Surgery-based multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment is the preferred treatment strategy for local advanced esophageal cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy have been recommended by the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) guideline. With the advent of immunotherapy, neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has received much attention, and the first phase Ⅲ study has also confirmed that neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined chemotherapy is a promising treatment option. This article will review the recent advances and hot spots of neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy.

Objective:To observe the lipid-lowering effect of atorvastatin on patients with acute cerebral infarction with different ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1(ABCB1) genotypes, and thus to provide clinical research evidence for individual application of atorvastatin in patients with acute cerebral infarction.Methods:From March 2021 to December 2021, 131 patients with acute cerebral infarction admitted to the Department of Neurology of Xuchang Central Hospital were included. The ABCB1 G2677T gene polymorphism rs2032582 of patients was detected by fluorescence staining in situ hybridization.Based on the detection results, patients were divided into GG group, GT group and TT group.All patients were given atorvastatin (20 mg/d) for lipid-lowering treatment.The levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), total cholesterol(TC)and triglyceride(TG) in serum of patients in the three groups before and 2 months after treatment were recorded and analyzed.The adverse drug reactions in the three groups were recorded. When the serum LDL-C level was less than 1.8 mmol/L, it was considered that the lipid-lowering treatment was effective.The binary Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of atorvastatin lipid lowering therapy.The software of SPSS 25.0 was used for statistical analysis.Results:There were 50 (38.17%), 49 (37.40%) and 32 (24.43%) patients in GG group, GT group and TT group, respectively. The serum TC levels of patients in GG group, GT group and TT group after treatment were (3.47±0.70) mmol/L, (3.59±1.09) mmol/L and (3.48±1.02) mmol/L, respectively, which were lower than those before treatment ((4.27± 0.99) mmol/L, (4.02±0.98) mmol/L and (4.03±1.31) mmol/L), all of which were statistically significant ( t=7.652, 3.092, 5.593, all P<0.01). The serum LDL-C levels in GG group, GT group and TT group after treatment were (1.89±0.53) mmol/L, (2.07±0.92) mmol/L and (1.96±0.79) mmol/L, respectively, which were lower than those before treatment ((2.87±0.92) mmol/L, (2.56±0.89) mmol/L and (2.55±1.11) mmol/L) ( t=9.896, 4.055, 5.980, all P<0.001). The differences of serum LDL-C level before and after treatment in GG group, GT group and TT group were (-0.97±0.69) mmol/L, (-0.50±0.86) mmol/L and (-0.59±0.56) mmol/L, respectively. The difference of serum LDL-C level before and after treatment in the three groups was statistically significant ( F=5.614, P=0.005). The difference of TC, TG and HDL-C before and after treatment was not statistically significant( F=2.783, 0.490, 1.677, all P>0.05). The binary Logistic regression analysis showed that ABCB1 G2677T gene type and staying up late were independent influencing factors for atorvastatin lipid-lowering therapy. The probability of effective lipid-lowering in GT patients with ABCB1 G2677T gene was 27.9% of that in GG patients ( OR=0.279, 95% CI: 0.110-0.709, P=0.007), and the probability of TT type patients was 33.8% of GG type patients ( OR=0.338, 95% CI: 0.121-0.943, P=0.038). The probability of effective lipid-lowering in patients who had the habit of staying up late was 26.4% of the patients who did not stay up late ( OR=0.264, 95% CI: 0.118-0.591, P=0.001). There was no significant difference in the total incidence of adverse drug reactions among the three groups( χ2=0.868, P=0.648). Conclusion:The lipid-lowering effect in patients with GG type of ABCB1 G2677T is better than that of GT type and TT type when atorvastatin is used to treat patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Objective:To investigate the clinical application of Grunenwald incision in cervicothoracic junction surgery.Methods:The clinical data of 25 patients with cervicothoracic junction tumor and 1 patient with cervicothoracic junction