• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.88-92
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• 2017

Early detection and treatment decrease the mortality rate associated with gastric cancer (GC). However, the natural history of GC remains unclear. An 85-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for evaluation of a gastric tumor. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy identified a 6 mm, flat-elevated lesion at the lesser curvature of the antrum. A biopsy specimen showed a well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The depth of the lesion was estimated to be intramucosal. Although the lesion met the indications for endoscopic resection, periodic endoscopic follow-up was performed due to the patient's advanced age and comorbidities. The mucosal GC invaded into the submucosa 3 years later, and finally progressed to advanced cancer 5 years after the initial examination. The patient died of tumor hemorrhage 6.4 years after the initial examination. In this case, mucosal GC progressed to advanced GC, eventually leading to the patient's death from GC. Early and appropriate treatment is required to prevent GC-related death.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.313-314
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• 2023

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.14-18
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• 2011

The diagnosis and treatment of early gastrointestinal cancers is the gastroenterologists' mission because of national cancer screening program in South Korea. The detection of early cancers is emphasized, because these were previously treated with surgical treatment can be currently cured with endoscopic treatment. Gastroenterologists who achieved at least on some level can make an exact diagnosis regardless of what type of endoscopy, but generally, there are some required conditions for an optimal diagnosis. First, clinically important lesions have to be detected easily. Second, the border and morphology of lesions have to be characterized easily. Third, lesions have to be diagnosed exactly. Precancers and early cancers are often subtle and can pose a challenge to gastroenterologists to visualize using standard white light endoscopy. The use of dye solutions aids the diagnosis of early gastrointestinal cancers, however, it is a quite cumbersome to use dye solutions all the time and the solution often bothers the exact observation by pooling into the depression or ulceration of the lesion. To overcome this weakness, newer endoscopes are now developed so called "image enhanced endoscopy" using optical and/or electronic methods such as narrow band imaging (NBI), autofluorescence imaging (AFI), i-scan, flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) and confocal endomicroscopy (CLE).

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.146-158
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• 2023

Endoscopic resection (ER) is widely performed for early gastric cancer (EGC) with a negligible risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in Eastern Asian countries. In particular, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) leads to a high en bloc resection rate, enabling accurate pathological evaluation. As undifferentiated EGC (UD-EGC) is known to result in a higher incidence of LNM and infiltrative growth than differentiated EGC (D-EGC), the indications for ER are limited compared with those for D-EGC. Previously, clinical staging as intramucosal UD-EGC ≤2 cm, without ulceration, was presented as 'weakly recommended' or 'expanded indications' for ER in the guidelines of the United States, Europe, Korea, and Japan. Based on promising long-term outcomes from a prospective multicenter study by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) 1009/1010, the status of this indication has expanded and is now considered 'absolute indications' in the latest Japanese guidelines published in 2021. In this study, which comprised 275 patients with UD-EGC (cT1a, ≤2 cm, without ulceration) treated with ESD, the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 99.3% (95% confidence interval, 97.1%-99.8%), which was higher than the threshold 5-year OS (89.9%). Currently, the levels of evidence grades and recommendations for ER of UD-EGC differ among Japan, Korea, and Western countries. Therefore, a further discussion is warranted to generalize the indications for ER of UD-EGC in countries besides Japan.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.706-715
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• 2023

Postoperative gastrointestinal bleeding is a rare but serious complication that can lead to prolonged hospitalization and significant morbidity and mortality. It can be managed by reoperation, endoscopy, or radiological intervention. Although reoperation carries risks, particularly in critically ill postoperative patients, minimally invasive interventions, such as endoscopy or radiological intervention, confer advantages. Endoscopy allows localization of the bleeding focus and hemostatic management at the same time. Although there have been concerns regarding the potential risk of creating an anastomotic disruption or perforation during early postoperative endoscopy, endoscopic management has become more popular over time. However, there is currently no consensus on the best endoscopic management for postoperative gastrointestinal bleeding because most practices are based on retrospective case series. Furthermore, there is a wide range of individual complexities in anatomical and clinical settings after surgery. This review focused on the safety and effectiveness of endoscopic management in various surgical settings.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Reports
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2019

