Introduction. According to global data, gastric cancer (GC) is the 5-th most common malignancy with a high cancer-related mortality rate. However, in recent decades, there has been a tendency towards an increase in the incidence of GC among young patients (18 to 40 years old), which currently amounts to 4.4–9.8%. Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of surgical, combined and palliative treatment options in early-onset GC. Material and Methods. the study included 129 patients aged 18–45 years, who underwent radical, cytoreductive and palliative surgery with or without combination with drug therapy for localized, locally-advanced and primary disseminated GC. the patients were divided into three clinical groups: 1) the surgical group (n=27) included patients with only surgical treatment; 2) the group of combined treatment (n= 58) included patients with PCI <7 who underwent surgery with the volume of CC0 in combination with CT (neoadjuvant, adjuvant, perioperative, simultaneously with or without hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and patients who underwent only HIPEC; 3) the additional (palliative) group (n=44) included patients with PCI>7 who underwent systemic CT in combination with pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC). Results. the median overall survival (OS) in three groups was 58, 30 and 13 months, respectively. In patients with IV stage of disease who underwent HIPEC with CC0 surgery, OS in the 2nd group was 17 in comparison with 13 months in the third group (PIPEC). Conclusion. Aggressive multimodal treatment in the absence of comorbid status in young patients will allow for intensification of both the perioperative drug therapy component and the implementation of extended multivisceral resections that facilitate radical surgical treatment to improve both DFS and OS.

The purpose of the study. To estimate the number of patients with the preservation of relative dose intensity (RDI) ≥ 80 % of first-line antitumor therapy in patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to compare the effectiveness of therapy in groups with optimal and lower RDI.Patients and methods. The study included 30 patients (25 men and 5 women) with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC. The median age was 57 years. The main criterion for inclusion in the study was morphologically verified NSCLC with stage IIIB-IIIC of the disease. All patients underwent simultaneous chemoradiotherapy. According to the histogenesis of the tumor process, patients with a squamous cell variant prevailed.Results. The data obtained from 22 (73.3 %) patients who retained a relative dose intensity of RDI > 80 % demonstrated that given dose intensity is sufficient to achieve a stable antitumor effect. In 8 (26.7 %) cases, however, the RDI was less than 80 %, which affected the effectiveness of the treatment. The median follow-up for overall survival (OS) was 29.2 months, progression-free survival (PFS) was 15.1 months, and local control was 21.9 months. in all patients included in the analysis. The indicators of OS in the second year had an advantage in the group of patients with RDI < 80 % and amounted to 73.3 % compared with 60.5 % in patients with RDI > 80 %. PFS was higher in the group of patients with high dose intensity, in the first year of follow-up it was 75.6 % compared with the group of patients with RDI < 80 % (62.5 %), in the second year of follow-up, PFS was 27.2 % and 20.8 %, respectively. Local control was 90.2 % in the first year in the group of patients with RDI > 80 % and 62.5 % in the group of patients with RDI < 80 %. The second year of follow-up demonstrated the advantage of the group of patients with RDI >80 % in terms of local control and amounted to 48.1 % versus 34.7 %, respectively.Conclusion. The results obtained show that maintaining relative dose intensity at a high level has a positive effect on survival rates and local control of patients with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC. However, there is a cohort of patients who did not receive the planned amount of treatment, due to the high toxicity of simultaneous chemoradiotherapy. It is necessary to develop new approaches to concomitant therapy aimed at reducing the toxicity of the combined treatment and achieving maximum antitumor effect.

Purpose of the study. Preventive pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) safety assessment in the combined treatment of gastric cancer (GC).Patients and methods. The study included 48 patients with morphologically confirmed resectable GC and cardio esophageal transition, having at least one criterion that is a predictor of the development of peritoneal carcinomatosis, e. g. tumor spread to the serous layer (≥ T4a), diffuse tumor type, affected regional lymph nodes, large tumor, young age (up to 45 years), subtotally and totally affected stomach. 36 out of those patients received treatment according to the protocol. All patients received 4 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy according to the FLOT scheme, radical surgical treatment in combination with a PIPAC session, 4 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy according to the FLOT scheme. The safety assessment was carried out according to the classification of surgical complications according to Clavien-D indo and the international scale for toxicity scaling NCI–CTCAE v5.0.Results. Postoperative complications were diagnosed in 25 %, >III grade complications were revealed in 11 % of cases according to the Clavien-D indo classification. The postoperative mortality rate was 0 %.Conclusion. Preventive PIPAC of locally advanced GC and CET in combined treatment is a reproducible and safe method, which is characterized by the absence of an increase in the number of postoperative complications and mortality rate.