trauma in the single treatment group of Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from December 2011 to September 2021 were analyzed retrospectively, including 19 males and 7 females, aged 9-73 years old. Among the 26 patients, there were 9 cases of upper mediastinal tumor, 6 cases of superior sulcus tumor, 4 cases of thyroid tumor invading the upper mediastinal, 4 cases of chest wall tumor, 2 cases of esophageal cancer combined with supraclavicular lymph node metastasis, and 1 case of foreign body penetrating injury at the cervicothoracic junction. Grunenwald incision or additional posterolateral thoracic incision, median sternal incision, neck collar incision were used in all patients. The degree of tumor resection was evaluated. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay were observed, and the postoperative follow-up was analyzed.Results:There was no perioperative death in the whole group. 14 cases were treated with Grunenwald incision alone, 6 cases with additional posterolateral chest incision, 4 cases with additional neck collar incision, and 2 cases with additional median sternal incision. The tumors were completely resection in 22 cases, palliative tumor resection in 3 cases, and complete foreign body removal in 1 case. Postoperative pathology included 4 cases of schwannoma; 3 cases of lung adenocarcinoma, thyroid cancer and myofibroblastoma, respectively; 2 cases of supraclavicular lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer and lung squamous carcinoma, respectively; 1 case of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, metastatic carcinoma of the first rib after lung squamous cell carcinoma, ganglioneuroma, nodular goiter, hemangioma, well differentiated liposarcoma, vascular endothelial tumor and cavernous angioma, respectively. The operation time was 120-430 min, with a mean of(226.92±88.40)min. The intraoperative blood loss was 100-1 000 ml, with a mean of(273.46±196.34)ml. The length of hospital stay was 6-26 days, with a mean of(12.73±4.46 )days. 26 patients were followed up for 6-130 months, with a mean of(57.88±43.64) months. During the follow-up period, 6 patients died.Conclusion:Grunenwald incision can provide good exposure of the structures near the cervicothoracic junction, preserve the integrity of sternoclavicular joint, reduce shoulder deformity, and has advantages for patients with cervicothoracic junction tumors, high rib resection, and cervicothoracic junction trauma.

Objective     To explore the causes of conversion to thoracotomy in patients with minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) in a surgical team, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the timing of conversion in MIE. Methods     The clinical data of patients who underwent MIE between September 9, 2011 and February 12, 2022 by a single surgical team in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. The main influencing factors and perioperative mortality of patients who converted to thoracotomy in this group were analyzed. Results     In the cohort of 791 consecutive patients with MIE, there were 520 males and 271 females, including 29 patients of multiple esophageal cancer, 156 patients of upper thoracic cancer, 524 patients of middle thoracic cancer, and 82 patients of lower thoracic cancer. And 46 patients were converted to thoracotomy for different causes. The main causes for thoracotomy were advanced stage tumor (26 patients), anesthesia-related factors (5 patients), extensive thoracic adhesions (6 patients), and accidental injury of important structures (8 patients). There was a statistical difference in the distribution of tumor locations between patients who converted to thoracotomy and the MIE patients (P<0.05). The proportion of multiple and upper thoracic cancer in patients who converted to thoracotomy was higher than that in the MIE patients, while the proportion of lower thoracic cancer was lower than that in the MIE patients. The perioperative mortality of the thoracotomy patients was not significantly different from that of the MIE patients (P=1.000). Conclusion     In MIE, advanced-stage tumor, anesthesia-related factors,extensive thoracic adhesions, and accidental injury of important structures are the main causes of conversion to thoracotomy. The rate varies at different tumor locations. Intraoperative conversion to thoracotomy does not affect the perioperative mortality of MIE.

