Oncological results and morbidity following intended curative resection and free jejunal graft reconstruction of cervical esophageal cancer: a retrospective Danish consecutive cohort study

Summary Background The role of surgery in treatment of locally advanced cervical esophageal cancer (CEC) remains debated. In the European and American treatment guidelines, definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) is preferred over surgery, while in the Danish guidelines, the two treatment modalities are equally recommended. Surgical treatment of CEC is centralized at our center in Denmark. We present our outcomes following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) when possible and resection as first-line therapy for CEC and compare with recent published dCRT results. Method We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of patients treated for cervical esophageal cancer at Aarhus University Hospital from 2001–2018 with nCRT when possible and pharyngolaryngectomy followed by reconstruction with a free jejunal graft. Results Forty consecutive patients were included. About, 45% received nCRT. The median survival was 21 months. The overall, disease-specific and disease-free 5-year survival was 43.6%, 53.2%, and 47.4%, respectively. The rate of microscopically radical resection was 85%. The recurrence rate was 47% and 81% of recurrences were locoregional. The in-hospital and 30-day mortality rate was 0%. Major complications occurred in 27.9%. Anastomotic leakage, graft failure, fistulas and strictures occurred in 10%, 7.5%, 30%, and 30%, respectively. Conclusion Our treatment offers equal oncological results compared to the best internationally published results for dCRT for CEC. Results vary considerably between dCRT studies. Morbidity appears more pronounced following surgery. Future studies are warranted to investigate the Danish national outcomes following dCRT as first-line treatment for curable locally advanced CEC.

Free partial patch and partial tube jejunal graft transfers were used to reconstruct pharyngoesophageal defect: Our experience with three cases

Those patients with hypopharyngoesophageal cancer often sacrificed larynx before reconstruction using jejunum to restore the continuity of the digestive tract and allow oral alimentation. We retrospectively collected and analyzed three patients who underwent hypopharyngoesophageal reconstruction by free partial patch and partial tube jejunal graft transfer with reservation of laryngeal function caused by hypopharyngeal cancer invading the cervical esophagus. The partial patch and partial tube jejunal graft transfer survival rate was 100%(3/3). The larynx was reserved in the three patients. The partial patch and partial tube jejunal graft transfer is a safe and reliable choice for reconstruction of large and complex defects after pharyngectomy and cervical esophagectomy with larynx preserved.

Evaluation of Molecular Changes of Distal Organs After Small Bowel Transplantation

The ischemia and reperfusion of a jejunal graft during transplantation triggers the stress of endoplasmic reticulum thus inducing the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Spreading of these signals stimulate immunological reactions in distal tissues, i.e. lung, liver and spleen. The aim of this study was to detect the molecular changes in liver and spleen induced by transplanted jejunal graft with one or six hours of reperfusion (group Tx1 and Tx6). Analysis of gene expression changes of inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-10) and specific chaperones (Gadd153, Grp78) derived from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was done and compared to control group. The qRT-PCR method was used for amplification of the specific genes. The levels of corresponding proteins were detected by Western blot with immunodetection. Protein TNF-α was in liver tissue significantly overexpressed in the experimental group Tx1 by 48 % (p<0.001). In the group Tx6 we found decreased levels of the same protein to the level of controls. However, the protein concentrations of TNF-α in spleen showed increased levels in group Tx1 by 31 % (p<0.001) but even higher levels in the group Tx6 by 115 % (p<0.001) in comparing to controls. Our data demonstrated that the spleen is more sensitive to post-transplantation inflammation than liver, with consequent stress of ER potentially inducing apoptosis and failure of basic functions of lymphoid tissue.