INTRODUCTION To determine the prognostic value of celiac lymphadenopathy for patients with esophageal or gastroesophageal junction carcinomas treated with neoadjuvant or definitive chemoradiotherapy. METHODS The records of patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for esophageal cancer, who received a dose of at least 45 Gy, were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS One hundred forty-four pat...

Background This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of nab-paclitaxel as second-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods Thirty-nine pretreated patients [33 with taxane-based regimens (docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil)] and 6 with combination of fluoropyrimidines plus cisplatin with locally advanced inoperable and metastatic gastric and gastroesophage...

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggest that the combination of docetaxel and capecitabine are worthy of further testing in patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach and gastroesophageal junction. We therefore undertook this phase II study to test this combination in a multi-institutional, first-line clinical trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-four eligible patients with histologic or...

Adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus and gastroesophageal junction are believed to arise in Barrett's esophagus with intestinal metaplasia. Whether adenocarcinoma can arise in columnar lined esophagus without intestinal metaplasia is in doubt. Whether adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia arises in intestinal metaplasia of the gastric cardia is also in doubt. We aim to evaluate the relationshi...

BACKGROUND Although the prevalence of esophageal cancer increases in elderly patients, its clinical history and outcome after treatment remain poorly described. METHODS Between January 2001 and December 2011, 58 patients (pts) older than 75 years received 3D-conformal radiotherapy (mean dose 51 Gy) in two French cancer centers. 47/58 (82%) patients received concomitant chemotherapy (with CDDP...

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) is a diffuse or multifocal malignant infiltration of the pia matter and arachnoid membrane. The most commonly reported cancers associated with LMC are breast, lung, and hematological malignancies. Patients with LMC commonly present with multifocal neurological symptoms. We report a case of LMC secondary to gastroesopha-geal junction cancer present initially w...

INTRODUCTION Anastomotic leak is one of the main causes of morbidity following esophageal resection for carcinoma of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction. We compared hand sewn and stapled cervical esophagogastric anastomotic techniques in terms of postoperative complications. METHODS All patients who underwent esophagectomy with cervical esophagogastric anastomosis at a single academi...

PURPOSE Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are approved in clinical practice of adjuvant treatment of gastric carcinoma. In present study, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of an adjuvant treatment protocol including bi-weekly cisplatin, infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and folinic acid followed by continuous 5-FU infusion during radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between ...

PURPOSE This study was done to evaluate the usefulness of preoperative computed tomography (CT) and intraoperative laparoscopic ultrasound to facilitate treatment of gastric submucosal tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS The feasibility of laparoscopic wedge resection as determined by CT findings of tumor size, location, and growth pattern was correlated with surgical findings in 89 consecutive ope...

The use of high-frequency ultrasound transducers in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) has already yielded remarkable findings concerning the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of the GI tract and of various motility disorders. These transducers have made completely invisible portions of the GI tract (the longitudinal smooth muscle, muscles of the upper esophageal sphincter, components of the...