The aim of the study was to analyze of the safety and feasibility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (2 cycles of FLOT chemotherapy + chemoradiotherapy) followed by surgery in the treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer. Material and Methods. The phase II clinical trial included 47 patients with histologically verified locally advanced gastric cancer (cT3/T4a-b: 26/21 and cN0/N1–3: 20/27) treated at the A.F. Tsyba MRRC from 2018 to 2021. Lesion location was: upper third in 19 patients (esophageal invasion in 9 patients), middle third in 13 patients, lower third in 14 patients, and entire stomach in 1 patient. The tumor grade was G3 in 23 patients, G2 in 13 patients and G1 in 7 patients. Signet ring cell carcinoma was revealed in 4 patients. The patients received 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy with FLOT regimen (85 mg/m2 oxaliplatin + 200 mg/m2 calcium folinate + 50 mg/m2 docetaxel on day 1 + 2600 mg/m2 fluorouracil as 24-hour infusion from day 1; every 2 weeks) followed by 3d-conformal external beam radiotherapy (46 Gy in daily fractions of 2 Gy) combined with chemotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin). The patients then underwent follow-up examination to exclude disease progression and to plan surgery. Postoperative complications were analyzed using the Clavien-dindo classification. Results. Induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy was well tolerated. Forty-five (95.7 %) patients underwent surgery, 97.7 % of them underwent radical surgery. Postoperative complications were observed in 11 (23.4 %) patients. Grade III and more severe complications were observed in 3 (6.4 %) patients. It should be noted that postoperative mortality rate was low, amounting to 2.2 % (1 patient). Conclusion. Induction FLOT polychemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy was shown to be safe, feasible, and tolerable. Moreover, this treatment regimen did not reduce the frequency of R0 surgeries and did not increase incidence and severity of postoperative complications.

OBJECTIVE:To analyze the causes and surgical treatment of hiatal hernia after esophagectomy, technical features of surgery and methods of prevention. MATERIAL AND METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of postoperative hiatal hernias after esophagectomy in patients with esophageal cancer between 2018 and 2023. Structure of hernias, surgical options and postoperative results were assessed. RESULTS:We analyzed 161 patients after Ivor Lewis (n=101) and McKeown (n=60) esophagectomies (open surge surgeries - 43.5%, thoraco- and laparoscopic procedures - 23%, hybrid procedures - 33.5%). The incidence of postoperative hiatal hernia was 3.7%. Hernia occurred within 1-15 months. There were 5 men and 1 woman (mean age 65 years). In all cases, partial or complete dissection of the left diaphragmatic crura was performed. The incidence of hernia after minimally invasive surgery was 4.4%, after open surgery - 2.9%. Two (33.3%) patients underwent urgent surgery for ileus within 2 months after primary esophageal surgery. Three (50%) patients underwent elective surgery. One (16.6%) patient is currently followed-up. The complication was asymptomatic in 2 (33.3%) patients. One (16.6%) patient died after emergency surgery in a COVID hospital due to strangulated hernia and progressive respiratory failure. Mean follow-up period was 16 months. No recurrent hernias were diagnosed. CONCLUSION:Hiatal hernias occur 2 times more often after minimally invasive esophagectomies. Active surgical strategy is necessary for symptomatic hernias due to high risk of strangulation and emergency interventions. The incidence of this complication is lower without wide diaphragmotomy, transection of the left diaphragmatic crus and high abdominal pressure during laparoscopic stage.

