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Accurate endoscopic diagnosis is crucial for determining the appropriate treatment strategy for colorectal lesions, which may include cold snare polypectomy (CSP), endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). While white light imaging (WLI) serves as the basic and initial method for endoscopic diagnosis, additional techniques such as narrow-band imaging (NBI), blue laser/light imaging (BLI), and magnified observation using pit patterns are necessary when WLI results are inconclusive. These advanced diagnostic methods enable precise identification of lesions such as adenoma, T1 cancer, and sessile serrated lesion (SSL). Furthermore, recent advancements in endoscopic systems have enhanced image clarity and detail, thereby improving diagnostic accuracy. This review provides an in-depth discussion on how magnified endoscopy, utilizing the Japan NBI Expert Team (JNET) classification with NBI/BLI and pit pattern classification with chromoendoscopy, aids in the accurate diagnosis of colorectal lesions., (S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objectives: Effective treatments for diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) are limited. Hangeshashinto (HST), an anti-inflammatory Kampo medicine, may offer benefits but its efficacy for IBS-D requires further investigation. This study evaluated IBS-D symptom improvement and gut microbiota changes following HST administration., Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study with a prospective analysis of microbiota conducted at five affiliated institutions. Patients diagnosed with IBS-D based on the ROME IV criteria between April 2019 and December 2023, who received HST 7.5 g/day for 2-3 weeks were included. The outcome measures were improvement rates in overall symptoms, stool frequency, stool consistency, and abdominal pain. Intestinal microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing from fecal samples of 20 patients before and after HST treatment., Results: One hundred patients (42 males/58 females, mean age: 69.5±11.8 years) were analyzed. The overall improvement rate of HST was 82.0%. Those of males and females were 81.0% and 82.8% (p=0.816). By age, those of patients aged ≥75 and aged <75 years were 82.9% and 81.5% (p=0.869). The improvement rates of stool frequency, stool consistency, and abdominal pain were 59.0%, 51.0%, and 62.0%, respectively. The stool frequency per week before and after HST was 21.7±18.2 vs. 14.0±12.6 (p<0.001). Significant differences in gut microbiota β diversity were observed, although α diversity was not significantly changed. Bacteroides (p=0.003) and Ruminococcus (p=0.010) decreased significantly, while Megasphaera (p=0.030) and Subdoligranulum (p=0.002) increased., Conclusions: HST may improve IBS-D symptoms by altering microbiota composition., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest Naohisa Yoshida received research grants from Tsumura Co. The other author declares no conflict of interest for this article., (Copyright © 2025 The Japan Society of Coloproctology.)

Nivolumab has been approved for unresectable recurrent advanced esophageal cancer. The present study aimed to provide real-world data on diverse patient profiles, including the elderly and those with poor performance status, while exploring therapeutic efficacy biomarkers. This retrospective study included 42 patients with esophageal cancer who received nivolumab after second- or later-line treatment at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (Kyoto, Japan) from February 2020 to December 2021. The study evaluated real-world patient data for the outcomes, safety and clinical characteristics impacting efficacy. The median patient age was 70 years (range, 52-80), and 36 patients (85%) were male. A total of 22 patients (52%) were ≥70 years of age, and three (7%) had an Eastern Clinical Oncology Group Performance Status of 2, which was not included in the clinical trial. The response and disease control rates were 26 and 78%, respectively. With a median follow-up period of 7.9 months, the median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3.5 (95% CI, 2.0-6.0) and 19 (95% CI, 6.4-not reached) months, respectively. Patients with liver metastases had significantly worse progression-free survival and overall survival, while lung and lymph node metastases did not clearly impact nivolumab efficacy. Multivariate analysis revealed that liver metastases may predict both worse progression-free survival [hazard ratio (HR) 2.37; 95% CI, 1.07-5.24; P=0.03) and overall survival (HR, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.00-7.53; P=0.04). This study provided real-world evidence of nivolumab's favorable efficacy across diverse profiles, including the elderly and those with impaired performance status. No serious immune-related adverse events occurred and liver metastasis emerged as a predictive biomarker for nivolumab efficacy in esophageal squamous cell cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2025, Spandidos Publications.)

Cancer cachexia is a complex disorder characterized by skeletal muscle loss, which may influence the prognosis of patients with cancer. The cachexia index (CXI) is a new index for cachexia. The present study aimed to assess whether the CXI determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is valuable for predicting survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. A total of 54 patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing BIA at the time of diagnosis at Fukuchiyama City Hospital (Kyoto, Japan) were retrospectively recruited. CXI values were calculated as follows: CXI=skeletal muscle index (SMI) × serum albumin concentration/neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. The SMI was measured using BIA values. The patients were classified into low- and high-CXI groups. The median patient age was 72 years and 63.0% of patients were male. A total of 20 patients with colorectal cancer were enrolled, 12 with pancreatic cancer, 11 with gastric cancer, 6 with esophageal cancer, 4 with biliary tract cancer and 1 with liver cancer. The cumulative one-year overall survival (OS) rate was significantly worse in the low-CXI group compared with that in the high-CXI group (58.3 vs. 88.5%; P=0.012). By contrast, the SMI had no significant effect on OS. Thus, CXI values using BIA may predict survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Ohara et al.)

