Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Barrett's esophagus is a condition in which the normal stratified squamous epithelium is replaced by a specialized metaplastic columnar epithelium. It develops as a consequence of chronic gastroesophageal reflux and predisposes to the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma develops in Barrett's esophagus by a multistep process in which specialized metaplasia progresses to dysplasia, then to early adenocarcinoma, and eventually to deeply invasive and metastatic disease. This neoplastic progression is associated with a process of genomic instability that generates abnormal clones of cells, some of which have aneuploid or increased G2/tetraploid DNA content. A systematic protocol of endoscopic biopsy can detect Barrett's adenocarcinomas at an early stage, when they may be curable.
 ...
PMID:Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. 178 15

Fifty-eight patients had surgery for carcinoma of the esophagus at Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, Calif, from 1976 to 1986. Esophagectomy with reconstruction by colon interposition was done in 24 patients with adenocarcinoma arising in columnar-lined epithelium (Barrett's). In 5 patients, obstructive symptoms had not yet developed and the diagnosis was made by endoscopy performed for evaluation of gastroesophageal reflux. Dysphagia had just started in 12 additional patients and no weight loss had been noted. The operation was palliative in 14 patients and potentially curative in the other 10. Only 3 patients had negative lymph nodes. Ten patients were alive after 2 to 11 years. Encouraging results were indicated for surgical treatment of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus developing in Barrett's epithelium. A good outcome can be obtained with resection even in patients with lymph node metastases.
 ...
PMID:Early diagnosis of adenocarcinoma developing in Barrett's esophagus. 247 86

A new technique to study esophageal reflux by means of hepatobiliary photoscintigraphy using TC-99m DISIDA was examined. The study was undertaken on 19 patients undergoing total gastrectomy without esophageal recurrence or hepatic or pulmonary metastases. The results of hepatobiliary photoscintigraphy were compared with the clinical, endoscopic and radiologic data. From this comparison it was demonstrated that photoscintigraphy is a non-invasive procedure which permits the study of the intestinal loops excluded from the transit of food but not of bile. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy was shown to be a reliable examination and the only one which demonstrates the reflux under physiological conditions, since the 24h. pH test in the absence of the stomach does not clearly prove the presence of alkaline reflux (bile) in an alkaline environment (esophagus). The disadvantages of photoscintigraphy are that the reflux is demonstrated only during the period of examination and in the patients undergoing total gastrectomy it is difficult to identify with accuracy the esophageal anastomosis. In these cases however, the radioactive bolus was used to localize the anastomosis and therefore to assess the esophageal reflux.
 ...
PMID:A study of esophageal reflux following total gastrectomy with hepatobiliary sequential scintigraphy using TC-99m DISIDA. 372 38

The clinical and pathologic features of carcinoma arising in Barrett's esophagus were studied in resection specimens from 26 patients. White males predominated (73%). A history of symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux was frequently absent, being elicited in only eight of 14 patients (57%) with a carefully obtained history at the time of presentation with carcinoma. Survival was relatively short with a median survival of 23 +/- 5 months, and only three patients had a disease-free survival longer than 2 years. A pathologic spectrum of carcinoma was found: differentiation ranged from well to poorly differentiated in the 20 patients with a single adenocarcinoma; two separate carcinomas were found in four patients; and a spectrum of differentiation in a single tumor was found in the other two cases, one an adenocarcinoid tumor and the other an adenosquamous carcinoma. The tumors were generally far advanced, with extension through the esophageal wall in 23 of 26 cases (88%) and metastases to lymph nodes in 17 of 24 cases (71%). Epithelial dysplasia, including carcinoma in situ in some cases, was found in Barrett's mucosa adjacent to the tumor in all 26 patients. Our findings suggest that a surveillance program for dysplasia in patients known to have Barrett's esophagus is warranted in an attempt to improve the outcome. However, the impact of surveillance on the incidence of Barrett's carcinoma may be lessened by its frequent occurrence in patients with asymptomatic gastroesophageal reflux.
 ...
PMID:The spectrum of carcinoma arising in Barrett's esophagus. A clinicopathologic study of 26 patients. 646 17

