Abstract: Objective To study the expression of E-selectin on vascular endothelial cells of nude mice liver induced by esophageal carcinoma cells, in order to find out the function of E-selectin in the metastasis of esophageal carcinoma into the liver. Methods Twelve Balb/c nude mice aged from 6 to 8 weeks with their weight ranged between 20 and 25 grams were selected in our research. The mice were equally distributed into the experimental group and the control group(n=6). EC9706 cell solution (5×10.6/0.02 ml) were injected beneath the splenic capsule of the mice in the experimental group. One hour later, spleen was removed. For the mice in the control group, after laparotomy, phosphate buffer without EC 9706 was injected beneath the splenic capsule and spleen was also removed one hour after the injection. Eight hour later, we resected the liver of the nude mice, and expression of E-selectin on vascular endothelial cells of the liver was detected with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results In the experimental group, 8 hours after injection of EC9706 cells (5×10.6), the results of RT-PCR showed expression of E-selectin mRNA in the liver, and IHC showed a positive protein expression of E-selectin in the cytosol and membrane of hepatic sinus vessels.However, no E-selectin mRNA expression was found in the control group and IHC showed a negative protein expression of E-selectin. Conclusion Human esophageal carcinoma cell line EC9706 can induce balb/c mice liver vascular endothelial cell E-selectin expression, which shows that EC9706 may stay in the liver and form etastatic focus.
Resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is prone to recurrence and metastasis after simple surgery. Although patients can benefit from preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rate is not significantly improved. In recent years, with the rise of immunotherapy, NSCLC immunotherapy has gradually received attention. Many explorations have been made on resectable NSCLC immunotherapy, and satisfactory results have been obtained. With the release of multiple phase 3 research results, a new chapter in resectable NSCLC immunotherapy has officially opened. However, there are still many problems in the immunotherapy of resectable NSCLC. This article reviews the current relevant research and provides reference for clinical application.
Objective To investigate the influencing factors for the clinical remission of advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, establish an individualized nomogram model to predict the clinical remission of advanced ESCC with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and evaluate its efficacy, providing serve for the preoperative adjuvant treatment of ESCC.Methods The clinical data of patients with esophageal cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nedaplatin 80 mg/m2, day 3+docetaxel 75 mg/m2, day 1, 2 cycles, 21 days per cycle interval) in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from February 2016 to August 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. According to the WHO criteria for efficacy assessment of solid tumors, tumors were divided into complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). CR and PR were defined as effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and SD and PD were defined as ineffective neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyze the influencing factors for the short-term efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The R software was used to establish a nomogram model for predicting the clinical remission of advanced ESCC with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and Bootstrap method for internal verification of the model. C-index, calibration curve and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to evaluate the predictive performance of the nomogram.Results Finally 115 patients were enrolled, including 93 males and 22 females, aged 40-75 (64.0±8.0) years. After receiving docetaxel+nedaplatin neoadjuvant chemotherapy for 2 cycles, there were 9 patients with CR, 56 patients with PR, 43 patients with SD and 7 patients with PD. Among them, chemotherapy was effective (CR+PR) in 65 patients and ineffective (SD+PD) in 50 patients, with the clinical effective rate of about 56.5% (65/115). Univariate analysis showed that there were statistical differences in smoking history, alcoholism history, tumor location, tumor differentiation degree, and cN stage before chemotherapy between the effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy group and the ineffective neoadjuvant chemotherapy group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that low-differentiation advanced ESCC had the worst clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, moderately-highly differentiated ESCC responded better (P<0.05). Stage cN0 advanced ESCC responded better to neoadjuvant chemotherapy than stage cN1 and cN2 (P<0.05). The C-index and the area under the ROC curve of the nomogram were both 0.763 (95%CI 0.676-0.850), the calibration curve fit well, the best critical value of the nomogram calculated by the Youden index was 70.04 points, and the sensitivity and specificity of the critical value were 80.0% and 58.0%, respectively.ConclusionThe established clinical prediction model has good discrimination and accuracy, and can provide a reference for individualized analysis of the clinical remission of advanced ESCC with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the screening of new adjuvant treatment subjects.
Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy combined with surgery for locally advanced esophageal cancer has become the standard treatment, and despite the survival benefit, most patients still experience postoperative recurrence and distant metastasis. Immune checkpoint inhibitors play an anti-tumor role by activating T cells, and immunotherapy has become one of the important strategies for first-line and second-line treatment of advanced esophageal cancer with the continuous evolution of immunotherapy models. Regarding neoadjuvant immunotherapy for esophageal cancer, a large number of studies are being carried out and explored, which are expected to inject new vitality into neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer. This article reviews the current clinical studies on neoadjuvant immunotherapy for esophageal cancer.