Objectives: A novel self-assembling peptide gel (SAPG) was recently developed for hemostasis during endoscopic resection (ER) as an alternative for electrocoagulation and clip placement. Therefore, this exploratory study aimed to evaluate the hemostatic effect of SAPG on bleeding during ER of the duodenum., Methods: Patients with superficial duodenal epithelial tumors who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) or cold-snare polypectomy (CSP) between June 2022 and October 2023 were enrolled in the study. SAPG was used for hemostasis of the intraprocedural bleeding when spontaneous hemostasis was essential for the continuation of ESD or was not achieved within 30 s after CSP. The primary outcome was a successful hemostatic rate using SAPG., Results: Among the included patients, 15 and 8 underwent ESD and CSP, respectively. Forty-two points of intraoperative bleeding were noted during ESD, of which 39 (92.9%) and 3 (7.1%) were oozing and nonspurting bleedings, respectively. Successful hemostatic rates were 84.6% and 0% in the oozing and nonspurting bleedings, respectively. All nonspurting bleedings were weakened after SAPG use. Of the 70 CSPs, 60 were oozing bleedings (85.7%), which were successfully stopped with SAPG. The median time to hemostasis from SAPG application was 30 s (interquartile range [IQR] 17-40 s) and 25 s (IQR 10-33 s) during ESD and CSP, respectively. No adverse event was observed in any of the cases during the perioperative period., Conclusion: Self-assembling peptide gel has an acceptable effect of successful hemostasis for intraoperative oozing bleeding during duodenal ESD and CSP., (© 2024 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Objectives: Colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for large tumors is spreading worldwide. Gastric cancer (GC) sometimes occurs after colorectal ESD. However, its status including frequency and risk factors have not been examined well. In this study, we analyzed the detailed status of GC after colorectal ESD., Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study. Patients receiving colorectal ESD between 2010 and 2018 were reviewed. All patients were recommended to receive esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for screening. Finally, 436 patients receiving EGD, who underwent colorectal ESD for lesions of ≥20 mm were analyzed. The primary outcome was the GC rate after colorectal ESD, including intramucosal cancer. As a control, we compared it to the GC rate in matched Japanese national cancer registry data. The secondary outcome was risk factors for developing GC., Results: The mean age was 66.9 ± 10.6 and 55.3% were males. The GC rate was 5.96% (26/436) with a median observation period of 27 months. It was significantly higher than the mean GC rate in the diagnosed age calculated with the cancer registry (0.26%, observed value/expected value ratio [95% confidence interval]: 22.20 [14.50-32.53], p < 0.01). The comparison between cases with and without GC showed that significant risk factors were male ( p = 0.02) and smokers ( p < 0.01) and their GC rates were 8.3% and 10.9%. Also, in the limited cases, Helicobacter pylori infection (past and present) and atrophic gastritis were significant and their GC rates were 11.1% and 11.6%., Conclusion: The GC rate was high after resecting colorectal tumors of ≥20 mm, suggesting the necessity of EGD., Competing Interests: Naohisa Yoshida and Osamu Dohi received a research grant from Fujifilm. Naohisa Yoshida received payment for lectures from Fujifilm. The other authors declare no conflict of interest for this article., (© 2024 The Author(s). DEN Open published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Background: Early detection of gastric cancer can play a key role in improving prognosis. Recently, light-emitting diodes (LED) have been developed as novel endoscopic systems. However, the differences in the visibility of gastric neoplastic lesions between LED and laser endoscopy remains unclear. We conducted a prospective multicenter trial to evaluate the non-inferiority of LED endoscopy in the visibility of gastric neoplastic lesions undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in comparison to laser endoscopy., Methods: A multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in patients undergoing ESD for gastric neoplastic lesions at five hospitals throughout Japan. Seventy patients with 74 lesions were included in this study. The primary endpoint was the non-inferiority of the difference in the individual scores of linked color imaging (LCI) and white-light imaging (WLI) for LED and laser endoscopy for gastric neoplastic lesions., Results: The mean individual score was 2.66 ± 1.02, 3.17 ± 0.83, 2.75 ± 1.05, and 3.21 ± 0.84 in LED-WLI, LED-LCI, laser-WLI, and laser-LCI, respectively. The difference in individual scores of LCI and WLI was 0.51 ± 0.77 and 0.46 ± 0.80 in LED and laser endoscopy, respectively. The mean difference between LED and laser endoscopy was 0.04 (95% confidence interval [CI]: - 0.05 to 0.13, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: This study revealed the non-inferiority of the differences in individual scores between LCI and WLI in the comparison of LED and laser endoscopy for gastric neoplastic lesions., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: Osamu Dohi received research funding from Fujifilm Co. Ltd. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Fujifilm Co. had no role in the design, conduct, data collection, data interpretation, or reporting of this study. Ethical approval: The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the institutional review boards of the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and other hospitals., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Competing Interests: Osamu Dohi received a collaboration research grant from Fujifilm Co., Ltd. All other authors have no conflict of interest to be disclosed.

Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) is highly invasive and carries a higher risk of complications such as pain and perforation during enteroscope insertion. Applying lubricants to the small intestinal mucosa and reducing the dynamic friction coefficient (DFC) between the small intestinal mucosa and endoscopic shaft (ES) (or overtube (OT)) can minimize the invasiveness of BAE. However, the ideal viscosity characteristics of these lubricants remain unknown. In this study, a model is developed to measure the DFC using human small intestines from forensic autopsies and determine the ideal viscosity of low-friction lubricants that exhibit a minimal DFC, thus reducing the pressure on the intestinal lining during the procedure. The results reveal that the DFC is strongly correlated to the lubricant's viscosity rather than its chemical composition. Low-friction lubricants with viscosities within 0.20-0.32 and 0.35-0.58 Pa·s (at shear rates of 10 s -1 ) for the OT and ES, respectively, can significantly reduce the DFC, yielding optimal results. These findings highlight the role of viscosity in minimizing the friction between the equipment and small intestinal mucosa. The ideal low-friction lubricants satisfying the aforementioned viscosity ranges can minimize the invasiveness of BAE by decreasing the friction between the equipment and intestinal lining., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Competing Interests: N. Yoshida and O. Dohi have received research grants from Fujifilm. R. Hirose, Y. Inagaki, T. Murakami, Y. Inada, Y. Morimoto, R. Kobayashi, K. Inoue, E. Ghoneem, and Y. Itoh declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Background: The MANTIS Closure Device (MCD; Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA) is a reopenable clip with a sharp claw used for closure after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). We evaluated the effectiveness of the MCD for fast and complete closure after colorectal ESD., Methods: Cases involving closure with the MCD after ESD of 20-60-mm colorectal lesions between April 2023 and January 2024 were reviewed. The