Objective:To investigate the influence of the depth of invasion on the prognosis of pT1 stage mid-thoracic esophageal cancer patients undergoing left thoracotomy.Methods:Retrospectively analyze the clinicopathological data of 139 patients with pT1N0M0 stage of mid-thoracic esophageal cancer who meet the enrollment criteria. Firstly, the prognosis and influencing factors of the whole group were analyzed. The differences in prognosis, local recurrence and distant metastasis between PT1A and PT1B patients were compared, and the influence of different infiltration depth on prognosis and treatment failure of patients was analyzed. SPSS 19.0 statistical software was used for statistical analysis.Results:The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year overall survival(OS) and disease-free survival(DFS) were 95.0%, 87.8%, 82.0% and 91.4%, 84.2%, 77.0%, respectively. There were significant differences in OS( χ2=7.500, P=0.006) and DFS( χ2=7.354, P=0.007) at 1, 3 and 5 years between pT1a and pT1b patients. Cox multivariate analysis showed that pT stage and pathological type were independent prognostic factors for OS and DFS( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in OS( χ2=0.734, P=0.693) and DFS( χ2=0.7690, P=0.681) of pT1a tumors with different invasion depths. There were significant differences in OS( χ2=15.368, P<0.001) and DFS( χ2=27.470, P<0.001) at 1, 3 and 5 years of pT1b tumors with different invasion depths. The recurrence rate of pT1b(23.8%) was significantly higher than that of pT1a(5.3%)( χ2=5.274, P=0.022). The distant metastasis rate of the former(10.9%) was also significantly higher than that of the latter(0)( χ2=4.494, P=0.034). There were significant differences in local recurrence rate( χ2=17.051, P<0.001) and distant metastasis rate( χ2=15.460, P<0.001) among pT1b patients with different infiltration depths. Logistic multivariate analysis showed that the depth of infiltration was an independent factor affecting the occurrence of local recurrence in stage pT1b patients after treatment( P<0.001). Pathological type( P=0.003) and infiltration depth( P=0.027) were independent factors affecting the occurrence of distant metastasis. Conclusion:pT1a period and pT1b period after the prognosis and treatment of patients with different failure modes, and pT1b period in patients with different infiltration depth and the prognosis of patients and its failure mode after treatment significantly related, infiltration depth of pT1b period after treatment in patients with the independence of the influencing factors of failure, suggest that clinical doctors should pay attention to pT1b period in patients with postoperative adjuvant therapy. This conclusion needs to be confirmed by large prospective studies of cases.

Objective:To investigate the influence of effects of transarterial chemoembo-lization (TACE) before liver transplantation on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 311 hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing TACE before liver transplantation who were admitted to the Third Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2005 to December 2012 were collec-ted. There were 276 males and 35 females, aged from 47 to 59 years, with a median age of 52 years. All the 311 patients underwent TACE before liver transplantation. Observation indicators: (1) effects of hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing TACE and its relationship with clinicopathological factors; (2) follow-up; (3) influencing factors for prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation. Follow-up was conducted using outpatient examination or telephone interview to detect recurrence and metastasis of tumor and survival and graft loss of patients up to December 2017. The patients were followed up every 2 to 4 weeks within 3 months after liver transplantation, and once every 1 to 3 months thereafter. Measurement data with normal distri-bution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range) or M( Q1, Q3), and comparison between groups was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test. Comparison of ordinal data was analyzed using the nonparametric rank sum test. The COX regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and calculate survival rates, and the Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. Results:(1) Effects of hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing TACE and its relationship with clinicopathological factors. Of the 311 patients undergoing TACE, 57 cases had pathologic complete response (pCR) and 254 cases had pathologic partial response (pPR), respectively. Cases with alpha fetoprotein (AFP) <20 μg/L,20?400 μg/L, >400 μg/L, cases with microvascular invasion, cases with tumor number as single nodule, cases with tumor distribution at right lobe of liver, cases with tumor caliber of feeding artery (CFA) >1 mm