Combined preoperative endoscopic and laparoscopic ultrasonography for prediction of R0 resection in upper gastrointestinal tract cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the ability of combined endoscopic and laparoscopic ultrasonography to predict R0 resection and avoid unnecessary surgery in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract cancer (UGIC).

METHODS: A total of 411 consecutive patients with UGIC (182 pancreatic cancers, 134 gastric cancers and 95 oesophageal cancers) treated between January 2002 and May 2004 were analysed prospectively. The allocation of patients into resectability groups by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS) was compared with the treatment actually undertaken.

RESULTS: The combination of EUS and LUS correctly predicted R0 resection in 90.6 per cent, R1-R2 in 91 per cent and irresectability in 91.4 per cent of patients. Ten patients (2.4 per cent) had explorative laparotomy only. There were no complications associated with the EUS and LUS procedures.

CONCLUSION: The routine use of EUS and LUS before surgery predicted R0 resection in nine of ten patients and reduced the number of unnecessary laparotomies to less than 3 per cent.