primary end point was complete closure of the ESD defect with the MCD. Secondary end points included closure time, delayed bleeding, delayed perforation, and post-ESD coagulation syndrome (PECS). MCD application involved: 1) grasping the mucosa on the anal-side of the defect; 2) pushing the clip toward the oral-side mucosa and deploying it; 3) adding other reopenable clips for complete closure., Results: 61 cases involving MCD were analyzed. Mean tumor size was 32.3 (SD 9.2) mm. Complete closure rate was 98.4% and mean closure time was 6.9 (SD 2.6) minutes. The mean number of MCDs and other clips used was 1.0 (SD 0.1) and 4.7 (SD 1.4), respectively. Rates of delayed bleeding, delayed perforation, and PECS were 0%, 0%, and 9.8%, respectively., Conclusion: Fast and complete closure after colorectal ESD was successfully achieved using the MCD., Competing Interests: N. Yoshida and O. Dohi have received research grants from Fujifilm. R. Hirose, Y. Inagaki, T. Murakami, Y. Inada, Y. Morimoto, R. Kobayashi, K. Inoue, E. Ghoneem, and Y. Itoh declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Scissor-type knives are spreading as safe devises in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). We evaluated the efficacy of two kinds of scissor-type knives (Clutch Cutter: CC, Fujifilm Co. and SB Knife Jr2: SB, SB-KAWASUMI Laboratories. Inc.) in colorectal ESD., Methods: This single-center retrospective study analyzed 178 ESD cases treated with CC from January 2020 to August 2021 and 91 cases with SB from September 2021 to December 2023. The two groups were compared through propensity score matching. Therapeutic results, such as ESD procedure time, en bloc resection rate, perioperative bleeding frequency, and complications, were analyzed in each group. Risk factors for long ESD procedure time (≥ 90 min) were also examined., Results: After matching, 87 cases in each group were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the ESD procedure time (min, median [interquartile range]) between the CC and SB groups (54.0 [36.0-72.0] vs. 53.0 [39.0-72.0], p = 0.99). Additionally, there were no differences in the en bloc resection (100% vs. 100%, p = 1.00), perioperative perforation (1.1% vs. 1.1%, p = 1.00), or delayed bleeding (1.1% vs. 0.0%, p = 1.00). There was a significant difference in perioperative bleeding frequency (mean ± standard deviation: 1.8 ± 2.6 vs. 3.0 ± 3.5, p < 0.01). The significant risk factors (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) for long ESD procedure time in patients treated with CC or SB were antiplatelet (7.51 [1.82-31.00]), large lesion size (1.08 [1.05-1.12]), severe fibrosis (24.30 [7.60-77.90]), and perioperative bleeding frequency (1.34 [1.14-1.56])., Conclusions: CC and SB in colorectal ESD enabled high en bloc resection and low complication rates. CC showed significantly less perioperative bleeding than SB., Competing Interests: Declarations Conflict of interest Naohisa Yoshida and Osamu Dohi received the grants for research from Fujifilm. Other authors did not have any conflict of interest. No funding was received for this study., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background and Aim: There are no previous studies in which computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC) subtypes correctly. In this study, we developed an original CAD for the diagnosis of CRC subtypes., Methods: Pretraining for the CAD based on ResNet was performed using ImageNet and five open histopathological pretraining image datasets (HiPreD) containing 3 million images. In addition, sparse attention was introduced to improve the CAD compared to other attention networks. One thousand and seventy-two histopathological images from 29 early CRC cases at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine from 2019 to 2022 were collected (857 images for training and validation, 215 images for test). All images were annotated by a qualified histopathologist for segmentation of normal mucosa, adenoma, pure well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (PWDA), and moderately/poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (MPDA). Diagnostic ability including dice sufficient coefficient (DSC) and diagnostic accuracy were evaluated., Results: Our original CAD, named Colon-seg, with the pretraining of both HiPreD and ImageNET showed a better DSC (88.4%) compared to CAD without both pretraining (76.8%). Regarding the attentional mechanism, Colon-seg with sparse attention showed a better DSC (88.4%) compared to other attentional mechanisms (dual: 79.7%, ECA: 80.7%, shuffle: 84.7%, SK: 86.9%). In addition, the DSC of Colon-seg (88.4%) was better than other types of CADs (TransUNet: 84.7%, MultiResUnet: 86.1%, Unet++: 86.7%). The diagnostic accuracy of Colon-seg for each histopathological type was 94.3% for adenoma, 91.8% for PWDA, and 92.8% for MPDA., Conclusion: A deep learning-based CAD for CRC subtype differentiation was developed with pretraining and fine-tuning of abundant histopathological images., (© 2024 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background and study aims We previously demonstrated the efficacy of an additional-30-seconds (Add-30s) observation with linked color imaging (LCI) or narrow band imaging (NBI) of the cecum and ascending colon (right-sided colon) after white light imaging (WLI) observation for improving adenoma detection rate (ADR) by 3% to 10%. We herein compared Add-30s LCI with Add-30s NBI in a large number of cases. Patients and methods We retrospectively collected 1023 and 1011 cases with Add-30s LCI and NBI observation for right-sided colon in 11 affiliated institutions from 2018 to 2022 and propensity score matching was performed. Add-30s observation was as follows. First observation: WLI observation of the right-sided colon as first observation. Second observation: Reobservation of right-sided colon by Add-30s LCI or NBI. The comparison of the mean numbers of adenoma+sessile serrated lesions (SSLs) and adenomas per patient (MASP and MUTYH-associated polyposis) were analyzed in the Add-30s LCI/NBI groups. The increase in right-sided ADR was also analyzed in the groups. Results Among 748 matched cases in the Add-30s LCI/NBI groups, the MASP and MAP were 0.18/0.19 ( P = 0.54) and 0.14/0.15 ( P = 0.70). Among experts, they were 0.17/0.22 ( P = 0.16) and 0.15/0.21 ( P = 0.08). Among non-experts, they were 0.13/0.12 ( P = 0.71) and 0.12/0.07 ( P = 0.04). The right-sided ADRs of the first+second observations in the LCI and NBI groups were 32.2% and 28.9% ( P = 0.16) and the increase of ADRs were 7.5% and 7.2% ( P = 0.84). Conclusions In right-sided colon, the detection of adenoma/SSL did not differ between Add-30s LCI and NBI. Both of them significantly increased ADR., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Yoshida N and Dohi O have received a research grant from Fujifilm. Yoshida N have received payment for lectures from Fujifilm. The other author declares no conflict of interest for this article., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

With the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs)in recent years, the treatment outcomes for unresectable recurrent esophageal cancer have improved markedly. In 5-FU+cisplatin(FP)first-line therapy, 5-FU administration takes 5 days and generally requires hospitalization. However, frequent hospitalization for treatment is a crucial issue that must be resolved in terms of time investment and optimal use of hospital resources. Here, we evaluated the safety and potential adverse effects of the administration of FP therapy in an outpatient setting. After central venous ports were placed in 5 patients, cisplatin was administered using a short hydration method and 5-FU was infused for 120 hours using an infusion pump. No crucial adverse events or major pump-related problems occurred, suggesting the feasibility of this treatment in an outpatient setting. However, the duration of 5-FU administration via the pump varied more than the expected deviation (10%, 12 hours), indicating that the issues require further consideration.