were 26, 26, 5, 51, 6, 43, 46 in patients with pCR, versus 87, 64, 103, 158, 59, 125, 159 in patients with pPR, showing significant differences in the above indicators ( Z=3.35, χ2=4.54, 15.71, 12.89, 6.79, P<0.05). (2) Follow-up. All the 311 patients were followed up for 47.0 to 59.0 months, with a median follow-up time of 44.6 months. There were 11 cases undergoing tumor recurrence and 11 cases undergoing tumor metastasis in the 57 patients with pCR, and there were 96 cases undergoing tumor recurrence and 66 cases under-going tumor metastasis in the 254 patients with pPR. The 1-, 3-, 5-year tumor recurrence free rates were 98.2%, 91.1%, 80.3% in the 311 patients, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-year tumor recurrence free rates were 100.0%, 91.1%, 80.3% in the 57 patients with pCR, versus 82.0%, 68.4%, 59.4% in the 254 patients with pPR, showing significant differences in the above indicators ( χ2=13.47, P<0.05). Cases with graft loss were 11 and 96 in the 57 patients with pCR and the 254 patients with pPR, respectively, showing a significant difference ( χ2=7.06, P<0.05). (3) Influen-cing factors for prognosis of hepatocellular carci-noma patients after liver transplantation. Results of univariate analysis showed that gender, basic diseases as viral hepatitis C, AFP (20?400 μg/L, >400 μg/L), Milan criteria, microvascular invasion, tumor number, tumor distribution, tumor CFA, times of TACE, effects of TACE were related factors influencing prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation ( hazard ratio=0.49, 3.97, 1.78, 1.84, 2.41, 1.96, 3.00, 1.76, 0.19, 2.01, 3.07, 95% confidence interval as 0.30?0.81, 2.23?7.05, 1.03?3.06, 1.18?2.85, 1.63?3.56, 1.28?3.01, 2.04?4.40, 1.20?2.59, 0.13?0.28, 1.28?3.14, 1.63?5.76, P<0.05). Results of multi-variate analysis showed that AFP >400 μg/L, exceeding Milan criteria, tumor number as multiple nodule,effects of TACE as pPR were independent risk factors influencing prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation ( hazard ratio=1.59, 2.06, 1.99, 2.05, 95% confidence interval as 1.22?2.07, 1.35?3.13, 1.29?3.07, 1.02?4.10, P<0.05) and tumor CFA >1 mm was an independent protective factor influencing prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation ( hazard ratio=0.10, 95% confidence interval as 0.05?0.19, P<0.05). Conclusions:The effects of TACE are related to AFP, microvascular invasion, tumor number, tumor distribution and tumor CFA. AFP >400 μg/L, exceeding Milan criteria, tumor number as multiple nodule,effects of TACE as pPR are independent risk factors influencing prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation and tumor CFA >1 mm is an independent protective factor influencing prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of patients with esophageal cancer.Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 447 patients with esophageal cancer who were admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020 were collected. There were 312 males and 135 females, aged 60(range, 37?82)years. Observation indica-tors: (1) clinicopathological characteristics; (2) treatment; (3) follow-up; (4) analysis of prognostic factors for esophageal cancer. Follow-up using telephone interview or outpatient examination was conducted to detect survival of patients up to December 2021. The total survival time was from the surgery date to death or the last follow-up. Patients with duration of follow-up more than 2 years were included for survival and prognostic analysis. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were represented as absolute numbers. Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and calculate survival rates. Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Univariate analysis was conducted using the Log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the COX hazard regression model. Results:(1) Clinicopathological characteristics. Of the 447 patients, 69.80%(312/447) were males and 30.20%(135/447) were females, and there were 3, 18, 101, 229, 93, 3 cases aged 30?39 years, 40?49 years, 50?59 years, 60?69 years, 70?79 years, 80?89 years, respectively. About the pathological type, there were 424 cases with squamous carcinoma, 11 cases with small cell carcinoma, 4 cases with adenosquamous carcinoma, 3 cases with sarco-matoid carcinoma, 2 cases with adenocarcinoma, 1 case with neuroendocrine carcinoma, 1 case with undifferentiated carcinoma, and 1 case with adenoid cystic carcinoma. There were 2 cases with tumor located at cervicothoracic segment, 49 cases with tumor located at upper thoracic segment, 273 cases with tumor located at mid-thoracic segment, and 123 cases with tumor located at lower thoracic segment. There were 6, 24, 74, 59, 192, 80, 12 cases in stage pT0, pT1a, pT1b, pT2, pT3, pT4a, pT4b of pathological T staging, respectively. There were 207, 63, 142, 28, 7 cases in