近年來，食管癌多學科綜合治療發展迅速，新輔助同步放化療和新輔助化療在局部晚期食管癌的應用取得了良好效果。然而，仍有部分患者即使接受了新輔助治療和根治性手術，仍然面臨較高的復發轉移風險，預后不佳。如何尋找該組人群的預后相關危險因素，以指導術后輔助治療策略的選擇亟待解決。同時，微創食管切除術在技術層面日趨成熟，隨著 4K 超高清腔鏡和 da Vinci 機器人 Xi 和 SP 操作系統的逐步應用，其在持續關注外科學和腫瘤學效果的同時，已悄然轉向器官功能學及術后生活質量提升。此外，食管癌切除術所包含的消化道重建內容仍舊是一個常談常新的話題，且結合部上消化道癌的治療作為一個相對較新的領域，更值得廣大食管外科醫生去深入研習。
Early and mid-stage esophageal cancer can achieve a particular effect through surgeries or comprehensive treatment based on surgery. Once the esophageal cancer progresses to the advanced stage, it is still lack of effective remedy for the disease, and the patient's prognosis is poor. Immunotherapy has developed rapidly in recent years, bringing dawn to patients with advanced esophageal cancer. On July 31, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved KEYTRUDA (Merck) for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and it became the first milestone drug for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In the paper, we will review the progress of immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer on the basis of current clinical researches, which might provide ideas for further studies in the immunotherapy for esophageal cancer.
ObjectiveTo analyze the symptom characteristics and influencing factors in order to provide reference for symptom management of patients with esophageal cancer after operation.MethodsA total of 216 esophageal cancer patients, including 180 males and 36 females with an average age of 63.7±8.3 years, who underwent surgical operation in our hospital from March to October 2018 were recruited and investigated with self-designed symptom questionnaire at 1 month after surgery.ResultsThe top five symptoms were acid reflux (48.6%), cough (42.6%), dysphagia (40.7%), hoarseness (12.0%), and diarrhea (11.6%). Women were more prone to acid reflux (OR=2.053), fatigue (OR=1.932), chest pain (OR=3.681), sleep disturbance (OR=2.419), abdominal pain (OR=3.882), nausea (OR=3.014) and vomiting (OR=2.505). Patients over 60 years were more prone to dysphagia (OR=2.274). Patients with lower thoracic esophageal cancer had a higher incidence of dysphagia compared with patients with carcinoma of esophagogastric junction (OR=0.326). Patients who had neoadjuvant chemotherapy were more likely to suffer acid reflux (OR=1.594). Open surgery (OR=3.681) and neoadjuvant radiotherapy (OR=2.495) were the risk factors of chest pain.ConclusionThere are many symptoms in patients with esophageal cancer after operation, and the occurrence of symptoms is closely related to gender, age, tumor location, surgical procedure and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.
Two male patients (75 years and 51 years, respectively) suffered infection of novel coronavirus after minimally invasive surgery for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Sichuan Cancer Hospital since December 2022. Both patients developed severe hypoxemia after surgery, and were treated with advanced oxygen therapy, antiviral therapy, hormone shock therapy, antibiotic anti-infection and nutritional support. The two patients stayed in the intensive care unit for 6 days and 8 days respectively. They were transferred to the general ward for symptomatic treatment and were discharged successfully. Both patients required low-flow oxygen maintenance after discharge. On the 20th day of follow-up after discharge, patient 1 still needed low-flow oxygen, his oxygen saturation could be maintained above 97%, but intermittent deoxygenation could be performed for half an hour. Patient 2 was in good condition on 35 days after discharge.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of three-field versus two-field lymph node dissection on postoperative complications and survival outcomes in patients with clinically unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing conversion surgery. MethodsPatients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent conversion surgery at Sichuan Cancer Hospital between January 2018 and March 2020 were retrospectively included. Based on the extent of lymph node dissection, patients were divided into a three-field group and a two-field group. Postoperative complications, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between the two groups. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to identify prognostic factors. ResultsA total of 58 patients were included, consisting of 51 males and 7 females, with a median age of 61.50 (53.25, 65.00) years. The three-field group comprised 17 patients, and the two-field group comprised 41 patients. The results showed that three-field lymph node dissection did not increase the risk of complications. The OS and DFS in the three-field group tended to be better than those in the two-field group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.228, P=0.342). Cox regression analysis indicated that OS and DFS were not significantly correlated with the extent of lymph node dissection (P=0.234, P=0.347) but were associated with R0 resection status (P=0.027, P=0.069). ConclusionThree-field lymph node dissection demonstrates good safety and may provide survival benefits in specific patient subgroups. R0 resection is a key factor influencing surgical prognosis.