Advanced chemo- and radiotherapy makes it possible to expand the cohort of patients who can undergo surgical treatment for esophageal cancer. Optimization of perioperative approach, diagnosis and modern options for complications reduced early postoperative mortality after esophagectomy. Conduit ischemia with failure of esophageal-gastric or esophageal-intestinal anastomosis is one of the most serious complications. To minimize the risk of anastomotic leakage and graft necrosis in these patients, various methods of intraoperative assessment of graft viability are being investigated. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green is valuable for real time assessment of graft perfusion. To date, fluorescence imaging is analyzed regarding perfusion of the gastric stalk after esophagectomy. However, there are still few or no data on this method for analysis of colonic conduit perfusion. The absence of plastic material for gastrointestinal reconstruction is the most dangerous moment in case of ischemia and necrosis of colonic graft. We present our first case of delayed retrosternal esophageal repair using intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for assessment of conduit perfusion.

The purpose of the study. Mesenchymal tumors of the esophagus comprise 2 % of all esophageal tumors. Leiomyosarcoma is the most common mesenchymal tumor in the esophagus (up to 80 %). It is located in the lower third of the esophagus. The main treatment modality of leiomyosarcoma is surgery. Due to the low frequency of occurrence, there are no unified approaches to the choice of surgical volume and access. Minimally invasive techniques have advantages over open approaches. However, final treatment approach depends on many factors: localization and location of the tumor around the circumference of the esophagus, as well as size. Endoscopic resection is feasible for small tumors with an intramural growth. In case of large leiomyomas, Lewis operation should be performed. In all other cases, tumor enucleation is the gold standard of treatment. The issue of minimally invasive surgical access is relevant. Thoracoscopic access has limitations for tumors located in the lower thoracic esophagus closer to the esophageal-gastric junction. In this regard, a laparoscopic approach with the possibility of transhiatal mobilization of the esophagus provides an adequate opportunity for tumor enucleation.Clinical case description. We hereby report our case study in which we employ the use of laparoscopic transhiatal enucleation to remove leiomyoma of the lower thoracic part of the esophagus. A 47-year-old female presented to P.A. Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute with complaints of pain in the epigastrium, discomfort behind the sternum when taking solid food. R0 resection was performed. During the one year follow-up period no sign of disease recurrence was observed.Conclusion. This approach, in our opinion, is fully justified, with careful selection of patients and compliance with guidelines of cancer surgery. Laparoscopic approach with transhiatal mobilization of the esophagus provides a good opportunity to perform the enucleation of mesenchymal tumors localized in the lower third of the thoracic region, at the level of the supraphrenic and abdominal segments.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most aggressive malignant neoplasms, ranking sixth among oncological causes of death. According to GLOBOCAN, more than half a million people die from this disease every year, and by 2040 this indicator is expected to increase almost twice. In most patients, esophageal cancer is diagnosed at stages III–IV of the disease. Currently, the standard of treatment for inoperable patients with EC is simultaneous chemoradiotherapy. One of the main methods of treatment of patients with non-metastatic esophageal lesion remains surgical intervention in the volume of esophagectomy with radical lymph dissection, accompanied by quite frequent serious postoperative complications. However, the results of surgical treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer alone remain unsatisfactory, and the fiveyear survival rate is less than 20 %. In order to improve the oncological results of treatment, various combinations of drug and radiation therapy are used (preoperative chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, independent chemoradiotherapy). To date, recommendations for the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer vary from country to country. Trimodal therapy (preoperative chemoradiotherapy up to TFD – 46 Gy with 5 cycles of weekly chemotherapy according to the carboplatin + paclitaxel scheme followed by surgical treatment) is the standard in operable patients with non-metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus in our and European countries. In Asian countries, preference is given to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, based on the data of the JCOG1109 (NExT) study, in which it was shown that the addition of docetaxel to neoadjuvant therapy with cisplatin and fluorouracil is accompanied by an improvement in overall survival and acceptable toxicity, compared with the CF regimen and chemoradiotherapy. A separate issue is the place of lifesaving esophagectomy in patients who have received a course of radical chemoradiotherapy. Unfortunately, according to several researchers, recurrent or persistent esophageal cancer remains an urgent problem with a risk of relapse of the disease in up to 60 % of cases. We have studied the data of the Russian and global literature concerning the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

