscope, elaborate on the accuracy rate in T staging, and discuss the clinical impact of endoscopic ultrasound T staging in the context of esophageal, gastric and pancreaticobiliary cancers.

Strategy of treatment of submucosal gastric tumors.

BACKGROUND: The more frequent use of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) leads to an increased number of diagnosed gastric submucosal tumors (G-SMT). Since until now rather little therapeutical success in respect of these tumors has been achieved, we evaluated our concept of watchful waiting and selective treatment of patients with G-SMT in an analysis of prospectively collected data. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven consecutive patients with G-SMT treated at our institution between 1994 and 2000, were included. All patients underwent abdominal ultrasound and EUS, and in case of suspicious findings or a tumor size > 2 cm EUS fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) was performed. Patients were operated on if a malignant tumor was suspected (tumor size > 2 cm; detection of metastases) or if complications occurred (e.g. bleeding, ulceration). RESULTS: All 47 patients were included in this study. Typical symptoms were nausea (64%), bleeding (11%) and pain (9%). EUS showed a G-SMT averaging 6.4 (0.8 - 30) cm in size. EUS-FNA was performed in 24 patients revealing PAP III (n = 1), PAP II (n = 21) and PAP I (n = 2) scores. Surgery was performed in 33 patients, revealing gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) in 18 patients as well as several other malignant and non-malignant lesions. During follow-up (median 37 months), none of the conservatively treated patients (n = 14) developed a malignant tumor. CONCLUSIONS: In one third of our patients surgery could be avoided with this strategy. No delayed diagnosis of a malignant tumor during follow-up was established. Small G-GMT's should be monitored conservatively if diagnostic procedures and follow-up was performed by EUS and eventually EUS-FNA.

Diagnosing sarcoidosis using endosonography-guided fine-needle aspiration.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The ability to diagnose sarcoidosis cytologically has been reported previously, but the method is rarely used. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a sensitive technique for detecting mediastinal lymph nodes, which in addition provides an opportunity to carry out guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. We report herein on the use of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen patients with suspected sarcoidosis were investigated using EUS-FNA with a linear echoendoscope and a 22-gauge Hancke-Vilman needle. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: In all 19 patients, EUS revealed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (mean size, 2.4 cm), located subcarinally (n = 15), in the aortopulmonary window (n = 12), or in the lower posterior mediastinum (n = 5). The nodes had an isoechoic or hypoechoic appearance, with atypical vessels in five cases. The amount of aspirate obtained using EUS-FNA was adequate in all patients, and contained blood in excess of normal in some, indicating a high degree of vascularity. Cytology demonstrated epithelioid cell granuloma formation, suggesting sarcoidosis. Mycobacterial cultures were negative in all of the patients except one, in whom the final diagnosis was tuberculosis. The specificity and sensitivity of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis were 94% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EUS of mediastinal lymph nodes in sarcoidosis reveals certain characteristic features. However, it is not capable of differentiating the lesions from tuberculosis or malignancy. EUS-FNA is a safe and sensitive method of aspirating material for cytology and mycobacterial cultures. We believe it will provide a useful alternative in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

Role of transesophageal endosonography-guided fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis of lung cancer.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Bronchoscopic methods fail to diagnose lung cancer in up to 30% of patients. We studied the role of transesophageal endosonography (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA; EUS-FNA) in such patients. DESIGN: Prospective study. The final diagnosis was confirmed by cytology, histology, or clinical follow-up. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: Thirty-five patients (30 male and 5 female; mean age, 60.9 years; range, 34 to 88 years) with suspected lung cancer in whom bronchoscopic methods failed. Patients with a known diagnosis, recurrence of lung cancer, or mediastinal metastasis from an extrathoracic primary were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: EUS and guided FNA of mediastinal lymph nodes. RESULTS: The procedure was uneventful, and material was adequate in all. The final diagnosis by EUS-FNA was malignancy in 25 patients (11 adenocarcinoma, 10 small cell, 3 squamous cell, and 1 lymphoma) and benign disease in 9 patients (5 inflammatory, 2 sarcoidosis, and 2 anthracosis). Another patient with a benign result had signet-ring cell carcinoma diagnosed on pleural fluid cytology (probably false-negative in EUS-FNA). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values were 96, 100, 97, 100, and 90%, respectively. There were no complications. Reviewing the EUS morphology, the nodes were predominantly located in levels 7 and 8 of American Thoracic Society mediastinal lymph node mapping (subcarinal and paraesophageal region). In seven patients, the punctured nodes were < 1 cm (four malignant and three benign), which are difficult to sample by other methods. The malignant nodes had a hypoechoic, homogenous echotexture. CONCLUSIONS: EUS-FNA is a safe, reliable, and accurate method to establish the diagnosis of suspected lung cancer when bronchoscopic methods fail, especially in the presence of small nodes.

Frontiers of biliary endoscopy.

Endoscopic techniques have contributed considerably in the diagnosis and management of patients with biliary problems. Several challenges remain. Techniques can certainly be improved to facilitate procedures and to reduce their risk. The main challenges now are to evaluate outcomes more objectively and to develop the interface between endoscopy and other related techniques, particularly radiology and surgery. State-of-the-art patient management demands a multidisciplinary team approach. None of these techniques can be applied appropriately and optimally without adequate specialist training.

Endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts.

This article reviews the current diagnostic and therapeutic modalities used in pseudocyst drainage and possible contributions of endoscopic ultrasound to this process. The authors conclude that EUS should improve the ability to reliably differentiate pseudocysts from cystic neoplasms and are excited about the new development that proposes to combine therapy with diagnosis.

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. New and alternative hemostatic techniques.

In upper gastrointestinal bleeding, endoscopic management does reduce rates of rebleeding, surgery, and mortality. In active bleeding, however, early recurrence still occurs in around 20% despite successful initial hemostasis. Several new techniques or modifications of endoscopic hemostatic methods have been invented to improve the results. They include ligating devices, biological injection agents, argon plasma coagulation, and hemoclips. Hemoclips and injection therapy using fibrin glue do not cause relevant tissue damage and appear to have better results in terms of lower rebleeding rates. Fibrin glue seems to be effective only if injected repeatedly. Due to limited experience, no final conclusion can be made at this stage. Further clinical investigation is warranted.

Endoscopic therapy of pancreatic strictures.

Over the past decade, endoscopic therapy has been increasingly used as a less invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of pancreatic duct strictures. The therapeutic goal has been the palliative relief of severe pain associated with chronic pancreatitis. Studies from several centers have shown that endoscopic stenting results in pain relief for a high percentage of patients. Future investigation needs to focus on the refinement and standardization of basic techniques, and different strategies need to be compared in well-designed trials.

New mechanical puncture videoechoendoscope: one-step transmural drainage of a pseudocyst.

A new mechanical puncture video echoendoscope (GF-UMD-240P 270 degrees image field parallel to the endoscope axis) has been used for puncture and drainage of a symptomatic pancreatic pseudocyst. It is equipped with a 2.8 mm working channel and an elevator allowing single step drainage with passage of a 7F nasocystic catheter.

Impact of endoscopic ultrasound for evaluation of submucosal lesions in gastrointestinal tract.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic ultrasound is widely used following endoscopy for evaluation of suspected submucosal lesions and may guide further management of patients. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A total of 181 consecutive patients with suspected submucosal lesion in the upper gastrointestinal tract were diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound between 1990-97. We evaluated: 1) the potential of endoscopic ultrasound criteria to predict histological type of submucosal lesions in 69 patients with available histology, 2) the ability of endoscopic ultrasound alone or with clinical presentation, to predict malignancy in 86 patients with available histology or follow-up of >12 months. RESULTS: Sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing 44 gastrointestinal stromal tumours were 95 and 72%, respectively, while 25 miscellaneous lesions were diagnosed correctly in only 56% by endoscopic ultrasound. Diagnosis of malignancy, using any two of three endoscopic ultrasound criteria (heterogeneous echotexture, size >3 cm, irregular margins) showed a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 77%, giving accurate endoscopic ultrasound diagnosis in 16/20 malignant and 51/66 benign submucosal lesion. Heterogeneous echotexture, size >3 cm, and irregular margins showed a relative risk of 7.2, 5.4 and 4.6, respectively, for presence of malignancy. The presence of symptoms, potentially suggesting malignancy (dysphagia, gastrointestinal bleeding, pain and weight loss), had a relative risk of 4.2, however this did not increase the accuracy of diagnosing malignancy based on endoscopic ultrasound criteria alone. CONCLUSION: The accuracy of endoultrasound is high in diagnosing gastrointestinal stromal tumours, which show a significant potential of malignancy. Endoscopic ultrasound morphology appears to be helpful in selection of patients for surgical or conservative treatment. The accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound in differential diagnosis of non-gastrointestinal stromal tumour lesions is limited.

Asymptomatic esophageal varices should be endoscopically treated.

Endoscopic treatment has generally been accepted in the management of bleeding esophageal varices. Both the control of acute variceal bleeding and elective variceal eradication to prevent recurrent bleeding can be achieved via endoscopic methods. In contrast to acute and elective treatment, the role of endoscopic therapy in asymptomatic patients who have never had variceal bleeding remains controversial because of the rather disappointing results obtained from prophylactic sclerotherapy. Most published randomized controlled trials showed that prophylactic sclerotherapy had no effect on survival. In some studies, neither survival rate nor bleeding risk was improved. In this article, the author champions the view that asymptomatic esophageal varices should be endoscopically treated.

[The diagnosis of annular pancreas (author's transl)]. / Diagnostik des Pankreas anulare.

Annular pancreas is a rare congenital malformation of the gut; frequently it becomes manifest in adult life. The clinical picture and radiological appearances are dominated by stenosis of the duodenum. The only method for diagnosing annular pancreas up to the present was the barium meal. Its diagnostic accuracy, however, is limited. A knowledge of the characteristic radiological appearances is helpful unless other abnormalities confuse the interpretation. E.R.C.P. is an important advance in diagnosis. The diagnosis of annular pancreas can be made by demonstrating an accessory duct system. The literature is reviewed.