Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of CXCR4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods Databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, VIP, CNKI and WanFang Data were searched from inception to April 2012, and the relevant references were also retrieved to collect relevant case-control studies. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and evaluated the quality of the included studies. Then the meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.1 software. Results A total of 5 case-control studies involving 493 ESCC tissues and 136 normal esophageal tissues were included. The results of the meta-analyses showed that, as for the positive rate of CXCR4 expression, it was higher in ESCC tissues rather than normal esophageal tissues (OR=12.03, 95%CI 6.76 to 21.44, Plt;0.000 01), in ESCC tissues with lymph node metastasis rather than those without lymph node metastasis (OR=4.35, 95%CI 2.48 to 7.62, Plt;0.000 01), as well as in moderate and low differentiated ESCC tissues rather than high differentiated ESCC tissues (OR=0.51, 95%CI 0.32 to 0.81, P=0.004); but no significant difference was found between the clinical stage I-II and clinical stage III-IV ESCC tissues. Conclusion The presently limited evidence shows CXCR4 expression is associated with ESCC, lymph node metastasis and degree of cell differentiation, indicating that CXCR4 may take a role in the whole course of carcinogenesis of ESCC. But the relationship between CXCR4 expression and clinical stage of ESCC is still unclear, which needs to be further proved by more large-scale, well-designed and high quality case-control studies.
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.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is the main histological type of esophageal cancer in China, which seriously threatens the health of people. The application of immunotherapy, mainly immune checkpoint inhibitors, has greatly improved the prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, but the efficacy of treatment is still limited. Tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) is an ectopic organized lymphoid structure that accumulates in non-lymphoid organs. Previous studies have found that TLS in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is associated with better patient outcomes and enhanced immunotherapy efficacy. Based on current researches about TLS in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, this paper reviews the relationship between TLS and the prognosis and immunotherapy of patients. We hope to provide reference for the precise immunotherapy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and necessity of recurrent laryngeal lymph node resection by comparing the complications and prognosis of patients with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury receiving different recurrent laryngeal lymph node resections.MethodsWe reviewed the clinical data of 153 patients with stage T1N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent radical esophageal cancer surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from June 2014 to May 2016. Among them, 125 were male and 28 were female, at an average age of 62 years. All patients underwent bilateral recurrent laryngeal nodes sampling. They were divided into 3 groups according to the dissection situation: patients with only one recurrent laryngeal lymph node resection on both sides during the operation were treated as a sampling group (n=49); patients with only one recurrent laryngeal lymph node resection on one side and more than one recurrent laryngeal lymph nodes resection on the other side were treated as a unilateral dissection group (n=49); patients with more than one recurrent laryngeal lymph nodes resection on both sides were treated as a bilateral dissection group (n=55). Follow-up was performed to compare the prognostic differences among the three groups. Seven days after the operation, the vocal cords of the patients were examined with an electronic laryngoscope and classified using the Clavien-Dindo system. The differences in complications related to recurrent laryngeal nerve injury among the three groups were compared.ResultsThe 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of the patients in the sampling group, unilateral dissection group and bilateral dissection group was 66.8%, 88.5%, 93.8%, respectively. There was statistical difference between the sampling group and the unilateral dissection group or the bilateral dissection group (P<0.05), and no statistical difference between the unilateral dissection group and the bilateral dissection group (P>0.05). The incidence of complications among the three groups was not statistically different (P>0.05).ConclusionFor patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of stage T1N0M0, the lymph nodes of the bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves should be removed during the operation as many as possible, which will help improve the 5-year survival rate of the patients.