stage pN0, pN1, pN2, pN3, pN4 of pathological N staging by Japan Esophagus Society (JES), respectively. There were 207, 128, 76, 36 cases in stage pN0, pN1, pN2, pN3 of pathological N staging by Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), respectively. About TNM staging, there were 25, 53, 127, 174, 68 cases in stage 0, Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳa of JES staging, and 16, 9, 53, 35, 108, 96, 45, 85 cases in stage 0, Ⅰa, Ⅰb,Ⅱa, Ⅱb, Ⅲa, Ⅲb, Ⅲc of UICC staging, respectively. (2) Treatment. Of the 447 patients, 63 cases underwent neoadjuvant therapy(12 cases combined with immunotherapy), 384 cases underwent no neoadjuvant therapy. There were 347, 97, 2, 1 cases with surgical approach as right thoracic approach, left thoracotomy approach, cervical abdominal approach, left thoracoabdominal approach, respectively. There were 316, 5, 126 cases with surgical platform as totally endoscopic esophagec-tomy, Hybrid surgery, open surgery, respectively. There were 350 and 97 cases with digestive recons-truction as posterior mediastinal approach and intrathoracic approach, respectively. Surgical margin as R 0, R 1, R 2 resection was detected in 323, 116, 8 cases, respectively. Six of 447 patients died during the hospital stay. (3) Follow-up. All the 447 patients were followed up for 25(range, 2?48)months, including 233 cases with the follow-up more than 2 years. The median survival time of 233 patients was unreached, and the postoperative 2-year survival rate was 76.8%. (4) Analysis of prognostic factors for esophageal cancer. Results of univariate analysis showed that gender, neoadjuvant therapy, surgical margin, pT staging, pN staging by JES, pN staging by UICC, TNM staging by JES, TNM staging by UICC were related factors influencing prognosis of 233 patients with esophageal cancer ( χ2=6.62, 17.81, 32.95, 37.93, 27.06, 35.56, 45.24, 37.84, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that gender, surgical margin, TNM staging by JES were independent factors influencing prognosis of 233 patients with esophageal cancer ( hazard ratio=0.48, 1.94, 1.46, 95% confidence intervals as 0.25?0.91, 1.07?3.52, 1.16?1.84, P<0.05). Conclusions:The incidence of esophageal cancer is relatively high in males, with the onset age mainly distribute in 60?69 years and the mainly pathological type as squamous carcinoma. Patients with esophageal cancer have advanced tumor staging, low proportion of neoadjuvant therapy, high R 0 resection rate of surgical treatment. Gender, surgical margin, TNM staging by JES are independent factors influencing prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer.

Background::The study aimed to clarify the characteristics of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and to compare the oncologic outcomes of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) with open esophagectomy (OE) in terms of lymph node dissection (LND) in thoracic esophageal cancer patients.Methods::The data from esophageal cancer patients who underwent MIE or OE from January 2016 to January 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The characteristics of LNM in thoracic esophageal cancer were discussed, and the differences in numbers of LND, LND rate, and LNM rate/degree of upper mediastinum between MIE and OE were compared.Results::For overall characteristics of LNM in 249 included patients, the highest rate of LNM was found in upper mediastinum, while LNM rate in middle and lower mediastinum, and abdomen increased with the tumor site moving down. The patients were divided into MIE ( n = 204) and OE groups ( n = 45). In terms of number of LND, there were significant differences in upper mediastinum between MIE and OE groups (8 [5, 11] vs. 5 [3, 8], P < 0.001). The comparative analysis of regional lymph node showed there was no significant difference except the subgroup of upper mediastinal 2L and 4L group (3 [1, 5] vs. 0 [0, 2], P < 0.001 and 0 [0, 2] vs. 0, P = 0.012, respectively). Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in terms of LND rate except 2L (89.7% [183/204] vs. 71.1% [32/45], P = 0.001) and 4L (41.2% [84/204] vs. 22.2% [10/45], P = 0.018) groups. For LNM rate of T3 stage, there was no significant difference between MIE and OE groups, and the comparative analysis of regional lymph node showed that there was no significant difference except 2L group (11.1% [5/45] vs. 38.1% [8/21], P = 0.025). The LNM degree of OE group was significantly higher than that of MIE group (27.2% [47/173] vs. 7.6% [32/419], P < 0.001), and the comparative analysis of regional LNM degree showed that there was no significant difference except 2L (34.7% [17/49] vs. 7.7% [13/169], P < 0.001) and 4L (23.8% [5/21] vs. 3.9% [2/51], P= 0.031) subgroups. Conclusion::MIE may have an advantage in LND of upper mediastinum 2L and 4L groups, while it was similar to OE in other stations of LND.