The early detection of early gastric cancer (EGC) is important. However, the sensitivity of conventional white light imaging (WLI) in detecting EGC had been reported to range only from 77% to 84%. Although the resolution of endoscopes has been remarkably developed, precancerous lesions such as adenomas and microscopic early cancers are difficult to diagnose with general endoscopy. Linked Color Imaging (LCI) magnifies the differences in color for easy detection. Therefore, it produces a bright image from a distance and is performed for screening endoscopy. The 410 nm wavelength of BLI (Blue Light Imaging) helps to detect cancer by showing microstructure and microvessels in the mucosal superficial layer. This review will focus on the utility of Image enhanced endoscopy (IEE) techniques in diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.546-552
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• 2023

Techniques for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy are advancing to facilitate lesion detection and improve prognosis. However, most early tumors in the upper gastrointestinal tract exhibit subtle color changes or morphological features that are difficult to detect using white light imaging. Linked color imaging (LCI) has been developed to overcome these shortcomings; it expands or reduces color information to clarify color differences, thereby facilitating the detection and observation of lesions. This article summarizes the characteristics of LCI and advances in LCI-related research in the upper gastrointestinal tract field.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.56-64
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• 2022

Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is the most widely used image-enhanced endoscopic technique. The superficial microanatomy of gastric mucosa can be visualized when used with a magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI). The diagnostic criteria for early gastric cancer (EGC), using the classification system for microvascular and microsurface pattern of ME-NBI, have been developed, and their usefulness has been proven in the differential diagnosis of small depressed cancer from focal gastritis and in lateral extent delineation of EGC. Some studies reported on the prediction of histologic differentiation and invasion depth of gastric cancer using ME-NBI; however, its application is limited in clinical practice, and further well-designed studies are necessary. Clinicians should understand the ME-NBI classification system and acquire appropriate diagnostic skills through various experiences and training to improve the quality of endoscopy for EGC diagnosis.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.537-545
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• 2023

Achalasia is an esophageal motility disorder characterized by impaired lower esophageal sphincter relaxation and peristalsis of the esophageal body. With the increasing prevalence of achalasia, interest in the role of endoscopy in its diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring is also growing. The major diagnostic modalities for achalasia include high-resolution manometry, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and barium esophagography. Endoscopic assessment is important for early diagnosis to rule out diseases that mimic achalasia symptoms, such as pseudo-achalasia, esophageal cancer, esophageal webs, and eosinophilic esophagitis. The major endoscopic characteristics suggestive of achalasia include a widened esophageal lumen and food residue in the esophagus. Once diagnosed, achalasia can be treated either endoscopically or surgically. The preference for endoscopic treatment is increasing owing to its minimal invasiveness. Botulinum toxins, pneumatic balloon dilation, and peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) are important endoscopic treatments. Previous studies have demonstrated excellent treatment outcomes for POEM, with >95% improvement in dysphagia, making POEM the mainstay treatment option for achalasia. Several studies have reported an increased risk of esophageal cancer in patients with achalasia. However, routine endoscopic surveillance remains controversial owing to the lack of sufficient data. Further studies on surveillance methods and duration are warranted to establish concordant guidelines for the endoscopic surveillance of achalasia.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.513-526
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• 2018

White light imaging (WLI) may not reveal early upper gastrointestinal cancers. Linked color imaging (LCI) produces bright images in the distant view and is performed for the same screening indications as WLI. LCI and blue laser imaging (BLI) provide excellent visibility of gastric cancers in high color contrast with respect to the surrounding tissue. The characteristic purple and green color of metaplasias on LCI and BLI, respectively, serve to increase the contrast while visualizing gastric cancers regardless of a history of Helicobacter pylori eradication. LCI facilitates color-based recognition of early gastric cancers of all morphological types, including flat lesions or those in an H. pylori-negative normal background mucosa as well as the diagnosis of inflamed mucosae including erosions. LCI reveals changes in mucosal color before the appearance of morphological changes in various gastric lesions. BLI is superior to LCI in the detection of early esophageal cancers and abnormal findings of microstructure and microvasculature in close-up views of upper gastrointestinal cancers. Excellent images can also be obtained with transnasal endoscopy. Using a combination of these modalities allows one to obtain images useful for establishing a diagnosis. It is important to observe esophageal cancers (brown) using BLI and gastric cancers (orange) surrounded by intestinal metaplasia (purple) and duodenal cancers (orange) by LCI.