Texture and color enhancement imaging (TXI) may improve the visibility of gastric tumors and allow their early detection. However, few reports have examined the utility of TXI. Between June 2021 and October 2022, 56 gastric tumors in 51 patients undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection at Fukuchiyama City Hospital were evaluated preoperatively using conventional white light imaging (WLI), narrow-band imaging (NBI), and TXI modes 1 and 2. The color differences of the tumors and surrounding mucosae were evaluated using the CIE 1976 L*a*b color space, Additionally, the visibility scores were scaled. Of the 56 gastric tumors, 45 were early gastric cancers, and 11 were adenomas. Overall, the color difference in TXI mode 1 was considerably higher compared to WLI (16.36 ± 7.05 vs. 10.84 ± 4.05; p < 0.01). Moreover, the color difference in early gastric cancers was considerably higher in TXI mode 1 compared to WLI, whereas no significant difference was found in adenomas. The visibility score in TXI mode 1 was the highest, and it was significantly higher compared to WLI. Regarding adenomas, the visibility score in TXI mode 1 was also significantly higher compared to that in WLI. TXI may provide improved gastric tumor visibility., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the value of image-enhanced endoscopy including blue laser imaging (BLI), linked color imaging, narrow-band imaging (NBI), and texture and color enhancement imaging to detect and diagnose gastric cancer (GC) compared to that of white-light imaging (WLI)., Methods: Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified through PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Japan Medical Abstracts Society databases searches. The pooled risk ratio for dichotomous variables was calculated using the random-effects model to assess the GC detection between WLI and image-enhanced endoscopy. A random-effects model was used to calculate the overall diagnostic performance of WLI and magnifying image-enhanced endoscopy for GC., Results: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The detection rate of GC was significantly improved in linked color imaging compared with that in WLI (risk ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39-3.25; p < 0.01) with mild heterogeneity. Magnifying endoscopy with NBI (ME-NBI) obtained a pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the summary receiver operating curve of 0.84 (95 % CI, 0.80-0.88), 0.96 (95 % CI, 0.94-0.97), and 0.92, respectively. Similarly, ME-BLI showed a pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of 0.81 (95 % CI, 0.77-0.85), 0.85 (95 % CI, 0.82-0.88), and 0.95, respectively. The diagnostic efficacy of ME-NBI/BLI for GC was evidently high compared to that of WLI, However, significant heterogeneity among the NBI studies still existed., Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed a high detection rate for linked color imaging and a high diagnostic performance of ME-NBI/BLI for GC compared to that with WLI., Competing Interests: Osamu Dohi received research funding from Fujifilm Co., Ltd. Naohisa Yoshida received research funds and lecture fees from Fujifilm Co., Ltd. The other authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). DEN Open published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) with white light imaging (WLI) is not enough for detecting non-polypoid colorectal polyps and it still has high false positive rate (FPR). We developed AIs using blue laser imaging (BLI) and linked color imaging (LCI) to detect them with specific learning sets (LS)., Methods: The contents of LS were as follows, LS (WLI): 1991 WLI images of lesion of 2-10 mm, LS (IEE): 5920 WLI, BLI, and LCI images of non-polypoid and small lesions of 2-20 mm. LS (IEE) was extracted from videos and included both in-focus and out-of-focus images. We designed three AIs as follows: AI (WLI) finetuned by LS (WLI), AI (IEE) finetuned by LS (WLI)+LS (IEE), and AI (HQ) finetuned by LS (WLI)+LS (IEE) only with images in focus. Polyp detection using a test set of WLI, BLI, and LCI videos of 100 non-polypoid or non-reddish lesions of 2-20 mm and FPR using movies of 15 total colonoscopy were analyzed, compared to 2 experts and 2 trainees., Results: The sensitivity for LCI in AI (IEE) (83%) was compared to that for WLI in AI (IEE) (76%: p=0.02), WLI in AI (WLI) (57%: p<0.01), BLI in AI (IEE) (78%: p=0.14), and LCI in trainees (74%: p<0.01). The sensitivity for LCI in AI (IEE) (83%) was significantly higher than that in AI (HQ) (78%: p<0.01). The FPR for LCI (6.5%) in AI (IEE) were significantly lower than that in AI (HQ) (17.3%: p<0.01)., Conclusions: AI finetuned by appropriate LS detected non-reddish and non-polypoid polyps under LCI., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest All authors have had access to the data and have control of the decision to publish. There were no financial supports for this study. Naohisa Yoshida and Osamu Dohi received a research grant from Fujifilm Co. Naohisa Yoshida received a payment for lectures from Fujifilm Co. Hironori Yamamoto had a consultant relationship with Fujifilm Co. and had received honoraria, grants and royalties from the company. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Japan Society of Coloproctology.)

