ObjectiveTo explore the discipline of superior mediastinum lymph node metastasis of esophageal carcinoma, laying a foundation for the standardization of lymphadenectomy. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 586 patients with esophageal carcinoma in our hospital between June 2009 and June 2014. There were 489 males and 97 females at age of 61.61±7.92 years. We analyzed the discipline of lymph node metastasis in these patients. ResultsThe mean number of lymph nodes dissection was 20.48±11.01 per patient. A total of 1 212 lymph nodes metastasis was found in 326 patients (55.63%). The ratio of lymph nodes metastasis in the superior mediastinum, lower mediastinum, and abdominal cavity was 29.35%, 25.94%, and 31.74% respectively with no statistical difference among the three groups (χ2=4.839, P=0.089). In regard to upper thoracic esophageal carcinoma, the ratio of lymph nodes metastasis in the superior mediastinum, lower mediastinum, and abdominal cavity was 43.48%, 3.73%, and 13.73% respectively with higher metastasis rate (χ2=32.692, P=0.000) in the upper mediastinum. In middle thoracic esophageal carcinoma patients, there was no statistical differences in the ratio of lymph node metastasis among upper mediastinum (28.19%), lower mediastinum (29.53%), and abdominal cavity (31.54%, χ2=0.566, P=0.753). While in the patients with the lower thoracic esophageal carcinoma, the ratio of lymph nodes metastasis in the superior mediastinum, lower mediastinum, and abdominal cavity was 22.92%, 27.08%, and 41.67%, respectively with higher ratio of lymph nodes metastasis in abdominal cavity (χ2=17.542, P=0.000). The involved ratio of the right recurrent lymph nodes (19.80%) was the highest among all the lymph nodes in the superior mediastinum (χ2=112.304, P=0.000). ConclusionUpper mediastinum is one of the predilection sites of lymph nodes metastasis of esophageal carcinoma, focusing on the resection of superior mediastinum lymph nodes, especially the right recurrent lymph nodes can decrease the chances of relapse by reducing residual tumor cells.
ObjectiveTo investigate surgical indications and techniques of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for mediastinal lymph node tuberculosis. MethodsClinical data of 27 patients who underwent VATS for mediastinal lymph node tuberculosis between January 2010 and March 2013 in Wuhan Medical Treatment Center were retrospectively analyzed. There were 16 male and 11 female patients with their age of 18-67 (30.23±10.72) years. ResultsThere was no in-hospital death. Postoperative complications included recurrent laryngeal nerve injury in 1 patient, delayed wound healing in 1 patient and pneumothorax in 1 patient. Postoperatively, all the patients received intensified anti-tubercular treatment, and were engaged in normal physical activities during follow-up of 6 months. ConclusionVATS is safe and reliable for the treatment of mediastinal lymph node tuberculosis, and anti-tubercular treatment is needed before and after the operation.
ObjectiveTo investigate whether liquid-based cytology (LBC) can improve diagnostic value of cytological assessment of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). MethodsA cohort of 600 cases who underwent EBUS-TBNA from June 2012 to September 2013 was enrolled in this prospective study in West China Hospital. EBUS-TBNA was carried out under local anesthesia and moderate sedation. The procedure was performed with echobronchoscopes. Histological tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for further study. Additional immunohistological analysis was performed for establishing a reliable diagnosis as necessary. Aspirates were smeared on glass slides and separate aspirates were processed by the monolayer SurePath method. ResultsIn total, 480 cases of malignant tumors and 120 cases of benign lesions were confirmed by histological examination. The sensitivity of SurePath liquid-based preparations and conventional smears was 82.1% and 56.0%, and the specificity was 87.5% and 82.5%, respectively. The combined specificity was 100.0%. The positive predictive value of two methods combined was 96.3% and 92.8%, whereas the negative predictive value was 54.9% and 31.9%, respectively. The difference between the two methods was significant (P < 0.05). ConclusionsLBC preparation can improve cytological assessment of EBUS-TBNA. Histological study is necessary when the cytological diagnosis is obscure.
Objective To investigate the effect of modular disscection of mediastinal lymphadenectomy in uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (uniportal-VATS) for lung cancer radical resection and assess its safety and feasibility. Methods Data of 311 patients (171 males and 140 females, a mean age of 59.4±5.1 years) with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received modular dissection of mediastinal lymphadenectomy in uniportal-VATS or three portal VATS (3P-VATS group) during March to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 208 patients (110 males and 98 females, a mean age of 59.2±5.3 years) in the uniportal-VATS group and 103 patients (61 males and 42 femals, a mean age of 59.7±5.1 years) in the 3P-VATS group. The effects of lymph nodes (LNs) dissection and postoperative clinical data were compared between the two groups, especially for N2 LNs dissection. Results There were no perioperative death in two groups. The overall number of dissected stations and LNs in the uniportal-VATS group (7.3±1.0, 17.5±3.0) were similar with those in the 3P-VATS group (7.2±1.0, 17.7±2.7, P=0.208, P=0.596). The dissected stations (uniportal-VATS: 4.3±0.7, 3P-VATS: 4.3±0.6) and number (uniportal-VATS: 8.6±1.1, 3P-VATS: 8.5±1.1) of N2 LNs were both similar between the two groups (P=0.850, P=0.587). The chest tube duration and postoperative hospital stay of uniportal-VATS group (4.4±1.3 d and 9.2±0.9 d) were much shorter than those of 3P-VATS group (5.0±1.3 d and 9.8±2.0 d, both P<0.001). No significant difference was found in morbidity rate between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Modular dissection of mediastinal lymphadenectomy could meet the requirment of radical resection and it is a safe and valid method which could be used during uniportal-VATS for radical resection of lung cancer.
