EUS-guided angiotherapy and specifically EUS-guided coiling is an emerging promising technique and should be considered as a first-line therapeutic option for bleeding GV.

Membrane trafficking is essential to eukaryotic life and is controlled by a complex network of proteins that regulate movement of proteins and lipids between organelles. The GBF1/GEA family of Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factors (GEFs) regulates trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi by catalyzing the exchange of GDP for GTP on ADP Ribosylation Factors (Arfs). Activated Arfs recruit coat protein complex 1 (COP-I) to form vesicles that ferry cargo between these organelles. To further explore the function of the GBF1/GEA family, we have characterized a fission yeast mutant lacking one copy of the essential gene gea1 (gea1+/−), the Schizosaccharomyces pombe ortholog of GBF1. The haploinsufficient gea1+/− strain was shown to be sensitive to the GBF1 inhibitor brefeldin A (BFA) and was rescued from BFA sensitivity by gea1p overexpression. No overt defects in localization of arf1p or arf6p were observed in gea1+/− cells, but the fission yeast homolog of the COP-I cargo sac1 was mislocalized, consistent with impaired COP-I trafficking. Although Golgi morphology appeared normal, a slight increase in vacuolar size was observed in the gea1+/− mutant strain. Importantly, gea1+/− cells exhibited dramatic cytokinesis-related defects, including disorganized contractile rings, an increased septation index, and alterations in septum morphology. Septation defects appear to result from altered secretion of enzymes required for septum dynamics, as decreased secretion of eng1p, a β-glucanase required for septum breakdown, was observed in gea1+/− cells, and overexpression of eng1p suppressed the increased septation phenotype. These observations implicate gea1 in regulation of septum breakdown and establish S. pombe as a model system to explore GBF1/GEA function in cytokinesis.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration with or without biopsy (FNA/FNB) are the primary diagnostic tools for gastrointestinal submucosal tumors. EUS-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is considered a first line diagnostic method for the characterization of pancreatic and upper gastrointestinal lesions, since it allows for the direct visualization of the collection of specimens for cytopathologic analysis. EUS-FNA is most effective and accurate when immediate cytologic assessment is permitted by the presence of a cytopathologist on site. Unfortunately, the accuracy and thus the diagnostic yield of collected specimens suffer without this immediate analysis. Recently, a EUS-FNB needle capable of obtaining core samples (fine needle biopsy, FNB) has been developed and has shown promising results. This new tool adds a new dimension to the diagnostic and therapeutic utility of this technique. The aim of the present review is to compare the efficacy of EUS-FNA to that afforded by EUS-FNB in the characterization of pancreatic masses and of upper and lower gastrointestinal submucosal tumors.

INTRODUCTION: Endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) is an emerging minimally invasive resection procedure for GI lesions not amenable to conventional resection methods. Endoscopic full-thickness resection device (FTRD) is an over-the-scope single-step device that has been developed recently for EFTR. In this meta-analysis, we aim to assess efficacy and safety of FTRD for EFTR of GI lesions. METHODS: Methods: A comprehensive literature review was performed. Studies with < 5 cases were excluded. Rates of histologic complete resection (R0), technical success, and complications were extracted. Pooled estimates and the 95% CI were calculated depending on heterogenicity. Heterogenicity was assessed using I2 statistics. RESULTS: Nine studies (5 retrospective and 4 prospective) including 480 patients with 489 lesions were included. Indications were difficult adenomas (355), early carcinoma (82), and subepithelial lesions (SEL) (47). Locations of the lesions: stomach (5), duodenum (20), proximal colon (220), distal colon (98), and rectum (141). 57% of patients were male with median of age 66.5 years (range 20-92). Mean size of the lesions was 15.36 mm (range 1-40). Median procedure time was 46.56 minutes (range 3-190). Mean hospital stay was 3.23 days (range 0-11). Pooled overall R0 resection rate and technical success rate were 81.12% (95% CI: 77.63-84.6; I2 56.7%) and 90.39% (95% CI: 87.76-93.00; I2 10.2%), respectively. The pooled R0 resection rate was 81.59% (95% CI: 76.96-85.63) for difficult adenomas, 83.47% (95% CI: 73.19-91.00) for early carcinomas, and 81.59% (95% CI:68.25-91.05) for SELs. For locations; R0 resection rate were 78.42% (95% CI: 72.17-85.50), 76.97% (95% CI: 62.56-87.88), and 80.59% (95% CI: 67.56-90.09) for proximal, distal colon, and rectum, respectively. The complications were as follows: minor bleeding 2.89 (95% CI: 1.60-4.76), major bleeding 0.88 (95% CI: 0.26-2.15), perforation 2.23% (95% CI: 1.12-3.95), postpolypectomy syndrome 1.26% (95% CI: 0.48-2.68), local trauma 0.9% (95% CI: 0.27-2.19), and other complications 1.91% (95% CI: 0.90-3.54). Of 50 patients with peri-appendicular lesion, the rate of appendicitis was 14.29% (95% CI: 6.38-26.23). The rate of complications that required surgery was 1.55 (95% CI: 0.66-3.06). No procedural death related was found. There was no correlation between mean lesion’s size and complications rates CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION: FTRD is a safe and effective procedure for lesions not suitable for conventional resection.

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