Dysphagia: An Unusual Presentation of Metastatic Uterine Cervical Carcinoma.

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women and the fourth leading cause of death from cancer. The most common sites of metastasis are the pelvic lymph nodes, vagina, and the pelvic sidewalls. Distant metastases are uncommon but can involve the bone, lung, and liver.

Natural language processing as an alternative to manual reporting of colonoscopy quality metrics.

Background And Aims: The adenoma detection rate (ADR) is a quality metric tied to interval colon cancer occurrence. However, manual extraction of data to calculate and track the ADR in clinical practice is labor-intensive. To overcome this difficulty, we developed a natural language processing (NLP) method to identify adenomas and sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs) in patients undergoing their first screening colonoscopy.

Transnasal PEG tube placement in patients with head and neck cancer.

Background: Head and neck cancer (H&NCa) patients have an increased risk of malnutrition and dysphagia because of their malignancy and the adverse events of therapy. Most of these patients require gastrostomies. Four percent to 7% of H&NCa patients are unable to undergo per oral percutaneous gastrostomies.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in cancer patients: predictors of 30-day complications, 30-day mortality, and overall mortality.

Background: Cancer patients benefit from percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in many ways including nutritional support and venting in cases of malignant obstruction. Lack of high-quality studies with adequate follow-up has led to limited information regarding risk stratification and predictors of morbidity and mortality.

Aims: Elucidate predictors of complications and mortality with long-term follow-up in cancer patients undergoing PEG.

The influence of high body mass index on the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer after surgery as primary therapy.

Background: High body mass index (BMI), a prevalent condition in the United States, is associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Its influence on a patient's outcome remains unclear. In the current study, the authors examined the impact of BMI on survival and complications in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) who underwent surgery as their primary therapy.

Self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) can serve as a bridge to surgery or as a definitive therapy in patients with an advanced stage of cancer: clinical experience of a tertiary cancer center.

Background: Self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) can be used to relieve benign and malignant colorectal obstruction.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes of SEMS for malignant colorectal obstruction.

Methods: Retrospective review was done of patients who underwent endoscopic SEMS placement from 2001 to 2007.

Percutaneous transesophageal gastrostomy tube placement: an alternative to percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with intra-abdominal metastasis.

Background: PEG/jejunostomy (PEG/J) is often placed in patients with metastatic gastric cancer for palliating bowel obstruction or for feeding. However, PEG/J placement may not always be possible for many reasons.

Objective: We wish to bring attention to the percutaneous transesophageal gastrostomy/jejunostomy (PTEG/J) as a viable alternative to nasogastric decompression in patients who are not candidates for PEG/J.

Endoscopic treatment of colonic obstruction.

Purpose Of Review: Over the past 15 years, great strides have been made in the nonsurgical management of malignant large bowel obstruction. Progress continues, particularly in the area of self-expanding metal stents. The purpose of this review is to assess the available endoscopic techniques for colonic decompression and document the inexorable trend toward supremacy of the self-expanding metal stent in this arena.

Endoscopic biopsy diagnosis of acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease: rectosigmoid biopsies are more sensitive than upper gastrointestinal biopsies.

Objectives: The diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is based upon histologic findings in endoscopic mucosal biopsy specimens. The portion of the GI tract with the highest diagnostic yield is a topic of debate. Our aim was to evaluate the sensitivity of simultaneous biopsy of the stomach, duodenum, and rectosigmoid in establishing the diagnosis of GI GVHD.

Pretherapy nuclear factor-kappaB status, chemoradiation resistance, and metastatic progression in esophageal carcinoma.

Background: Transcriptional factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) seems to be associated with aggressive clinical biology (chemoradiation resistance and metastatic progression) of esophageal cancer. We hypothesized that activated NF-kappaB would define clinical biology irrespective of the type of chemotherapy or sequence administered.

Methods: Pretherapy and/or posttherapy cancer specimens were examined for activated NF-kappaB and correlated with pathologic response to chemoradiation, metastatic potential, overall survival, disease-free survival, and type of chemotherapy or sequence used.