Maintaining the mucus layer is crucial for the innate immune system. Urolithin A (Uro A) is a gut microbiota-derived metabolite; however, its effect on mucin production as a physical barrier remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the protective effects of Uro A on mucin production in the colon. In vivo experiments employing wild-type mice, NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-deficient mice, and wild-type mice treated with an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) antagonist were conducted to investigate the physiological role of Uro A. Additionally, in vitro assays using mucin-producing cells (LS174T) were conducted to assess mucus production following Uro A treatment. We found that Uro A thickened murine colonic mucus via enhanced mucin 2 expression facilitated by Nrf2 and AhR signaling without altering tight junctions. Uro A reduced mucosal permeability in fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran experiments and alleviated dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis. Uro A treatment increased short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria and propionic acid concentration. LS174T cell studies confirmed that Uro A promotes mucus production through the AhR and Nrf2 pathways. In conclusion, the enhanced intestinal mucus secretion induced by Uro A is mediated through the actions of Nrf-2 and AhR, which help maintain intestinal barrier function., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background/aim: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has become a promising treatment modality in the management of early-stage superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SESCC). However, radiotherapy often leads to significant adverse events (AEs), including cardiopulmonary toxicity, limiting the delivery of this treatment modality. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of reduced-volume radiotherapy and dose-dense chemotherapy in mitigating AEs for high-risk SESCC following ESD., Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients treated with customized CRT after ESD between 2014 and 2023., Results: Thirty-nine consecutive patients were identified. The median follow-up period was 63.4 months (range=8.3-99.8 months). All patients completed CRT, with a low incidence (3%) of grade ≥3 nonhematologic AEs. Thirteen patients (33%) had a recurrence: 10 local, one regional, and two distant. The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 77% and 64%, respectively. A positive vertical resection margin was identified as a prognostic factor associated with survival., Conclusion: Our novel approach of combining ESD with customized reduced-volume radiotherapy and dose-dense chemotherapy shows promise in providing favorable oncologic outcomes and a safer nonsurgical strategy for high-risk SESCC. Specifically, this regimen minimized cardiopulmonary toxicity without compromising therapeutic efficacy. More aggressive adjuvant therapy may be required for patients with positive vertical resection margins after ESD., (Copyright © 2024 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Objective: Prevalence of colonoscopy (CS) is an important countermeasure against colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we used large-scale data for a comparison of CS with esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in Japan., Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. Commercially anonymized patient data were collected from various health insurance societies (JMDC, Inc. Tokyo, Japan) generated from the insurance registry, receipts (inpatient, outpatient, and prescription), and health checkup data. The data also included healthy subjects who had never been examined in a hospital. The data of 2,760,048 persons who were 50-75 years old during January 2012-December 2019 were extracted from the original data source. The annual rate, the prevalence rate (frequency of those undergoing at least one endoscopy during the period), and the percentage of repeaters (undergoing endoscopy at least twice during the period) of CS were calculated and compared to those of EGD., Results: The annual rates in 2012/2015/2019 were 3.4%/4.5%/5.3% for CS, respectively, and increased gradually from 2012 to 2019. Those rates were 7.0%/7.9%/7.4% for EGD, respectively, and did not increase. The prevalence rates of CS and EGD were 25.3% and 36.2%, respectively, among the 137,246 participants over 8 years. The prevalence rates of individuals in their 50 s/60 s/70 s were 23.0%/25.9%/31.4% for CS and 33.0%/37.6%/40.7% for EGD, respectively. The proportions of males/females were 27.9%/20.7% for CS, and 36.4%/35.8% for EGD, respectively. The repeat rates of CS and EGD were 40.3% and 44.8%, respectively, over 8 years., Conclusions: Using large-scale data, we determined the status of CS and EGD in Japan., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Background and Aim: There has been no report on a direct comparison between linked color imaging (LCI) and second-generation narrow-band imaging (2G-NBI) for surveillance of epithelial neoplasms in the upper gastrointestinal tract (UGIT). The aim of this study was to verify the superiority of LCI to 2G-NBI for surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopy and to clarify how each endoscopic system should be used., Methods: This study was conducted as an open-label, two-arm-parallel (1:1), multicenter, randomized controlled trial at six institutions. Patients aged 20-85 years with a treatment history of epithelial neoplasms in the UGIT were recruited. Patients were assigned to a 2G-NBI group and an LCI group, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed with primary image-enhanced endoscopy followed by white light imaging (WLI). The primary endpoint was the detection rate of one or more epithelial neoplasms in the primary image-enhanced endoscopy. A WLI-detected epithelial neoplasm was defined as a lesion that was detected in only WLI., Results: A total of 372 patients in the 2G-NBI group and 378 patients in the LCI group were analyzed. Epithelial neoplasms in the UGIT were detected by 2G-NBI in 18 patients (4.6%) and were detected by LCI in 20 patients (5.3%) (P = 0.87). WLI-detected epithelial neoplasms were in 11 patients in the 2G-NBI group (3.0%) and in 1 patient in the LCI group (0.27%) (P = 0.003)., Conclusions: Linked color imaging did not show superiority to 2G-NBI for the detection of epithelial neoplasms. Also, the percentage of WLI-detected epithelial neoplasms in primary NBI was significantly higher than that in primary LCI., (© 2024 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Polymerase proofreading-associated polyposis (PPAP) is a rare disease with autosomal-dominant inheritance caused by germline variants in the POLE and POLD1 genes. PPAP has been reported to increase the risk of multiple cancers, including colon, duodenal, and endometrial cancers. Herein, we report a case in which multiple duodenal tumors led to the detection of a POLE mutation. A 43-year-old woman underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Multiple duodenal tumors were detected, and all lesions were treated endoscopically. The patient had a history of multiple colorectal cancers and endometrial cancer along with a family history of cancer; hence, genetic testing was performed, and POLE variant, c.1270C > G (p.Leu424Val) was detected. Hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes should be considered in patients with colorectal cancer who have multiple cancers or a family history of cancer, and multigene panel sequencing is useful in confirming the diagnosis. In addition, duodenal tumors frequently coexist in patients with PPAP-carrying POLE variants, while the endoscopic treatment for duodenal tumors becomes safe and useful with several new approaches. Therefore, surveillance EGD is necessary in such patients for the early detection and treatment of duodenal tumors., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Objectives: Diagnostic ability of sessile serrated lesions (SSL) and SSL with dysplasia (SSLD) using blue laser/light imaging (BLI) has not been well examined. We analyzed the diagnostic accuracy of BLI for SSL and SSLD using several endoscopic findings compared to those of narrow band imaging (NBI)., Materials and Methods: This was a subgroup analysis of prospective studies. 476 suspiciously serrated lesions of ≥2 mm on the proximal colon showing serrated change with magnified NBI or BLI in our institution between 2014 and 2021 were examined histopathologically. After propensity score matching, we evaluated the diagnostic ability of SSL and SSLD of the NBI and BLI groups regarding various endoscopic findings. For WLI findings, granule, depression, and reddish were examined for diagnosing SSLD. For NBI/BLI findings, expanded crypt opening (ECO) or thick and branched vessels (TBV) were examined for diagnosing SSL. Network vessels (NV) and white dendritic change (WDC) defined originally were examined for diagnosing SSLD., Results: Among matched 176 lesions, the sensitivity of lesions with either ECO or TBV for SSL in the NBI/BLI group was 97.5%/98.5% ( p = 0.668). Those with either WDC or NV for diagnosing SSLD in the groups were 81.0%/88.9% ( p = 0.667). Regarding the rates of endoscopic findings among 30 SSLD and 290 SSL, there were significant differences in WDC (66.4% vs. 8.6%, p < 0.001), NV (55.3% vs. 1.4%, p < 0.001), and either WDC or NV (86.8% vs. 9.0%, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: The diagnostic ability of BLI for SSL and SSLD was not different from NBI. NV and WDC were useful for diagnosing SSLD., Competing Interests: Yoshida N is an editor of Gastroenterology Research and Practice. Yoshida N and Dohi O received a research grant from Fujifilm Co. Yoshida N received payment for lectures from Fujifilm Co. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Reo Kobayashi et al.)