Upper thoracic esophageal tumors adjacent to the trachea often require a preliminary thoracotomy to accomplish resection. Between January 1985 and July 1992, 49 consecutive patients (38 men and 11 women) underwent extended esophagectomy for esophageal cancer where the neoplasm was mobilized through an initial right thoracotomy and then resected and reconstructed through an abdomino-cervical approach. Ages ranged from 40 to 80 years (median 63.4 years). The tumor was located in the upper third of the thoracic esophagus in 44 patients and in the middle third in five. Thirty-three patients had squamous cell carcinoma, 14 had adenocarcinoma, and two had adenosquamous cell carcinoma. Complications occurred in 35 patients (71.4%) and included anastomotic leak in 15, vocal cord paralysis in 11, atrial arrhythmia in nine, pneumonia in six, wound infection in five, and postoperative bleeding in one. Three patients required tracheostomy. There was one postoperative death (2.0%). Median survival was 0.9 years (range 1 month to 5.1 years). Thirty-one patients were alive at the time this article was written, 28 without evidence of cancer. Cause of death was recurrent disease in 13 patients, unrelated to cancer in three, and unknown in one. Overall actuarial 3- and 5-year survivals were 48.6% and 18.2%, respectively. Four-year survival for stage II disease was 44.6% as compared to 24.9% for stage III (p < 0.02). The presence of lymph node metastases significantly affected survival. Three-year survival for patients with N0 disease was 77.9% compared with 20.9% for patients with N1 disease (p < 0.01). Age, sex, and cell type had no effect on survival. Ten patients had late dysphagia, four had gastroesophageal reflux, and one had dumping symptoms. Although associated with significant morbidity, we conclude that extended esophagectomy is an acceptable method of management for tumors of the upper thoracic esophagus. Mortality is low, and long-term results are reasonable.
 ...
PMID:Extended esophagectomy in the management of carcinoma of the upper thoracic esophagus. 812 21

Oesophageal cancer is one of the most lethal carcinomas, with 5-year survival rates of less than 5%. This is due to a combination of factors including late presentation, associated cardiac and respiratory disease, and the technical difficulties of resectional surgery. The outcome for patients with oesophageal cancer has changed little in recent years, perpetuating a pervading attitude of pessimism in the surgical community. The epidemiology of oesophageal cancer is changing with the increasing incidence of adenocarcinoma. Most of these tumours arise in the setting of Barrett's oesophagus and chronic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Survival following surgery for oesophageal cancer is determined by several independent factors, most notably the pathological stage of the disease and the patients physiological status. However, in patients with limited disease, in particular patients with less than five lymph node metastases, the extent of the nodal dissection positively impacts survival. This article reviews the changing epidemiology of oesophageal cancer, focusing on the need for early diagnosis and the selection of patients for surgery. It places emphasis on the importance of integrating surgical therapy in a multidisciplinary team approach to the management of such patients.
 ...
PMID:Carcinoma of the oesophagus: the time for a multidiciplinary approach? 906 63

Since its description in the 1950s, the definition of Barrett's esophagus has evolved from the macroscopic visualization of gastric-appearing mucosa in the esophagus to the histologic identification of goblet cells confirming the presence of intestinal metaplasia within the esophagus. The length of intestinal metaplasia necessary to be classified as Barrett's, and the relationship between intestinal metaplasia of the esophagus and that limited to the cardia are all areas currently being evaluated. However, any segment of intestinal metaplasia is capable of undergoing dysplastic change and ultimately of becoming a focus of adenocarcinoma. It is logical to expect the degree of risk for developing cancer to be proportional to the amount of intestinal metaplasia present; however, within a population, the low risk to any individual is balanced by the relative frequency of the process. Thus, given the large numbers of people in America with CIM, even a small risk of progression to cancer will result in a large number of patients with adenocarcinoma of the cardia. This is exactly what is occurring today, with the incidence of adenocarcinoma of the cardia and esophagus currently rising faster than any other cancer in the United States. A major risk factor for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is intestinal metaplasia, which occurs as a consequence of GERD. Patients with Barrett's esophagus usually have more severe reflux disease with significant impairment of LES function and esophageal body motility compared with patients without Barrett's. Furthermore, in patients with Barrett's, the composition of the refluxed juice is different. Patients who reflux both gastric and duodenal juice have a higher prevalence of Barrett's than do those who reflux gastric juice alone. Among patients with Barrett's, a significantly greater esophageal bilirubin exposure has been demonstrated in those with dysplasia. The mechanically defective sphincter and impaired esophageal body function in many patients with Barrett's makes their disease difficult to control medically. In addition, symptoms are unreliable as a guide to successful control of reflux. The hardest symptom to control is regurgitation, and there is concern that this and continued reflux of pharmacologically altered gastric contents, particularly bile acids in their nonpolar form, may contribute to progression of Barrett's. Both medical therapy and failed antireflux surgery are associated with progression of Barrett's to dysplasia and adenocarcinoma. On the other hand, a functioning fundoplication seems to be associated with protection from progression of Barrett's. Intestinal metaplasia of the esophagus is unlikely to regress after antireflux surgery; however, intestinal metaplasia limited to the cardia is perhaps more dynamic and able to regress. Furthermore, low-grade dysplasia frequently regresses after an antireflux procedure. Antireflux surgery is safe, effective, and durable, and often can be performed using minimally invasive techniques. Thus, antireflux surgery should be strongly considered in any patient with intestinal metaplasia of the esophagus or cardia. The possibility of mucosal ablation after an antireflux repair should be considered in patients with low-grade dysplasia. Patients with Barrett's and high-grade dysplasia are at high risk for having a focus of adenocarcinoma present. Even with multiple biopsies, a degree of sampling error exists. Also, adenocarcinoma can develop within the space of several months; and if the cancer is allowed to invade into the submucosa, 50% of these patients will have lymphatic metastases, thereby negating the purpose of surveillance. Although patients with high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal adenocarcinoma on biopsy who do not have an endoscopically visible lesion are unlikely to have lymphatic metastases, 7% do have submucosal invasion. Thus, even in these very early tumors, treatment directed only at the mucosa may be inadequate. (ABSTRACT
 ...
PMID:The diagnosis and management of Barrett's esophagus. 1057 61

