Background: Although bleeding after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer (EGC) remains problematic, especially in patients taking anticoagulants, there are differing views on the ideal and optimal management for these patients. This study investigated the risk of bleeding after ESD in patients taking anticoagulants. Methods: We enrolled 61 consecutive patients taking anticoagulants (anticoagulant group) and 968 patients taking no antithrombotic agents (non-antithrombotic group) treated with ESD for EGC between December 2010 and October 2016. We analyzed the risk factors for bleeding after ESD in relation to the various clinical factors. Results: Incidences of bleeding after ESD were significantly higher (14%; 11/76) in the anticoagulant group compared to the non-antithrombotic group (3%; 40/1,167). Moreover, bleeding after ESD was significantly more common in patients in the warfarin monotherapy group (14%; 5/37) and in the direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) monotherapy group (22%; 4/18), compared to the non-antithrombotic group. Multivariate analysis revealed that dialysis, the use of anticoagulants, and an operation time ≥75 min were independent risk factors for bleeding after ESD. Conclusions: Our data suggest that patients who take warfarin and receive heparin bridging, and those who take DOAC medication, are prone to bleeding after ESD for EGC.

Background/Aims: Dual red imaging (DRI) is a new, image-enhanced endoscopy technique. There are few reports about the usefulness of DRI during gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). We aimed to examine the usefulness of DRI in endoscopic hemostasis during gastric ESD. Methods:We enrolled a total of 20 consecutive patients who underwent gastric ESD. Five endoscopists compared DRI with white light imaging (WLI) for the visibility of blood vessels and bleeding points while performing endoscopic hemostasis. Results: The visibility of blood vessels was increased in 56% (19/34) of the cases, and the visibility of bleeding points was improved in 55% (11/20) of the cases with the use of DRI compared with the use of WLI. Conclusions: DRI improved the visibility of blood vessels and bleeding points in cases with oozing bleeding, blood pooling around the bleeding points, and multiple bleeding points. Clin Endosc 2020;53:54-59

Background and study aims Because superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors (SNADETs) are relatively rare, studies evaluating the outcomes of endoscopic resection (ER) for SNADETs are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the clinical validity of ER for SNADETs. Patients and methods The study participants included 163 consecutive patients (108 men; mean age, 61.5 ± 11.3 years) with 171 SNADETs, excluding patients with familial adenomatous polyposis resected by ER, at Hiroshima University Hospital between May 2005 and September 2016. Clinicopathological features and the outcomes of ER for 171 cases were retrospectively analyzed. Additionally, the prognosis of 135 patients with more than 12 months’ follow-up was analyzed. Results Mean diameter of SNADETs was 10.7 ± 7.2 mm. Most of the SNADET cases were classified as category 3 (71 %, 121/171), but some were category 5 (2 %, 3/171). En bloc resection rates were 93 % (146/157), 100 % (7/7), and 86 % (6/7) in endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), polypectomy, and in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) cases, respectively. Complete resection rates were 90 % (141/157), 100 % (7/7), and 71 % (5/7) in EMR, polypectomy, and ESD cases, respectively. Emergency surgery was performed in two patients with intraoperative perforation and in two with delayed perforation without artificial ulcer bed closure after ER. Since endoscopic closure of ulcer by clipping was performed, delayed perforation has not occurred. Local recurrence occurred in 1.2 %, but no metastasis to lymph nodes or other organs occurred after ER. No patient died of primary SNADETs. Conclusion Our data supported the clinical validity of ER for SNADETs. However, delayed perforation should be given much attention.

Background and aim Endoscopic ultrasonography is a reliable diagnostic modality for determining indications of endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer. We aimed to clarify the clinical significance of endoscopic ultrasonography in the invasion depth diagnosis of early gastric cancer. Methods We retrospectively assessed 1598 consecutive patients with 2001 early gastric cancers who underwent EUS before ESD or surgery between October 2010 and April 2019 at our institution. Lesions were classified according to endoscopic ultrasonography-determined invasion depth as EUS-M/SM1 (lesions confined to sonographic layers 1 and 2 or lesions with changes in sonographic layer 3; depth, < 1 mm) and EUS-SM2 (lesions with changes in sonographic layer 3; depth, ≥ 1 mm). We evaluated the invasion depth determination accuracy of endoscopic ultrasonography and analyzed the clinicopathological features of misdiagnosed early gastric cancer cases. Results The invasion depth determination accuracy was as follows: EUS-M/SM1: pathological T1a/T1b1 early gastric cancer, 97%; EUS-SM2: pathological T1b2 early gastric cancer, 79%. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 95%, 98%, 69%, 97%, and 79%, respectively. In EUS-M/SM1 early gastric cancer, tumor size of ≥ 15 mm, presence of ulceration, and undifferentiated histological type were significantly associated with endoscopic ultrasonography accuracy. In EUS-SM2 early gastric cancer, tumor size of ≥ 30 mm was significantly associated with endoscopic ultrasonography accuracy. Conclusions Endoscopic ultrasonography is a useful modality in accurately determining the invasion depth of early gastric cancer before endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a widely accepted procedure for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SESCC) limited to the epithelium or lamina propria mucosae (EP/LPM). We aimed to compare the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and magnifying endoscopy with narrow band imaging (ME-NBI) for predicting the tumor invasion depth in patients with SESCC. Specifically, we evaluated the ability of these examinations to distinguish EP/LPM from SESCC invading the muscularis mucosae or superficial submucosa (MM/SM1) and more deeply invasive lesions before ESD.We retrospectively analyzed a database of all patients with SESCC who had undergone both EUS and ME-NBI for pretreatment staging and ESD resection at Hiroshima University Hospital between September 2007 and June 2015. The clinicopathologic characteristics of SESCCs were classified according to the Japanese Classification of Esophageal Cancer.A total of 174 lesions in 174 patients were included: 124 (71%) EP/LPMs, 35 (20%) MM/SM1s, and 15 (9%) SESCCs invading the mid submucosae (SM2). The sensitivity of EUS and of ME-NBI in distinguishing EP/LPM from MM/SM1 and more invasive lesions was 72% and 83%, respectively. The accuracy of EUS and ME-NBI in distinguishing EP/LPM from MM/SM1 and more invasive lesions was 70% and 82%, respectively. Sensitivity and accuracy of ME-NBI in distinguishing EP/LPM from MM/SM1 and more deeply invasive SESCCs is significantly higher than those of EUS (P = 0.048 and P = 0.017, respectively).ME-NBI may be more useful than EUS for the determination of SESCC invasion depth before ESD.