Objective:To investigate the application value of different surgical approaches in the radical resection of Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 84 patients with Siewert Ⅱ AEG who were admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from March 2018 to March 2019 were collected. There were 65 males and 19 females, aged from 43 to 82 years, with a median age of 66 years. Of 84 patients, 24 cases undergoing radical resection of AEG via abdominal transhiatal approach (TH) were allocated into TH group, 32 cases undergoing radical resection of AEG via left thoracic approach (Sweet) were allocated into Sweet group, 28 cases undergoing radical resection of AEG via right thoracoabdominal approach (RTA) were allocated into RTA group. Observation indicators: (1) surgical and postoperative conditions of Siewert Ⅱ AEG patients in the 3 groups; (2) postoperative complications of Siewert Ⅱ AEG patients in the 3 groups. (3) Follow-up. Follow-up using outpatient examination and telephone interview was conducted to detect postoperative life quality, tumor recurrence and survival of patients up to March 2020. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the ANOVA. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M (range), comparison among multiple groups was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test, and comparison between two groups was analyzed using the Dunn Bonferroni test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test. Results:(1) Surgical and postoperative conditions of Siewert Ⅱ AEG patients in the 3 groups: the operation time for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 216 minutes (range, 190-230 minutes), 174 minutes (range, 152-185 minutes) and 295 minutes (range, 261-337 minutes), respectively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=57.977, P<0.05). There were significant differences between the TH group and the Sweet group, between the TH group and the RTA group, respectively ( P<0.05). There was also a significant difference between the Sweet group and the RTA group ( P<0.05). The volume of intraoperative blood loss for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 150 mL (range, 100-163 mL), 150 mL (range, 150-200 mL) and 200 mL (range, 150-263 mL), respectively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=11.097, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the TH group and the Sweet group ( P>0.05). There were significant differences between the TH group and the RTA group, between the Sweet group and the RTA group, respectively ( P<0.05). The number of lymph node dissected for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 15 (range, 9-19), 17 (range, 10-21) and 30 (range, 24-40), respectively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=29.775, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the TH group and the Sweet group ( P>0.05). There were significant differences between the TH group and the RTA group, between the Sweet group and the RTA group, respectively ( P<0.05). The number of thoracic lymph node dissected for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 0, 2 (range, 1-3) and 6 (range, 3-9), respec-tively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=48.140, P<0.05). There were significant differences between the TH group and the Sweet group, between the TH group and the RTA group, respectively ( P<0.05). There was also a significant difference between the Sweet group and the RTA group ( P<0.05). The number of abdominal lymph node dissected for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 15 (range, 9-19), 12 (range, 8-19), and 24 (range, 17-35), respectively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=18.149, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the TH group and the Sweet group ( P>0.05). There were significant differences between the TH group and the RTA group, between the Sweet group and the RTA group, respectively ( P<0.05). The number of positive lymph node for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 2 (range, 0-3), 0 (range, 0-3), and 5 (range, 1-6), respectively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=7.729, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the TH group and the Sweet group, between the TH group and the RTA group, respectively ( P>0.05). There was a significant difference between the Sweet group and the RTA group ( P<0.05). The time to postoperative first flatus of Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 3 days (range, 3-4 days), 3 days (range, 3-4 days), and 4 days (range, 3-5 days), respectively, showing no significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=3.125, P>0.05). The duration of postoperative hospital stay for Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients in TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 16 days (range, 14-17 days), 14 days (range, 12-15 days), and 19 days (range, 18-21 days), respectively, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups ( H=35.244, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the TH group and