The Feasibility and Safety of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Circumferential Superficial Esophageal Squamous Cell Neoplasms

Background It remains controversial whether endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is still appropriate for circumferential superficial esophageal squamous cell neoplasms (SESCN), and few studies compared the short-term and long-term outcomes of ESD with radical surgery. Methods A total of 140 patients with SESCN who underwent ESD or surgery between February 2014 and October 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. The characteristics of patients, operative time, postoperative complications, overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and quality of life (QOL) were compared between the ESD and surgery groups. The effect of different methods to prevent esophageal stenosis after ESD were analysed. Results Drinking, family history of cancer, macroscopic type, and intrapapillary capillary loop (IPCL) type were independent risk factors for deep submucosal invasion (SM ≥ 200 μm). Smoking and IPCL type were independent predictive factors for angiolymphatic invasion. The average operative time of ESD was significantly shorter than that of surgery (174.5 ± 51.16 min vs. 255.9 ± 88.18 min, p < 0.001). The incidence of perioperative complications in ESD group was significantly lower than that in surgery group (5.5% vs. 19.4%, p = 0.015). The ESD group had significantly better functional scale scores for emotional functioning, cognitive functioning, and global health status, and lower rates of pain, dyspnoea, insomnia, appetite loss, diarrhoea, reflux, and trouble with taste than the surgery group. No significant difference in OS and RFS between ESD and surgery group. Conclusions ESD can significantly shorten the operative time and reduce perioperative complications. Additionally, on the premise of using appropriate measures to prevent postoperative stenosis, ESD can be the first choice for the treatment of SESCN, which could provide better QOL, and the long-term prognosis of ESD is no less than that of surgery.