Barrett's metaplasia develops in 6% to 14% of individuals with gastroesophageal reflux. Barrett's adenocarcinomas are increasing in epidemic proportions for, as yet unknown, reasons; approximately 0.5% to 1% of patients with Barrett's metaplasia develop adenocarcinoma. Heartburn duration and frequency (but not severity), male gender, and white race are major risk factors for developing cancer. Obesity and smoking are weak risk factors. Survival is determined by depth of tumor invasion (stage). Once invasion of the muscularis propria occurs, most patients have developed widespread metastasis, even when clinical staging studies are negative. No currently available therapy results in prolonged survival once metastases develop. Thus, the more widespread use of effective surveillance strategies is the only currently available means for reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with Barrett's adenocarcinoma.
 ...
PMID:Barrett's esophagus. Reducing the risk of progression to adenocarcinoma. 1069 10

Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and gastric cardia are the most rapidly increasing cancers in developed countries. Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is associated with chronic gastroesophageal reflux, and Barrett's esophagus is a precursor. This disease most frequently affects middle-aged white men. Endoscopic surveillance should be performed on patients with Barrett's esophagus, and esophagectomy is often performed on persons with high-grade dysplasia. Ablation of Barrett's esophagus has been proposed to prevent cancer but the outcomes are unproven. Squamous carcinoma of the esophagus most often affects black men and is associated with alcohol and tobacco use. The diagnosis of esophageal cancer is made by endoscopy with biopsy. Optimal staging is with endoscopic ultrasonography for depth of invasion and regional nodes and CT scanning for distant metastases. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by surgery is widely practiced, but survival benefits remain to be proven. Palliation of dysphagia may be achieved with surgery, radiation therapy, or endoscopic means, with the latter having fewer complications.
 ...
PMID:Esophageal cancer prevention, cure, and palliation. 1095 Apr 58

Gynaecological malignancies affect the respiratory system both directly and indirectly. Malignant pleural effusion is a poor prognostic factor: management options include repeated thoracentesis, chemical pleurodesis, symptomatic relief of dyspnoea with oxygen and morphine, and external drainage. Parenchymal metastases are typically multifocal and respond to chemotherapy, with a limited role for pulmonary metastatectomy. Pulmonary tumour embolism is frequently associated with lymphangitic carcinomatosis, and is most common in choriocarcinoma. Thromboembolic disease, associated with the hypercoagulable state of cancer, is treated with anticoagulation. Inferior vena cava filter placement is indicated when anticoagulation cannot be given, or when emboli recur despite adequate anticoagulation. Palliative care has a major role for respiratory symptoms of gynaecological malignancies. Treatable causes of dyspnoea include bronchospasm, fluid overload and retained secretions. Opiates are effective at relieving dyspnoea associated with effusions, metatases, and lymphangitic tumour spread. Non-pharmacological therapies include energy conservation, home redesign, and dyspnoea relief strategies, including pursed lip breathing, relaxation, oxygen, circulation of air with a fan, and attention to spiritual suffering. Identification and treatment of gastroesophageal reflux, sinusitis, and asthma can improve many patients' coughs. Chest wall pain responds to local radiotherapy, nerve blocks or systemic analgesia. Case examples illustrate ways to address quality of life issues.
 ...
PMID:Pulmonary medicine and palliative care. 1135 3


1 2 3 4 Next >>