the Sweet group ( P>0.05). There were significant differences between the TH group and the RTA group, between the Sweet group and the RTA group, respectively ( P<0.05). (2) Postoperative complications of Siewert Ⅱ AEG patients in the 3 groups: there were 6, 6, 11 Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients of the TH group, Sweet group and RTA group with cardiopulmonary complication, respectively, 1, 1, 2 patients with anastomotic leakage and 1, 0, 1 patients with AEG-related death, showing no significant difference in the above indicators among the 3 groups ( χ2=3.263, 0.754, 1.595, P>0.05). (3) Follow-up: 78 of 84 Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients were followed up for 9.0 to 24.0 months, with a median follow-up time of 16.6 months. Cases with reduced respiratory function at postoperative 3 months for the TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 4, 3, 5, respectively. Cases with gastroesophageal reflux at postoperative 3 months for the 3 groups were 3, 6, 7, respectively. Cases with weight loss at post-operative 3 months for the 3 groups were 3, 2, 4, respectively. There was no significant difference in the above indicators among the 3 groups ( χ2=1.009, 1.107, 1.112, P>0.05). Cases tumor recurrence and metastasis in the TH group, Sweet group and RTA group were 5, 7, 4, cases who survived at postoperative 1 year in the 3 groups were 19, 24, 25, respectively. There was no significant difference in the above indicators among the 3 groups ( χ2=0.897, 1.261, P>0.05). Conclusion:RTA appiled in Siewert type Ⅱ AEG patients has a longer postoperative operation time, increased intra-operative blood loss and longer hospital stay, while has better advantages in lymph node dissection.

BACKGROUND: Video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is the main surgical method for lung cancer. The aim of this study was to analyze the reasons for conversion to thoracotomy in 83 cases among 1,350 consecutive cases who underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy by a single surgical team, in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the rules and the opportunity for conversion to thoracotomy in VATS lobectomy under normal conditions. METHODS: The clinical data of 1,350 patients who underwent VATS lobectomy between September 21, 2009 and June 1, 2020, by a single surgical team in the Fifth Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. There were 773 males and 577 females, aged 8-87 years, with a median age of 61.3 years, including 83 cases of benign diseases, 38 cases of lung metastases, and 1,229 cases of primary lung cancer. The cases with stage I, II and IIIa were 676, 323 and 230, respectively. The cases of left upper, left lower, right upper, right middle, right lower, right middle and upper and right middle and lower lobectomy were 301 (22.30%), 231 (17.11%), 378 (28.00%), 119 (8.81%), 262 (19.41%), 16 (1.19%) and 43 (3.19%), respectively. RESULTS: In the cohort of 1,350 consecutive patients with VATS lobectomy, 83 patients (6.15%) were converted to thoracotomy for different reasons. The conversion rate of benign lesions was significantly higher than that of malignant tumors (P<0.05). The conversion rate in stage IIIa was significantly higher than that in stage I and II (P<0.05). The conversion rate of combined lobectomy was significantly higher than that of single lobectomy (P=0.001). The conversion rate of left upper lobectomy was significantly higher than that of other single lobectomy (P<0.001). The conversion rate of right middle lobectomy was significantly lower than that of other single lobectomy (P=0.049). The main reasons for conversion were vascular injury (38.55%), lymph node interference (26.51%) and dense adhesion in thoracic cavity (16.87%). In the conversion group, the total operation time was (236.99±66.50) min and the total blood loss was (395.85±306.38) mL. The operation time in patients converted to thoracotomy due to lymph node interference was (322.50±22.68) min, which was significantly longer than that in the other groups (P<0.05). The intraoperative blood loss in patients converted to thoracotomy due to vascular injury was (560.94±361.84) mL, which was significantly higher than that in the other groups (P<0.05). With the increase in surgical experience, the number of vascular injuries gradually decreased at the early stage, mid-stage and late stage (P=0.045). CONCLUSIONS In VATS lobectomy, benign lung lesions and more advanced malignant tumors led to more surgical difficulties and higher conversion rate. The conversion rate was different in different lobectomy sites, with the highest in left upper lobectomy, and the lowest in right middle lobectomy. Vascular injury, lymph node interference and dense adhesion were the main reasons for conversion to thoracotomy, which led to prolonged operation time and increased blood loss. With the increasing number of surgical cases, the rate of conversion to thoracotomy in VATS lobectomy continues to decline, which may be mainly due to the more advanced treatment of pulmonary vessels.