Objective To explore the spread patterns of retropharyngeal lymph node (RLN) metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods From July 2003 to March 2005, three hundred and three patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in initial treatment were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before treatment, meanwhile measured the minimal and maximal axial diameters, the longitudinal diameter and the central and craniocaudad locations of each positive RLN. Results A total number of 264 positive RLN were found in 177 patients. The minimal and maximal axial diameters and longitudinal diameter of positive RLN were 9.9, 12.9 and 22.4 mm, respectively. Ipsilateral metastatic RLN were noted as follows: two nodes in 21 patients, three nodes in 3 patients and four nodes in 1 patient. According to the longitudinal central location of 263 positive lateral RLN, the numbers of nodes at occipital bone, C1, C1/C2, C2, C2/C3 and C3 were 27, 166, 40, 23, 5 and 2, respectively; the mean minimal axial diameters of nodes were 6.8, 9.9, 12.5, 10.4, 9.3 and 8.0 mm, respectively. Conclusion Multiple metastatic ipsilateral RLN are not common in NPC. The rate of RLN metastasis shows the trend of decreasing from vertebral C1 to C3.The maximal diameters of RLN are in the C1/C2 intervertebral space, and reveal a decreasing frequency along the craniocaudal directions of occipital and vertebral C1.

Objective To analyze clinical features and treatment results of primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of bone (PLB) and further to investigate the rational treatment. Methods Clinical data of 26 patients with PLB were analyzed. Twenty-three (88.5 %) patients received radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy, three received chemotherapy alone, and three patients also received surgical resection. Results The pathological types of lymphoma in the patients were diffused large B-cell iymphoma (DLBCL) in 15 patients (57.7 %), small B-cell lymphoma in 1 patient(3.8 %), B-cell lymphoma with unclassified subtypes in 4 patients (15.5 %), T-cell lymphoma in 5 patients (19.3 %,among which anaplastic large cell lymphoma in 3 patients), and unclassified lymphoma in one patient (3.8 %). Of the 26 cases of PLB, 15 were at stage Ⅰ, 3 at stage Ⅱ, 3 at stage Ⅲ and 5 at stage Ⅵ. The 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 59.16 % and 31.37 %respectively. In the eleven patients who died of lymphoma, three had Iocol-regional relapse, and nine had systemically involved lymphoma. The radiation-induced bone fracture had not been observed after local radiotherapy with median dose of 50 Gy. Conclusion Pelvis maybe a common primary site of PLB, and DLBCL type are the most observed histological subtype. The optimal treatment for PLB is radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. Local regional radiotherapy with median dose of 50 Gy can be safe and feasible.

Objective To investigate the expression of HSPA9 in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) and its relationship with clinicopathological features and prognosis.Methods Forty-nine cases HCC treated by operative resection and follow up data in our hospital from January 2006 to January 2010 were retrospectively analyzed.Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the expression of HSPA9 in HCC and paratumor tissues.The relationship between HSPA9 expression and clinicopathological features and prognosis was statistically analyzed.Results The HSPA9 protein expression in tumor tissue was higher that that in the paratumor tissue(t=6.601,P＜0.01),moreover the over expression of HSPA9 was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (P =0.005),TNM-stage(P =0.015),tumor differentiation (P =0.033),microvascular invasion (P =0.009) and recurrence (P =0.047).In the survival analysis results,the patients with over expression of HSPA9 had a much lower total survival rate(P=0.002)and much higher postoperative cumulative recurrence rate(P =0.003).There were significant differences in TNM-stage,microvascular invasion,lymph node metastasis,tumor differentiation and HSPA9 staining for overall survival and cumulative recurrence rate based on a univariate analysis(P＜0.05).Conclusion HSPA9 has over expression in HCC.The over expression of HS-PA9 is closely related to invasion and metastasis pathological features and can serve as an independent prognostic risk factor for predicting the prognosis of HCC.

Objective To explore the clinical significance of PET-CT in evaluating distant metastasis and M staging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). Methods 257 NPC patients with no prior treatment were investigated with PET-CT and conventional imaging (chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, and bone scan). The findings of PET-CT in diagnosing distant metastasis and M staging were compared with those of conventional imaging according to the results of biopsy and follow-up. Results PET-CT disclosed 34 of 39 patients with distant malignancy compared with 22 patients disclosed by conventional imaging. The false positive rate of PET-CT was 12.8 %. On region-based analyses, PET-CT was more effective than bone scan and chest X-ray for detecting mediastinum metastasis (x2=4.063, P =0.041) and bone metastasis (x2=5.939, P=0.015), respectively. Compared with conventional imaging, PET-CT had an impact on the M staging of 19 patients (7.4 %), of which 15 patients were truly staged and 4 patients incorrectly staged. Conclusion PET-CT is superior to MRI in evaluating distant metastasis and M staging of NPC.