Background. Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers with the highest incidence and mortality rates worldwide. Gastrectomy/distal subtotal resection with D2 lymphadenectomy and perioperative chemotherapy with FLOT is the standard treatment for locally advanced gastric cancer. Currently, the role of chemoradiation therapy in the treatment of gastric cancer has not been well determined. From 2019 to 2021, a prospective phase 2 clinical trial was undertaken at A. Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Centre (MRRC) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy: induction chemotherapy with FLOT (2 cycles) and chemoradiotherapy (total dose of 46 Gy with the concurrent chemotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin) followed by surgery. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced gastric cancer with a favorable pathological response, downstaging and more than 2.5-year disease-free survival. Case description. A 48 year-old male patient was admitted to the MRRC with complain of epigastric pains for 2 months. Gastroscopic biopsy revealed gastric cancer. The comprehensive examination revealed proximal gastric cancer involving the abdominal segment of the esophagus (cT3N3aM0, stage III). The patient was invited to participate in the clinical trial. The patient accepted to participate voluntarily and signed an informed consent. He received 2 cycles of FLOT chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy and surgery (gastrectomy with resection of the abdominal segment of the esophagus and D2 lymph node dissection). Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed grade 1b pathological response (Becker criteria). Histological examination of lymph nodes revealed pathological complete response. The patient is alive after 33 months of gollow-up without the evidence of disease progression. Conclusion. Neoadjuvant induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy resulted in a favorable pathological response, downstaging and 2.5-year disease-free survival.

Background. Stomach cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Long-term treatment outcomes in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer with invasion to adjacent structures are poor. In clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, it is recommended to treat these patients with perioperative chemotherapy according to the FLOT scheme. The effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is studied in many multicenter studies involving randomized clinical trials. Case description. We present a case of a successful treatment of a patient with locally advanced gastric cancer (сT4bN2M0 – IVA stage). The patient received neoadjuvant therapy (2 cycles according to the FLOT scheme) followed by chemoradiotherapy (total dose of 46 Gy with the concurrent chemotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin). Neoadjuvant therapy was well tolerated (grade 1 gastrointestinal and hematological toxicity). The patient underwent distal subtotal resection of the stomach with D2 lymph node dissection and distal subtotal resection of the pancreas with preservation of the spleen. No postoperative complications were observed. Histological examination revealed complete pathological response of the primary tumor, including the area of earlier invasion into the pancreas; metastasis in one lymph node of the small omentum. The patient is alive with no evidence of disease 20 months after surgery. Conclusion. The feasibility of conducting safe multimodal neoadjuvant therapy followed by organ-preserving surgery in a patient with locally advanced gastric cancer (сT4bN2M0) was shown. The effective neoadjuvant therapy resulted in the achievement of complete pathologic response, which is a favorable prognostic factor.

Purpose of the study. The study was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of PET / CT with 18 fluoro‑2 deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) in the differential diagnosis of focal lung neoplasms.Materials and methods. Patients (n = 108) with newly diagnosed lung focal lesions were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent PET / CT with 18fluoro‑2deoxy-D-glucose in the "whole body" mode in accordance with the standard protocol. The next step was surgical treatment with morphological verification. According to the results of the morphological conclusion, malignant neoplasm was not diagnosed in 11 (10.2 %) patients, while post-inflammatory changes were detected in 7 patients (SUVmax from 2.3 to 15.15), hamartoma was verified in 3 patients (SUVmax from 1.1 to 4.2) and anthracosis was detected in 1 patient.Results. The median radiopharmaceutical accumulation (SUVmax) was 6.0 (ICR 3.9–8.4, n = 108). In turn, in patients with diagnosed lung cancer this indicator was 7.0 (ICR 5.8–10.9, n = 60), in patients with metastatic lesions 4.3 (ICR 2.5–7.1, n = 37). The threshold for SUVmax was 5.4 for the detection of malignant tumors. PET/CT with 18F-FDG demonstrated high data variability regarding the size of lung focal lesion. An error within 35 % was observed in 76 % of cases, underestimating small lesions (up to 40 mm) but overestimating the major neoplasms. Application of a linear model for adjustment of neoplasm size assessment allows to estimate the actual size of neoplasms with parameters 5.862 + 0,817 × х (х – PET / CT size) in 84.5 % of cases with an error of 50 %. The optimal diagnosing size for metastatic lesions is in the range between 16.4 and 19 mm.Conclusion. Taken together the results of the study show that PET / CT with 18F-FDG gives a relatively accurate estimation of the tumor size. Application of the linear model corrects a radiological size measurements and helps to predict an actual size of a neoplasm in 84.5 % of cases with an error of 50 %. The prospective threshold for SUVmax was at least 5.4 for the detection of malignant neoplasms.