Background and Aims: Pharmacokinetic parameters, such as drug plasma level at trough, time to maximum plasma concentration (T max ), and coagulation factor Xa (FXa) activity generally predict factors for the anticoagulant effects of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Although GI bleeding is a major adverse event after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), little is known about the association between post-ESD bleeding in patients taking DOACs and the pharmacologic parameters. This study aimed to evaluate pharmacologic risk factors for post-ESD bleeding in patients taking DOACs., Methods: We prospectively evaluated the incidence of post-ESD bleeding in patients taking DOACs between April 2018 and May 2022 at 21 Japanese institutions and investigated the association with post-ESD bleeding and pharmacologic factors, including plasma concentration and FXa activity at trough and T max ., Results: The incidence of post-ESD bleeding was 12.8% (14 of 109; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.2-20.6). Although plasma DOAC concentration and plasma level/dose ratio at trough and T max varied widely among individuals, a significant correlation with plasma concentration and FXa activity was observed (apixaban: correlation coefficient, -0.893; P < .001). On multivariate analysis, risk factors for post-ESD bleeding in patients taking DOACs were higher age (odds ratio [OR], 1.192; 95% CI, 1.020-1.392; P = .027) and high anticoagulant ability analyzed by FXa activity at trough and T max (OR, 6.056; 95% CI, 1.094-33.529; P = .039)., Conclusions: The incidence of post-ESD bleeding in patients taking DOACs was high, especially in older patients and with high anticoagulant effects of DOACs. Measurement of pharmacokinetic parameters of DOACs may be useful in identifying patients at higher risk of post-ESD bleeding., Competing Interests: Disclosure This study was supported in part by a grant-in-aid from Scientific Research (C) (21K07949) and from the Japanese Gastroenterological Association (2020-1). The following author disclosed financial relationships: S. Suzuki: Honoraria for lectures from Fujifilm Corporation, MC Medical, Inc, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, Olympus Corporation, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. All other authors disclosed no financial relationships., (Copyright © 2024 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Detailed superiority of CAD EYE (Fujifilm, Tokyo, Japan), an artificial intelligence for polyp detection/diagnosis, compared to endoscopists is not well examined. We examined endoscopist's ability using movie sets of colorectal lesions which were detected and diagnosed by CAD EYE accurately., Methods: Consecutive lesions of ≤10 mm were examined live by CAD EYE from March-June 2022 in our institution. Short unique movie sets of each lesion with and without CAD EYE were recorded simultaneously using two recorders for detection under white light imaging (WLI) and linked color imaging (LCI) and diagnosis under blue laser/light imaging (BLI). Excluding inappropriate movies, 100 lesions detected and diagnosed with CAD EYE accurately were evaluated. Movies without CAD EYE were evaluated first by three trainees and three experts. Subsequently, movies with CAD EYE were examined. The rates of accurate detection and diagnosis were evaluated for both movie sets., Results: Among 100 lesions (mean size: 4.7±2.6 mm; 67 neoplastic/33 hyperplastic), mean accurate detection rates of movies without or with CAD EYE were 78.7%/96.7% under WLI (p<0.01) and 91.3%/97.3% under LCI (p<0.01) for trainees and 85.3%/99.0% under WLI (p<0.01) and 92.6%/99.3% under LCI (p<0.01) for experts. Mean accurate diagnosis rates of movies without or with CAD EYE for BLI were 85.3%/100% for trainees (p<0.01) and 92.3%/100% for experts (p<0.01), respectively. The significant risk factors of not-detected lesions for trainees were right-sided, hyperplastic, not-reddish, in the corner, halation, and inadequate bowel preparation., Conclusions: Unique movie sets with and without CAD EYE could suggest it's efficacy for lesion detection/diagnosis., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest The LED and LASER endoscopes, CAD EYE, and endoscopic LED systems were lent by Fujifilm for this study. Osamu Dohi and Naohisa Yoshida received the grants for research from Fujifilm Yoshida. Other authors did not have any conflict of interest. No funding was received for this study., (Copyright © 2024 The Japan Society of Coloproctology.)

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the ampulla of Vater are rare. Therefore, there is a lack of comprehensive information regarding their pathogenesis. We herein present the case of a patient with a 5-mm ampullary NET who demonstrated the presence of lymphatic invasion after undergoing endoscopic papillectomy. A 44-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for treatment of a grade 1 NET in the ampulla of Vater. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed a hypoechoic mass within the submucosal layer without obvious infiltration into the common bile duct or the main pancreatic duct. We performed underwater endoscopic papillectomy (UEP) to remove the tumor with a negative margin. Pathological evaluation of the resected specimen showed a grade 1 NET with a negative margin. However, pancreaticoduodenectomy was subsequently performed because of the risk of lymph node metastasis, which was expected due to the significant number of NET cells infiltrating the endothelium of the lymphatic vessels. No lymph node metastasis or recurrence was observed during the 26-month follow-up period. UEP is a useful method to achieve complete resection for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. UEP may be a novel option for endoscopic treatment of ampullary NET., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Background and Aim: Prophylactic closure with the over-the-scope clip (OTSC) after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors (SNADETs) has been reported to reduce postoperative adverse events (AEs). However, there are few evidences regarding AEs-associated factors and long-term outcomes of OTSCs., Methods: From January 2011 to December 2020, 139 consecutive patients with SNADETs who underwent ESD followed by OTSC closure in five institutions were extracted in this retrospective study. The primary endpoint was the rate of postoperative AEs after prophylactic OTSC closure. The secondary endpoints were the complete closure rate, residual rate, and long-term AEs associated with residual OTSCs., Results: The rate of complete closure of the mucosal defect was 97.3% (142) in 146 SNADETs, which were completely resected by ESD. Postoperative AEs, including delayed bleeding, delayed perforation, and localized peritonitis, occurred in 6.2%, 3.4%, and 2.1% of patients, respectively; however, all of the cases improved without surgical treatment. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the use of two or more OTSCs was a significant independent risk factor for postoperative AEs (odds ratio, 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-8.46; P = 0.046). The residual OTSC rate was 46.4% at 1 year postoperatively, and long-term AEs included duodenal erosions and ulcers associated with residual OTSCs., Conclusions: Prophylactic closure with OTSCs after duodenal ESD can provide acceptable short-and long-term outcomes for preventing postoperative AEs. However, multiple OTSCs were the independent risk factors of postoperative AEs due to the gaps between and near the OTSCs., (© 2024 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background and Aims: This retrospective study aimed to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection and laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery in patients with superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors., Patients and Methods: We investigated consecutive patients with SNADETs > 10 mm in size who underwent ESD (ESD group) or LECS (LECS group) between January 2015 and March 2021. The data was used to analyze the clinical course, management, survival status, and recurrence between the two groups., Results: A total of 113 patients (100 and 13 in the ESD and LECS groups, respectively) were investigated. The rates of en bloc resection and curative resection were 100% vs. 100% and 93.0% vs. 77.0% in the ESD and LECS groups, respectively, with no significant difference. The ESD group had shorter resection and suturing times than the LECS group, but there were no significant difference after propensity score matching. There were also no differences in the rates of postoperative adverse event (7.0% vs. 23.1%; P = 0.161). The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was high in both the ESD and LECS groups (97.6% vs. 100%; P = 0.334). One patient in the ESD group experienced recurrence due to liver metastasis; however, no deaths related to SNADETs were observed., Conclusion: ESD and LECS are both acceptable treatments for SNADETs in terms of a high OS rate and a low long-term recurrence rate, thereby