Although endoscopic laser therapy is effective for symptom palliation in esophageal cancer, few studies have investigated its effect on survival. We previously reported a 300% improvement in survival in 10 patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus after endoscopic Nd:YAG laser energy. We now report a study to determine if the survival advantage persisted after treating an additional 26 patients. Thirty-six patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus treated with endoscopic laser therapy were compared to 20 controls identified by our hospital Tumor Registry. There was no difference between the groups with respect to age, sex, race, location of tumor, or clinical stage. More control patients (25%) had previously undergone surgery than laser patients (0%) (p less than 0.05). Survival analysis demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival (p less than 0.05), with an improvement in median survival from 5.7 to 9.7 months (p less than 0.05). One-year survival was 38% in laser patients, compared to 20% in control patients. Our experience continues to demonstrate that endoscopic laser therapy is effective in prolonging life as well as palliating the symptoms of patients with squamous-cell esophageal carcinoma.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004836-199104000-00005 | DOI Listing |
United European Gastroenterol J
January 2025
Department of Gastroenterology, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium.
Background And Aims: Probe-based confocal endomicroscopy (pCLE) allows real-time microscopic visualization of the intestinal mucosa surface layers. Despite remission achieved through anti-tumor necrosis factor or vedolizumab therapy, anomalies in the intestinal epithelial barrier are observed in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Our study aimed to assess these abnormalities in non-IBD individuals and compare them with IBD patients in endoscopic remission to identify the associated factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
December 2024
Emergency Department, Bayhealth Hospital, Dover, USA.
Subglottic stenosis (SGS) presents a rare, yet challenging condition characterized by airway obstruction below the glottis, with diverse etiologies ranging from congenital to acquired factors like intubation or autoimmune diseases. Diagnosis and management of SGS during pregnancy are particularly complex due to limited literature and diagnostic consensus. This article presents a case of a 26-year-old pregnant woman presenting with escalating dyspnea and stridor attributed to SGS, most likely secondary to idiopathic etiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biomed Opt
January 2025
The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Significance: Laparoscopic surgery presents challenges in localizing oncological margins due to poor contrast between healthy and malignant tissues. Optical properties can uniquely identify various tissue types and disease states with high sensitivity and specificity, making it a promising tool for surgical guidance. Although spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) effectively measures quantitative optical properties, its deployment in laparoscopy is challenging due to the constrained imaging environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Endourol
January 2025
Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Several diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic urological procedures, such as stent placement, ureteroscopy, and bladder stone lithotripsy, can be performed in a hospital, an ambulatory surgery center, in the office with IV sedation, or in the office using only topical anesthesia. The potential benefits of performing procedures in the office setting using topical anesthesia include efficiency and cost reduction. The potential harms are failure to achieve the desired outcome and patient pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Med
January 2025
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Center for Digestive Health, Virginia Mason, Franciscan Health, Seattle, WA 98101, USA.
Endoscopic management of benign pancreaticobiliary disorders encompasses a range of procedures designed to address complications in gallstone disease, choledocholithiasis, and pancreatic disorders. Acute cholecystitis is typically treated with cholecystectomy or percutaneous drainage (PT-GBD), but for high-risk or future surgical candidates, alternative decompression methods, such as endoscopic transpapillary gallbladder drainage (ETP-GBD), and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD), are effective. PT-GBD is associated with significant discomfort as well as variable adverse event rates.
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