Objective To explore the predictive value of peripheral blood cells in the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (clinical stages Ⅱ-Ⅳa) who underwent neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from April 2020 to November 2023. According to whether the pathology was completely relieved after treatment, patients were divided into a pathological complete remission group and a pathological incomplete remission group. According to the CAP criteria for tumor pathological regression grading after neoadjuvant therapy, patients were divided into groups (TRG=0, 1 defined as good efficacy, TRG=2, 3 defined as poor efficacy). Results A total of 92 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were included, including 72 males and 20 females. The average age was 65.86±7.66 years. The complete remission of pathology was closely related to the number of lymphocytes in the blood before treatment (P=0.019). The AUC for predicting complete remission of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy was 0.678, the maximum Yoden index was 0.328, and the optimal cutoff value was 1.845. The incidence of postoperative pulmonary infection in the group with incomplete pathological remission (25% vs. 5.6%, P=0.030) was higher than that in the group with complete pathological remission. According to the optimal cutoff value classification, there was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in the pathological N stage and pathological TNM stage between the two groups. The efficacy response was closely related to the number of red blood cells in the blood before treatment (P=0.009). The AUC for predicting TRG response after neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was 0.669, the maximum Yoden index was 0.385, and the optimal cutoff value was 4.235. There were significant differences in postoperative pathological T staging (P=0.000), N staging (P=0.041), and TNM staging (P=0.000). According to the optimal cutoff value classification, there was a statistically significant difference in age (P=0.000) and hypertension (P=0.022) between the two groups. Conclusion Before neoadjuvant therapy, lymphocyte absolute value≥1.845 and red blood cell count<4.235 have good predictive effects on pathological complete remission and pathological response of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy.
Objective To compare the quality of life (QOL) of advanced Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma esophagogastric junction (AEG) patients treated by the total gastrectomy, traditional proximal gastrectomy or proximal gastrectomy with gastric tube reconstruction opertations, and to provide some clinical basis for the choice of surgical methods for AEG. Methods A total of 90 patients with Siewert type Ⅱ AEG were retrospectively collected from the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to different surgical methods (n=30 in each group), a total gastrectomy group (23 males, 7 females, aged 47-79 years), a traditional proximal gastrectomy group (treated with the traditional proximal gastrectomy procedure, 19 males, 11 females, aged 44-80 years), and a narrow gastric tube group (treated with the proximal gastrectomy with gastric tube reconstruction procedure, 25 males, 5 females, aged 47-83 years). The Chinese version of Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30) and Quality of Life Questionnaire Oesophagogastric-25 (QLQ-OG25) designed by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) were used to collect the patients’ information in the three groups about their QOL during the first six months and one year after the three procedures. Results There was no statistical difference in the clinical data among the three groups (all P>0.05). QOL during the first six months after the operations assessed by the QLQ-C30 questionnaire table showed that the narrow gastric tube group was significantly best in total QOL, physical function, fatigue, and emotional function among the three groups (all P<0.05). The total gastrectomy group was the worst in role function, dyspnea, fatigue and diarrhea among the three groups (all P<0.05). The traditional proximal gastrectomy group had a worse evaluation in lose of appetite than the other two groups (P<0.05). QOL during the first six months after the operations assessed by the QLQ-OG25 questionnaire table showed that the traditional proximal gastrectomy group had a significantly worse evaluation in palirrhea than the other two groups (both P<0.05). The total gastrectomy group had a significantly worse evaluation in anxiety than the other two groups (both P<0.05). QOL during the first year after the operations assessed by the QLQ-C30 questionnaire table showed that the narrow gastric tube group had a significantly highest evaluation in total QOL physical function and emotional function among the three groups (all P<0.05). The total gastrectomy group had a significantly worst evaluation in diarrhea among the three groups (P<0.05). QOL during the first year after operations assessed by QLQ-OG25 questionnaire table showed that the traditional proximal gastrectomy group had a significantly worse evaluation in palirrhea than the other two groups (all P<0.05). Conclusion The narrow tubular esophagogastric anastomosis is better than the total gastrectomy and the traditional proximal gastrectomy for the treatment of the advanced Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, so this operation is worth being recommended.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma can easily penetrate into the esophageal wall and invade adjacent organs due to the lack of serosa. Stage cT4b tumors involving organs adjacent to the aorta, vertebral body, trachea, or bronchus were considered unresectable. For unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, radical chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy is recommended. However, the therapeutic effect is poor. With the advent of conversion surgery, surgical resection is feasible after induction therapy for patients with esophageal tumors that are initially unresectable due to adjacent organ invasion or distant metastasis. This article reviews the research on conversion surgery for unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in recent years in order to explore the clinical application prospects of conversion surgery.