achieving a comparable high rate of curative resection. Further studies are necessary to compare the outcomes of ESD and LECS for SNADETs once both techniques are developed further., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Linked color imaging (LCI) is a new image enhancement technology that facilitates the recognition of subtle differences in mucosal color. In the large-scale, multicenter randomized controlled trial LCI-FIND, LCI demonstrated good diagnostic performance for the detection of tumor lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The aim of the present study was to exploratively evaluate the diagnostic performance of LCI according to H. pylori infection status as a subanalysis of LCI-FIND trial., Methods: The patients were randomly allocated to receive white light imaging (WLI) first, followed by LCI (WLI group), or vice versa (LCI group), and the two groups were compared for the detection of tumors. Data from this trial were analyzed by the presence/absence of H. pylori infection and further analyzed by successful or unsuccessful eradication in the H. pylori infection group., Results: The 752 patients in the WLI group and 750 patients in the LCI group who had participated in the LCI-FIND trial were included. In the successful eradication group, more gastric lesions were detected by primary mode in the LCI group than in the WLI group, indicating that more lesions were missed by WLI. Fisher's exact probability test for the comparison of the WLI and LCI groups yielded a p-value of 0.0068, with missed gastric lesions being detected 0.136 times (95% confidence interval: 0.020-0.923), significantly less with LCI than with WLI., Conclusion: The current study suggests that LCI should be used for gastric cancer screening, particularly in patients with successful H. pylori eradication., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: The efficacy of texture and color enhancement imaging (TXI) in the novel light-emitting diode endoscopic system for polyp detection has not been examined. We aimed to evaluate the noninferiority of the additional 30-second (Add-30-s) observation of the right-sided colon (cecum/ascending colon) with TXI compared with narrow band imaging (NBI) for detecting missed polyps., Methods: We enrolled 381 patients ≥40 years old who underwent colonoscopy from September 2021 to June 2022 in 3 institutions and randomly assigned them to either the TXI or NBI groups. The right-sided colon was first observed with white light imaging in both groups. Second, after reinsertion from hepatic flexure to the cecum, the right-sided colon was observed with Add-30-s observation of either TXI or NBI. The primary endpoint was to examine the noninferiority of TXI to NBI using the mean number of adenomas and sessile serrated lesions per patient. The secondary ones were to examine adenoma detection rate, adenoma and sessile serrated lesions detection rates, and polyp detection rates in both groups., Results: The TXI and NBI groups consisted of 177 and 181 patients, respectively, and the noninferiorities of the mean number of adenomas and sessile serrated lesions per patients in the second observation were significant (TXI 0.29 [51/177] vs NBI 0.30 [54/181], P < 0.01). The change in adenoma detection rate, adenoma and sessile serrated lesions detection rate, and polyp detection rate for the right-sided colon between the TXI and NBI groups were not different (10.2%/10.5% [ P = 0.81], 13.0%/12.7% [ P = 0.71], and 15.3%/13.8% [ P = 0.71]), respectively., Discussion: Regarding Add-30-s observation of the right-sided colon, TXI was noninferior to NBI., (Copyright © 2023 by The American College of Gastroenterology.)

Background and Objective: Several endoscopic resection methods have been developed as less invasive treatments for superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumours. This study aimed to compare outcomes of conventional endoscopic mucosal resection and underwater endoscopic mucosal resection for superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumours, including resection depth and rate of the muscularis mucosa contained under the lesion., Methods: This single-centre retrospective cohort study conducted from January 2009 to December 2021 enrolled patients who underwent conventional endoscopic mucosal resection and underwater endoscopic mucosal resection for superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumours and investigated their clinicopathological outcomes using propensity score matching., Results: Of the 285 superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumours, 98 conventional endoscopic mucosal resections and 187 underwater endoscopic mucosal resections were included. After propensity score matching, 64 conventional endoscopic mucosal resections and 64 underwater endoscopic mucosal resections were analysed. The R0 resection rate was significantly higher in underwater endoscopic mucosal resection cases than in conventional endoscopic mucosal resection cases (70.3% vs. 50.0%; P = 0.030). In the multivariate analysis, a lesion diameter > 10 mm (odds ratio 7.246; P = 0.001), being in the 1st-50th treatment period (odds ratio 3.405; P = 0.008), and undergoing conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (odds ratio 3.617; P = 0.016) were associated with RX/R1 resection. Furthermore, in underwater endoscopic mucosal resection cases, the R0 rate was significantly higher for lesions diameter ≤10 mm than >10 mm, and was significantly higher in the 51st-treatment period than in the 1st-50th period. Conventional endoscopic mucosal resection and underwater endoscopic mucosal resection cases showed no significant difference in resection depth and muscularis mucosa containing rate., Conclusions: Underwater endoscopic mucosal resection may be more acceptable than conventional endoscopic mucosal resection for superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumours ≤ 10 mm. A steep early learning curve may be acquired for underwater endoscopic mucosal resection. Large multicentre prospective studies need to be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of underwater endoscopic mucosal resection., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Conventional clip closure of mucosal defects after duodenal endoscopic submucosal dissection decreases the incidence of delayed adverse events, but may result in incomplete closure, depending on size or location. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the underwater clip closure method for complete duodenal defect closure without the difficulties associated with conventional closure methods. We investigated 19 patients with 20 lesions who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection of the duodenum and subsequent mucosal defect closure in underwater conditions at our facility between February 2021 and January 2022. The success rate of the underwater clip closure method was defined as the complete endoscopic closure of the mucosal defect; a success rate of 100% was achieved. The median resected specimen size was 34.3 mm, the median procedure time for mucosal defect closure was 14 min, and the median number of clips used per patient was 12. No delayed adverse events were observed. The underwater clip closure method is a feasible option for complete closure of mucosal defects, regardless of the size or location of a duodenal endoscopic submucosal dissection., (© 2023 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Advanced gastric cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy. The available literature does not provide the prognostic value of ascites based on their degree, because most clinical trials exclude patients who present with massive ascites. Therefore, this study examined whether the presence or degree of ascites has a prognostic value in 124 patients with advanced gastric cancer. The degree of ascites was assessed using computed tomography and classified as none, small, moderate or massive. The overall survival (OS) was compared based on the presence or degree of ascites. Furthermore, a Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to ascertain the predictors of OS. The cumulative 1-year and 2-year OS rates in patients without ascites were 43.5 and 20.2%, respectively, whereas those in patients with ascites were 29.1 and 13.6%, respectively (P=0.116). The cumulative 1-year and 2-year OS rates in patients without moderate or massive ascites were 39.5 and 20.9%, respectively; however, those in patients with moderate or massive ascites were 28.0 and 4.0%, respectively (P=0.027). Multivariate analysis showed that diffuse-type [hazard ratio (HR), 1.532; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.002-2.343; P=0.049], moderate or massive ascites (HR, 2.153; 95% CI, 1.301-3.564; P=0.003) and chemotherapy (HR, 0.189; 95% CI, 0.101-0.352; P<0.001) were significant predictive factors of OS. In conclusion, the present study indicated that moderate or massive ascites may influence the OS of patients with advanced gastric cancer., Competing Interests: All authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024, Spandidos Publications.)

