Prognostic value of laparoscopic ultrasound in patients with gastro-esophageal cancer

Forty-four patients with gastro-esophageal tumors regarded as resectable by conventional staging underwent laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS). Following LUS, seven were found to be irresectable and were managed by palliative therapies. Thirty-seven patients proceeded to surgical exploration and 36 were resected (R0 80%, RI 11%, and R2 9%). All patients were reviewed until death or for a minimum of 24 months. Patients undergoing resection had a 62% 1-year survival (median 17 months; confidence intervals, CI 6-28). LUS defined nodal status indicated a trend toward prolonged survival in the node-negative group, median 22 months (CI 5-39), compared with 13 months (CI 6-20) in the node-positive group. Disease-free survival was greater in LUS node-negative patients at 29 months (CI 23-35) compared with node-positive patients at 13 months (CI 5-21) P = 0.0083. LUS staging allows prediction of the likelihood of recurrence of gastro-esophageal malignancies. This may prove useful for the appropriate allocation of patients to primary and adjuvant therapies.