The most common metastasis modality of gastric cancer is the perigastric lymph node metastasis. Complete dissection of regional lymph nodes of the stomach is the core surgical treatment strategy of gastric cancer, and is closely related to the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. Infrapyloric lymph node metastasis is common in gastric cancer,and its incomplete dissection is associated with tumor recurrence. Meanwhile, anatomical variations of vessels and complex mesentery layers of infrapyloric area increase the difficulty of lymphadenectomy during the operation. So, infrapyloric lymph node (No. 6) is an important station. Based on the theory of embryonic development and complete mesogastrium excision, operation across the anatomical space among mesentery layers can ensure en bloc resection of the infrapyloric lymph nodes.

Objective To explore the relationship between sudomotor function and peripheral artery disease (PAD),and to evaluate the effectiveness of sudomotor function testing to screen diabetic patients at high risk of PAD comparing to ankle-brachial index (ABI) and toe-brachial index (TBI).Methods A total of 263 diabetes mellitus (DM) outpatients in the 306th Hospital of PLA from August 2014 to April 2015 were enrolled in the study.ABI and TBI were measured by the Doppler method.Sudomotor function was evaluated by measuring the electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) of the hands and feet using the Sudoscan instrument.Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) was assessed and recorded as cardiac autonomic neuropathy risk-score (CAN-RS) by Sudoscan.Results ESC values of the feet and hands were positively correlated with ABI and TBI.The diabetes patients with abnornal ABI and TBI had significantly lower hand ESC [(45.63±12.87) μS vs.(68.10±17.40) μS,(59.17±19.58) μS vs.(68.57±17.11) μS;P＜ 0.05] and feet ESC [(44.54±25.48) μS vs.(70.92±19.46) μS,(59.21±24.52) μS vs.(71.71±19.02) μS;P＜ 0.05],and higher CAN-RS[(49.17± 15.41)％ vs.(36.33±16.25)％,(44.90±16.09)％ vs.(35.39±16.05)％;P＜ 0.05],than diabetes patients with normal ABI and TBI.Using ABI as the gold standard,the areas under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve of the diagnostic performance of hands ESC,feet ESC and CAN-RS to identify PAD were 0.87,0.84 and 0.74,respectively (P＜0.001).Conclusion Sudomotor function testing can be helpful and beneficial to identify PAD in patients with diabetes.

Objective To analyse the prognosis of 117 newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients underwent intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods From Jan to Nov 2005, 117 NPC patients who were treated by IMRT were enrolled. There were 81 males and 36 females with a median age of 42 years (range 18-76 years). According to Chinese Fuzhou Staging system(1992), 11 cases were Stage I , 15 Stage Ⅱ, 54 Stage Ⅲ and 37 Stage ⅣA. IMRT was carried out with Peacock plan. The prescription dose to the gross target volume(GTVnx) of nasopharyngeal tumor was 68 Gy, that of positive neck lymph nodes (GTVnd) was 60-66 Gy, clinical target volume 1 (CTV1) was 60 Gy, and CTV2 was 54 Gy. Results After a median follow-up time of 48 months (range 10.5-59.5 months), the 3-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 95.7 % and 89.7 %, the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 91.5 % and 87.2%, and the local-regional control rates were 94.0 % and 91.5 %. Univariate analysis showed the KPS, stage, Fuzhou clinical stage, status of blood platelet before treatment and uric acid after treatment were correlated with OS rate. T stage was the only independent factor of prognosis in the COX stepwise regression model. Conclusion Radical IMRT significantly prolongs the survival of NPC patients. T stage is the only independent prognostic factor for NPC patients.