ObjectiveTo determine the influence of high BMI on postoperative complications in a cohort of squamous esophageal cancer patients. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 450 consecutive esophageal cancer patients who underwent esophagectomy in our hospital from September 2010 through November 2012 year. The patients were divided into three groups. Forty-five patients were classified as a low BMI group (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), 304 patients were classified as a normal BMI group (18.5≤BMI < 25.0 kg/m2), and 101 patients as a high BMI group (BMI≥25.0 kg/m2). Patients' demographics, tumor characteristics, and postoperative complications were compared among the three groups. ResultsThe comorbidity of diabetes was higher in the high BMI group compared with the other two groups (P=0.025). Longer operative time, wound infection or delayed healing were more frequent in the high BMI group (P=0.010 and P=0.039, respectively). Pneumonia and length of hospital stay had a tendency to increase in the high BMI group (P=0.052 and P=0.081, respectively). However, the differences did not reach statistical significance. There was no statistical difference in pulmonary embolism, respiratory failure, anastomotic leakage, vocal code paresis, chylothorax, other organ damage, reoperation, arrhythmia, or in-hospital mortality among the three groups. ConclusionsHigh BMI has a negative impact on postoperative morbidity after esophagectomy. However, overweight is not a postoperative complications which should always be paid attention to.
ObjectiveTo investigate whether adjuvant therapy can bring survival benefits to patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who have received neoadjuvant therapy plus esophagectomy. MethodsStudies were identified by searching databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and CNKI from inception to November 2022 to collect studies which conformed to the objective of this study. Clinical outcomes including overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were extracted from eligible studies after screening. RevMan 5.4 and Stata 14.0 were used to perform the meta-analysis. ResultsA total of 9 studies were selected including 1 340 patients. Compared with the neoadjuvant therapy plus surgery (NS) group, the neoadjuvant therapy plus surgery+adjuvant therapy (NS+A) group had no significant benefit in the OS [HR=0.88, 95%CI (0.75, 1.02), P=0.09], but had remarkable benefit in the RFS [HR=0.75, 95%CI (0.58, 0.97), P=0.03]. Subgroup analysis by nodal status showed that adjuvant therapy could improve the RFS of patients with node-positive disease. Prolonged OS was observed in the patients with both positive and negative nodes but not in the patients with only positive nodes. In terms of the subgroup analysis by prescription, it revealed that triple agents exhibited advantages in improving RFS but not OS. However, dual agents did not bring additional survival benefits to the NS+A group compared with the NS group. Subgroup analysis by adjuvant therapy indicated that neither postoperative chemoradiotherapy nor chemotherapy improved OS, whereas postoperative chemoradiation elongated RFS. ConclusionAdjuvant therapy can improve the prognosis of patients with ESCC after neoadjuvant therapy followed by esophagectomy.
Objective To explore the safety of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) with three-field lymphadenectomy (3-FL) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by comparing the short-term outcomes between the 3-FL and the two-field lymphadenectomy (2-FL) in MIE. Methods The clinical data of patients with ESCC who underwent minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy in our hospital from July 2015 to March 2022 were collected retrospectively. Patients were divided into a 3-FL group and a 2-FL group according to lymph node dissection method. And the clinical outcomes and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 257 patients with ESCC were included in this study. There were 211 males and 46 females with an average age of 62.2±8.1 years. There were 109 patients in the 3-FL group and 148 patients in the 2-FL group. The operation time of the 3-FL group was about 20 minutes longer than that of the 2-FL group (P<0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the intraoperatve blood loss (P=0.376). More lymph nodes (P<0.001) and also more positive lymph nodes (P=0.003) were obtained in the 3-FL group than in the 2-FL group, and there was a statistical difference in the pathological N stage between the two groups (P<0.001). But there was no statistical difference in the incidence of anastomotic leak (P=0.667), chyle leak (P=0.421), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (P=0.081), pulmonary complications (P=0.601), pneumonia (P=0.061), cardiac complications (P=0.383), overall complications (P=0.147) or Clavien-Dindo grading (P=0.152) between the two groups. Conclusion MIE 3-FL can improve the efficiency of lymph node dissection and the accuracy of tumor lymph node staging, but it does not increase the postoperative complications, which is worthy of clinical application.