Objectives To systematically review the efficacy and safety of non-systemic lymph dissection (NSMLD) vs. systemic lymph dissection (SMLD) for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library databases were searched online to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized controlled studies (NRCTs) of NSMLD vs. SMLD for NSCLC patients from inception to October, 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 16 studies (4 RCTs and 12 NRCTs) involving 4 718 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: Compared with the SMLD group, the NSMLD group had higher mortality (HR=1.23, 95%CI 1.11 to 1.37, P<0.000 1). There were no significant differences in disease-free survival, local recurrence rate, distant metastasis rate, and safety between two groups. In addition, the NSMLD group had shorter operation time, and lower drainage and blood loss. Subgroup analysis was performed according to operation methods. The results showed that: NSMLD group by lymph node sampling (LN-S) had higher mortality than SMLD group (HR=1.43, 95%CI 1.17 to 1.75,P=0.004), NSMLD group by lobe-specific lymph node dissection (L-SLD) did not have higher mortality. Conclusions Current evidence shows that: compared with SMLD, NSMLD by L-SLD do not have higher mortality in early stage NSCLC patients, while NSMLD by LN-S have higher mortality. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusion.
Objective To compare lymph node sampling (LN-S) and lobe-specific lymph node dissection (L-SLD) in the clinical efficacy and safety for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods PubMed, Medline, EMbase, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library databases were searched up to March 2017 for English language studies. We collected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies (CS) which used the systematic mediastinal lymph node dissection (SMLD) and LN-S or L-SLD for the treatment of NSCLC. Direct meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software and indirect meta-analysis with ITC software after two researchers screened the literature, extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias independently. Results A total of 18 articles were included (4 RCTs and 14 CS, and 10 714 patients). Meta-analysis results showed that in the CS, compared with the the SMLD group, overall survival increased in the L-SLD group (HR=0.99, 95%CI 0.78 to 1.25, P=0.92), and overall survival decreased in the LN-S group with significant difference in CS (HR=1.43, 95%CI 1.17 to 1.75, P=0.000 4), but was not statistically significant in RCT (P=0.35). In terms of disease-free survival, there was no significant difference between the SMLD group and the LN-S group (HR=1.25, 95%CI 0.90, 1.62, P=0.10) as well as the L-SLD group (HR=1.15, 95%CI 0.92 to 1.43, P=0.23) in the CS. There was no significant difference in the local recurrence rate or distant metastasis rate between the non-systematic lymph node dissection (NSMLD) and SMLD in CS and RCTs (CS: P=0.43, P=0.39; RCT: P=0.43, P=0.10). There was no significant difference in the postoperative complications between NSMLD and SMLD in the CS (OR=0.79, 95%CI0.58 to 1.09, P=0.15) and RCTs (OR=0.36, 95%CI 0.09 to 1.45, P=0.15). Indirect meta-analysis showed that risk of death decreased by 31% and risk of recurrence by 35% in the L-SLD group compared with the LN-S group (HR=0.69, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.95, P=0.46; HR=0.65, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.30, P=0.72), but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion For early-stage NSCLC, L-SLD is not statistically different from SMLD in terms of survival; however, the overall survival of LN-S is lower than that of systematic lymphadenectomy. Indirect meta-analysis shows that L-SLD reduces the risk of death and recurrence risk compared with LN-S. There is no evidence to support both direct comparison of the prognosis of LN-S and L-SLD, therefore further prospective studies are still needed to verify.
Objective To investigate the advantage of the concept of wide exposure in uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (uniportal-VATS) for radical resection of lung cancer and assess its safety and feasibility. Methods Clinical data of 255 patients (110 males and 145 females, a mean age of 54.3±7.9 years) with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received wide exposure in uniportal-VATS or three portal VATS (3P-VATS) during August 2017 to March 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 153 patients (67 males and 86 females, a mean age of 56.1±8.5 years) in the uniportal-VATS group and 102 patients (43 males and 59 femals, a mean age of 54.4±7.4 years) in the 3P-VATS group. The clinical effects were compared between the two groups. Results There was no statistical difference in the operation time between the uniportal-VATS and 3P-VATS (135.0±45.6 min vs. 142.0±39.5 min, P>0.05). The overall number of dissected stations (6.9±1.0) and LNs (14.5±3.0) in the uniportal-VATS group were similar with those in the 3P-VATS group (7.1±1.0, 15.1±1.7). The dissected stations of N2 LNs (uniportal-VATS: 4.1±1.7, 3P-VATS: 3.9±0.8) and number of dissected N2 LNs (uniportal-VATS: 8.0±0.9, 3P-VATS: 7.8±1.1) were both similar between the two groups. The duration of postoperative tube drainage and postoperative hospital stay of uniportal-VATS group (3.5±1.8 d and 7.2±0.9 d) were much shorter than those of 3P-VATS group (4.0±1.3 d and 8.8±2.0 d). No significant difference was found in incidence of postoperative complication between the two groups except that the incidence of subcutaneous emphysema in the uniportal-VATS group was much lower. There was no perioperative death in the two groups. Conclusion The concept of wide exposure in uniportal-VATS can meet the requirment of radical resection and it is a safe and valid method which can be used for radical resection of lung cancer.