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy between proximal gastrectomy and total gastrectomy and to ascertain the optimized procedure for patients with upper third gastric cancer through meta-analysis. Methods: The English literatures about proximal gastrectomy and total gastrectomy for upper third gastric cancer were searched from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and the Web of Science database and then collected. The quality of enrolled studies was independently assessed by two researchers according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for retrospective studies and Jadad scale for RCT studies. The basic information of the literature and related clinical indicators were extracted. The primary endpoints were 5-year overall survival rate and recurrence rate. The secondary endpoints were operative time, intraoperative blood loss, morbidity of postoperative complication, incidence of anastomotic stenosis and incidence of reflux esophagitis. Considering the influence of tumor staging on postoperative clinicopathological features and prognosis, a subgroup analysis was performed on the literatures including cases of early gastric cancer and those including cases of tumor stage I to IV. Statistical analyses were carried out by the "metafor" and "meta" software packages from RevMan 5.3 software and R software (V3.2.4). Results: Twenty-five literatures involving 3667 patients (proximal gastrectomy for 1483, total gastrectomy for 2184) were finally enrolled for analysis, including 24 retrospective studies with ≥ 5 points and 1 RCT with 3 points, and all the literatures were of high quality. A total of 2516 cases of early gastric cancer were enrolled in 18 articles, including 1027 with proximal gastrectomy and 1489 with total gastrectomy. A total of 1151 cases with stage I to IV were enrolled in 7 articles, including 456 in proximal gastrectomy group and 695 in total gastrectomy group. Five-year survival rate was not significantly different for patients with early gastric cancer between the proximal gastrectomy group and total gastrectomy group (OR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.72 to 1.86, P=0.54). Similarly, there was no significant difference for patients with stage I to IV between the proximal gastrectomy group and the total gastrectomy group (OR=1.19, 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.53, P=0.18). Recurrence rate of early gastric cancer patients was not significantly different between the proximal gastrectomy group and the total gastrectomy group (OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.05 to 3.16, P=0.39).However, the recurrence rate of the proximal gastrectomy group was higher than that of the total gastrectomy group in patients with stage I to IV (OR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.19, P<0.01), whose difference was statistically significant. There was no significant differences in postoperative complication between the groups, both in patients with early gastric cancer, and in those with stage I to IV (both P>0.05). The incidences of postoperative anastomotic stenosis (OR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.82 to 6.99, P<0.01) and reflux esophagitis (OR=2.83, 95% CI: 1.23 to 6.54, P=0.01) in the proximal gastrectomy group were significantly higher than those in the total gastrectomy group in patients with early gastric cancer. Conclusions There is no significant difference in long-term survival outcomes between total gastrectomy and proximal gastrectomy for upper gastric tumors. However,incidence of anastomotic stenosis and reflux esophagitis, and tumor recurrence rate after total gastrectomy are significantly lower. The total gastrectomy is recommended as the first choice for advanced upper gastric tumor.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility and safety of Da Vinci surgical robot in the dissection of splenic hilar lymph nodes for gastric cancer patients with total gastrectomy.

METHODSClinical data of two cases who underwent total gastrectomy for cardia cancer at our department in January 2016 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSTwo male patients were 62 and 55 years old respectively, with preoperative diagnosis as cT2-3N0M0 and cT1-2N0M0 gastric cancer by gastroscope and biopsy, and both received robotic total gastrectomy spleen-preserving splenic hilar lymph node dissection successfully. The operative time for splenic hilar lymph node dissection was 30 min and 25 min respectively. The intraoperative estimated blood loss was both 100 ml, while the number of total harvested lymph node was 38 and 33 respectively. One dissected splenic hilar lymph node and fatty tissues in two patients were proven by pathological examinations. There were no anastomotic leakage, pancreatic fistula, splenic infarction, intraluminal bleeding, digestive tract bleeding, aneurysm of splenic artery, and other operation-associated complications. Both patients suffered from postoperative pneumonia, and were cured by conservative therapy.

CONCLUSIONThe robotic spleen-preserving splenic hilar lymph node dissection is feasible and safe, but its superiority needs further evaluation.

Blood Loss, Surgical ; Dissection ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Lymph Node Excision ; methods ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Operative Time ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures ; Spleen ; Stomach Neoplasms ; surgery

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy is one of the most important parts of the multimodality therapy strategies for locally advanced gastric cancer. With the development of laparoscopic technique in recent decades, laparoscopic technique plays a more and more important role in the surgical treatment of gastric cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, as a part of comprehensive treatment of gastric cancer, has gained more and more clinical supports and been recommended for guidelines. With the development of laparoscopic technique and clinical evidence, laparoscopic operation for advanced gastric cancer has been applied more and more widely. However, the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic resection following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, as a new treatment modality, still needs prospectively high-level researches to verify. Therefore, we will discuss some key points of laparoscopic gastrectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on the CLASS 03a trial, which is led by the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, and Chinese Laparoscopic Gastric Surgery Study Group. The CLASS 03a trial aims to confirm surgical and oncological safety of laparoscopy distal D2 radical gastrectomy for locally advanced stage gastric cancer patients (cT3~4a, N-/+, M0) who completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy. On the base of CLASS 03a trial, this article elucidates the choice of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer and proposes some associated problems about neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with laparoscopic gastric cancer operation.