ObjectiveTo compare the clinical efficacy of modified Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy, which preserves azygos vein, thoracic duct and peripheral tissues, and classic Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy, which resects these tissues, in the treatment of esophageal cancer, so as to evaluate whether it is necessary to resect azygos vein, thoracic duct and peripheral tissues in esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.MethodsPatients scheduled for surgical treatment of thoracic esophageal cancer in Department of Thoracic Surgery of Sichuan Cancer Hospital from June 2011 to June 2013 were randomly assigned to the retention group and the resection group, each including 100 patients. The retention group included 87 males and 13 females with an average age of 60.53±7.72 years. In the resection group, there were 80 males and 20 females with an average age of 60.69±7.69 years. Patients in the two groups were compared for the duration of surgery, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative thoracic drainage volume, postoperative complications, and number of dissected lymph nodes, etc. Postoperative relapse and survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years postoperatively were also followed up and compared for patients in the two groups.ResultsThere was no statistical difference between the two groups in general patient characteristics, number of dissected lymph nodes, or postoperative pathological stage, etc. (P>0.05). Compared to the resection group, there were shorter duration of surgery, less intraoperative blood loss, and less thoracic drainage volume in the first 3 days following surgery in the retention group, with statistical differences (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in type or site of relapse or metastasis (P>0.05). The survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years postoperatively was 78.7% vs. 81.3%, 39.4% vs. 37.5%, and 23.4% vs. 17.7%, respectively, in the retention group and the resection group, with no statistical difference (P>0.05).ConclusionModified Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy preserving azygos vein, thoracic duct and peripheral tissues could reduce surgical trauma, would not increase postoperative relapse or metastasis, and could produce long-term efficacy comparable to that of extended resection.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between DDX46 genes and invasion and migration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells. MethodsHuman esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells TE-1 were transfected by fluorescent marker shRNA lentivirus (shDDX46 group), and an empty vector was transfected as a control (shCtrl group). The expression rate of green fluorescent protein under the microscope was used to evaluate the cell transfection efficiency. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTFQ-PCR) and Western blotting (WB) detected the knockdown efficiency of the target gene at the mRNA and protein expression levels. Wound healing, invasion assay and migration assay detected the changes of invasion and metastasis ability. Classical pathway analysis was used to explore signaling pathway changes and the possible mechanism of DDX46 in the invasion and metastasis was explored by detecting fibronectin expression. ResultsDDX46 gene at mRNA and protein levels was significantly inhibited after lentiviral transfection. Wound healing showed that after 8 h the cell mobility of TE-1 cells decreased significantly (P=0.001). Invasion assay showed that after 24 h the average cell metastasis rate of TE-1 cells was lower in the shDDX46 group than that in the shCtrl group (P<0.001). The cell metastasis rate in the shDDX46 group corresponding to observation points in the transwell assay was lower than that in the shCtrl group (P<0.001) after 24 h culture. The results of the classical pathway analysis showed that the integrin signaling pathway activity was inhibited, further exploration of the mechanism of action found that the expression of fibronectin associated with cell adhesion was decreased. ConclusionDDX46 gene is related to the invasion and migration ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells. Knockdown of DDX46 genes may reduce cell adhesion by downregulating the integrin pathway signaling.
Objective To observe the short-term efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant sintilimab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with locally advanced resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). MethodsClinical data were collected from patients with locally advanced resectable ESCC who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy followed by surgical treatment at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Jining First People's Hospital from April 2020 to April 2022. The endpoints included major pathological response (MPR), pathological complete response (pCR), R0 resection rate, safety, and postoperative survival. Results A total of 43 patients with ESCC who received at least one cycle of neoadjuvant immunotherapy before surgery were included. Among them, there were 31 males and 12 females, aged from 46 to 77 years, with a median age of 65 years. All patients successfully completed the surgery without any surgical delays. The pCR rate was 14.0% (6/43), the MPR rate was 58.1% (25/43), and the R0 resection rate was 97.7% (42/43). Patients exhibited reliable safety during neoadjuvant therapy and postoperatively. The 2-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 90.7% and 81.4%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test revealed lower recurrence rates and better survival in the MPR group compared to the non-MPR group. Conclusion The combination of neoadjuvant sintilimab and chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with locally advanced resectable ESCC has demonstrated significant clinical efficacy, while also being safe and reliable.