Background and Aim: A hemostatic gel, PuraStat (3-D Matrix, Tokyo, Japan), is used for various gastrointestinal hemostasis. In this study, we analyzed the efficacy of PuraStat for perioperative bleeding (POB) and prevention of delayed bleeding (DB) to colorectal cold snare polypectomy (CSP) with continuous anticoagulant., Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective study. Subjects were lesions of 2-9 mm under continuous anticoagulant from 2021 to 2023 and treated with PuraStat for POB. The definition of POB was bleeding which did not stop spontaneously by 1.0-1.5 min after resection and needed hemostasis. Successful hemostasis was defined as cessation of bleeding within 1.0-1.5 min after spraying PuraStat and the rate of it and risk factors of POB were analyzed. For comparison, cases receiving previous CSP without PuraStat were extracted from all cases with CSP (2018-2021), and POB and DB rate (DBR) were analyzed after propensity score matching., Results: One hundred twenty-two lesions (91: direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC), 31: warfarin) with anticoagulant were analyzed and the rate of successful hemostasis with PuraStat was 92.6% (DOAC/warfarin: 93.4%/80.6%, P  = 0.01). The rate of DB was 0.0%. Multivariate analysis showed that significant risk factors about unsuccessful hemostasis for POB with PuraStat were lesion size 8-9 mm ( P  < 0.01), warfarin ( P  = 0.01), and combination of antiplatelet ( P  = 0.01). Regarding the comparison about CSP with/without PuraStat, the clipping rate and DBR were 8.5%/94.9% ( P  < 0.01) and 0%/1.7% ( P  = 1.0)., Conclusion: The effects of PuraStat for POB and DB in colorectal CSP with continuous anticoagulant were acceptable., (© 2024 The Authors. JGH Open published by Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) show excessive peristalsis, and antispasmodic agents may be useful therapeutic agents. There are few reports on the use of Kampo medicines for the treatment of IBS-D. Shakuyakukanzoto (SKT) is a Kampo medicine that is effective against abdominal pain. We examined the relationship between SKT and intestinal peristalsis in an animal model and a prospective study. In the animal model, SKT and its components were administered from the serosal side of the colon and colonic peristalsis was evaluated using intraluminal pressure and spatiotemporal mapping before and after the administration of SKT and its components. In this clinical trial, we used abdominal ultrasonography (US) to obtain long-axis images of the sigmoid colon of 11 patients. The frequency of intestinal peristalsis was measured using US in five patients with SKT and six patients without medication after the ingestion of a test meal. The primary outcome was the frequency of peristalsis. The Clinical Trial Registry Website (Trial No. UMIN-CTR; UMIN000051547). In the animal model, peony did not suppress peristalsis frequency, but SKT (p = 0.005) and glycyrrhiza (p = 0.001) significantly suppressed peristalsis frequency compared with saline and peony. Among the glycyrrhiza components, glycycoumarin and isoliquiritigenin suppressed the peristalsis frequency compared to dimethyl sulfoxide (control) (p = 0.001, 0.01, respectively). In a clinical trial, peristalsis was significantly suppressed after oral administration in patients taking SKT (p = 0.03). Administration of SKT was found to inhibit colonic peristalsis, with glycicumarin and isoliquiritigenin being particularly relevant among its components.

Introduction: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy is the most important tool to detect gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we developed a computer-aided detection (CADe) system to detect GC with white light imaging (WLI) and linked color imaging (LCI) modes and aimed to compare the performance of CADe with that of endoscopists., Methods: The system was developed based on the deep learning framework from 9,021 images in 385 patients between 2017 and 2020. A total of 116 LCI and WLI videos from 110 patients between 2017 and 2023 were used to evaluate per-case sensitivity and per-frame specificity., Results: The per-case sensitivity and per-frame specificity of CADe with a confidence level of 0.5 in detecting GC were 78.6% and 93.4% for WLI and 94.0% and 93.3% for LCI, respectively (p < 0.001). The per-case sensitivities of nonexpert endoscopists for WLI and LCI were 45.8% and 80.4%, whereas those of expert endoscopists were 66.7% and 90.6%, respectively. Regarding detectability between CADe and endoscopists, the per-case sensitivities for WLI and LCI were 78.6% and 94.0% in CADe, respectively, which were significantly higher than those for LCI in experts (90.6%, p = 0.004) and those for WLI and LCI in nonexperts (45.8% and 80.4%, respectively, p < 0.001); however, no significant difference for WLI was observed between CADe and experts (p = 0.134)., Conclusions: Our CADe system showed significantly better sensitivity in detecting GC when used in LCI compared with WLI mode. Moreover, the sensitivity of CADe using LCI is significantly higher than those of expert endoscopists using LCI to detect GC., (© 2024 S. Karger AG, Basel.)