Neutrophils are one of the key barriers to anti-infective protection, an important mechanism of which is NETosis - the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET). In recent years, this ambiguous biological phenomenon has been considered as a factor of unfavorable prognosis in some types of cancer. This review is devoted to the analysis of the role of NETosis in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and other non-communicable diseases. The role of NET in malignant tumors, in particular in metastasis and progression of the tumor process, has been studied and data on the subpopulations of neutrophils – low-density neutrophils (LDN) and high-density neutrophils (HDN) in tumor processes have been analyzed. Further study of the phenomenon of netosis and the characteristics of peripheral blood neutrophils in cancer patients will be useful both for detailing the mechanisms of the metastatic cascade and for identifying their role as a biomarker and a possible therapeutic target.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic transgastric resection for mesenchymal tumors of the proximal stomach.Material and Methods. A retrospective-prospective study was carried out. Surgical techniques of laparoscopic transgastric resection and the history of the development of this surgical method were described in detail. A total of 11 laparoscopic transgastric resections were performed. The course of the postoperative period and the postoperative management of patients were described. The immediate and long-term results of surgical treatment and the quality of life of patients were presented.Results. The assessment of the quality of life of patients after surgery showed that there were no cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease compared to proximal subtotal resection of the stomach or endoscopic tunnel resection. All patients underwent radical resection. In our study, we did not encounter cases of conversion of the surgical approach, as well as serious postoperative complications (Clavien–Dindo>III ). The analysis of long-term treatment outcomes showed that there were no cases of recurrence or disease progression. All patients are alive and followed up.Conclusion. This technique is fully justified, with careful selection of patients and compliance with all the rules of surgical oncology. Transgastric resection of gastric mesenchymal tumors located in the region of the cardioesophageal junction is a justified and safe technique. Surgery is performed under clear visual control, EGDS is not required to detect the tumor. This method allows the reduction of the frequency of contamination of the gastric flora into the abdominal cavity as well as the reduction of the wound area of the anterior abdominal wall.

Currently, lung cancer is a global problem and public health issue in the world. Chemoradiotherapy remains the optimal method in the treatment of patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nowadays, immune response checkpoint inhibitors (monoclonal antibodies) are actively introduced into clinical practice which demonstrated significant improvements in the overall survival for patients with unresectable NSCLC. These drugs block programmed cell death protein (PD‑1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) that increases regulation on the surface of T-cells and improves the patient's immune system respond to tumor cells. In 2019, durvalumab was introduced into clinical practice for the treatment of patients with unresectable NSCLC (stage III) after chemoradiotherapy. In our study, we’ve summarizes studies investigated the feasibility and safety of radiotherapy with immunotherapy for locally advanced lung cancer.

Currently, lung cancer is a global problem and public health issue in the world. Chemoradiotherapy remains the optimal method in the treatment of patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nowadays, immune response checkpoint inhibitors (monoclonal antibodies) are actively introduced into clinical practice which demonstrated significant improvements in the overall survival for patients with unresectable NSCLC. These drugs block programmed cell death protein (PD‑1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) that increases regulation on the surface of T-cells and improves the patient's immune system respond to tumor cells. In 2019, durvalumab was introduced into clinical practice for the treatment of patients with unresectable NSCLC (stage III) after chemoradiotherapy. In our study, we’ve summarizes studies investigated the feasibility and safety of radiotherapy with immunotherapy for locally advanced lung cancer.