Gastric conduit in patients with previous endoscopic resection of the stomach for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

This study investigated the clinical outcomes of gastric conduits for esophageal reconstruction in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients who had previously undergone endoscopic resection of the stomach. From January 2006 to April 2023, a total of 1964 patients underwent surgery for esophageal cancer at our institution. After initially excluding 125 of these cases due to a histology other than ESCC, we identified 147 patients in the remaining population who had previously undergone a gastric endoscopic resection, among which 56 patients (67.0 ± 6.5 years) were included in the present study cohort. A gastric conduit event was defined as any new lesions at the gastric conduit. The diagnoses of a previous gastric lesion included early gastric cancer (EGC) in 32 patients (57.1%), adenoma in 23 patients (41.1%), and dysplasia in 1 (1.8%) patient. The endoscopic procedures involved an endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in 36 patients (64.3%) and an endoscopic mucosal resection in 20 patients (35.7%). The 10-year event-free survival rate for the gastric conduit was 43.7%. Five patients were diagnosed with metachronous gastric neoplasm (EGC in two and adenoma in three patients). Endoscopic procedures were available for all five cases, but one patient with a metachronous EGC required a colon interposition with a total gastrectomy. In ESCC patients who have undergone an endoscopic resection of their gastric lesions, subsequent esophageal reconstruction with a gastric conduit could be a viable option if followed by regular endoscopic surveillance for the early detection and endoscopic curability of any lesions.