Middle East Journal of Digestive Diseases
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Jan 2017

Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is a non-invasive alternative to surgery that is now frequently used for resection of early lesions in both upper and lower parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. One of the main advantages of these techniques is providing tissue for histopathological examination. Pathological examination of endoscopically resected specimens of GI tract is a crucial component of these procedures and is useful for prediction of both the risk of metastasis and lymph node involvement.
As the first step, it is very important for the pathologist to handle the EMR gross specimen in the correct way: it should be oriented, and then the margins should be labeled and inked accurately before fixation.
In the second step, the EMR pathological report should include all the detailed information about the diagnosis, grading, depth of invasion (mucosa only or submucosal involvement), status of the margins, and the presence or absence of lymphovascular invasion.
The current literature (PubMed and Google Scholar) was searched for the words “endoscopic mucosal resection” to find all relevant publications about this technique with emphasis on the pathologist responsibilities.

BACKGROUNDIn this clinical trial, polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution was compared with lactulose in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis.
METHODSThis randomized controlled trial was performed on 40 patients in two groups. The patients in the lactulose group received either 20-30 grams of lactulose orally or by a nasogastric tube, or 200 grams of lactulose enema by a rectal tube. The patients in the PEG–lactulose group received the same amount of oral or rectal lactulose, plus 280 grams of PEG in 4 liters of water orally as a single dose in 30-120 minutes. Serial physical examinations, hepatic encephalopathy scoring algorithm (HESA), blood level of ammonia, and serum biochemical studies were used to evaluate the severity of hepatic encephalopathy.
RESULTSIn comparison with lactulose alone, PEG-lactulose could improve HESA score in 24 hours more effectively (p=0.04). Overall, PEG-lactulose regimen was associated with a decrease in length of hospital stay compared with lactulose treatment (p =0.03) but in subgroup analysis we found that PEG-lactulose regimen could only decrease the length of hospital stay in women significantly (p =0.01).
CONCLUSIONThe use of PEG along with lactulose in comparison with lactulose alone is more effective in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis and results in more rapid discharge from hospital.

BACKGROUNDIntestinal mast cells may cause gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The objective of this study was to determine the effect of mesalazine on the number of lamina propria mast cells and clinical manifestations of patients with diarrhea-dominant IBS referred to Shariati Hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
METHODSThis was a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial conducted on 49 patients with diarrhea-dominant IBS. The patients were randomly assigned to one of the experiment or control groups. The patients in experiment group took 2400 mg mesalazine daily in three divided doses for 8 weeks and the patient in control group took placebo on the same basis. Our first targeted outcome was an assigned downturn of mast cells number to the safe colonic baseline and the next one was a marked palliation of disease symptoms. Data were analyzed conforming intention-to-treat method. We used MANCOVA test to compare our both assigned outcomes in the two groups. We also compared the data with baseline values in both groups.All statistical tests were performed at the significance level of 0.05.
RESULTSThere was no significant difference between Mesalazine and placebo groups regarding the number of mast cells (p value=0.396), abdominal pain (p value=0.054), bloating (p value=0.365), defecation urgency (p value=0.212), and defecation frequency (p value=0.702).
CONCLUSIONMesalazine had no significant effect either on the number of mast cells or on the severity of disease symptoms. This finding seems to be inconsistent with the hypothesis indicating immune mechanisms as potential therapeutic targets in IBS.
The possible difference in this effect of Mesalazine should be evaluated in further studies among populations varying in race, ethnic, and geographical characteristics.

BACKGROUNDIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a digestive system disorder with an unknown etiology. Serotonin has a key role in the secretion and motility of the intestine. Polymorphism in serotonin re-uptake transporter (SERT or SLC6A4) gene may have a functional role in the gut of patients with IBS. The aims of the present study were to investigate the association between SLC6A4 gene polymorphism and IBS and to detect the correlation between rectal serotonin levels and IBS sub-types.
METHODSSLC6A4 gene polymorphism in 131 patients with IBS and 211 healthy controls were analysed using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction high-resolution melting (qPCR-HRM) curve technique. Serotonin was measured in rectal biopsies of patients with IBS using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.
RESULTSThe patients were categorized into three groups: IBS with diarrhoea (IBS-D): 70 patients, IBS with constipation (IBS-C): 18 patients, and IBS with mixed symptoms (IBS-M): 43 patients. The frequency of SLC6A4 s/s and l/s genotypes was significantly higher in IBS-C than IBS-D, IBS-M, and controls (p=0.036). Serotonin levels were similar in IBS sub-types.
CONCLUSIONSLC6A4 polymorphism is a possible candidate gene associated with the pathogenesis of IBS-C. Although serotonin levels did not differ in rectal biopsies of IBS sub-types, further investigation is recommended.

BACKGROUND Many studies have reported an association between periodontal infections and some systemic diseases such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Some studies found a direct association between chronic gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and poor periodontal health.
METHODSIn a cross-sectional study from November 2014 to December 2015 in Kerman, the largest province in southeast Iran, patients with dyspepsia who were candidate for diagnostic upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy were included in our study. Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index and Loe plaque index that are two popular indexes in dental epidemiology were used to assess the oral health by a dentist before the upper GI endoscopy. According to the Loe plaque index, score: 0= no plaque, score: 1= a film of plaque attaching to the free gingival border and near area of the tooth, score: 2= moderate reposition of deposits within the gingival pocket, score :3= plenty of soft matter within the gingival pocket±on the tooth and gingival border. Scores ≤1, 2 and 3 equal to good, moderate, and poor oral hygiene, respectively. During upper GI endoscopy a total of six biopsy samples were taken from fundus, body, and antrum. A pathologist reported these samples according to Sidney’s classification into superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia.
RESULTSAccording to Sidney’s classification 77 (89.5%) patients had superficial gastritis, 3 (3.5%) had atrophic gastritis, and 6 (7%) had intestinal metaplasia. HP was found in 80.2% of the gastric mucosal biopsy samples. There were not statisticallysignificant relationship between Sidney’s classification, presence of HP in gastric mucosal biopsies, and hygiene indicators (p>0.05). No relation was found between the DMFT index and superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis, and intestinal metaplasia (p>0.05). Gastric infection with HP was found in 70%, 75%, and 100% of patients with mild, moderate, and sever DMFT index, respectively.
CONCLUSIONOur study showed that there might be a relation between poor oral hygiene and gastric precancerous lesions. In addition, HP infection in gastric histopathology might be associated with periodontal disease.

BACKGROUNDThe number of patients with gastric cancer is growing worldwide. In Iran (in 2009) of the 74067 new cases of cancer, 6886 were diagnosed as having gastric cancer. This study was conducted to investigate 5-year survival rate for gastric cancer in Yazd province, central Iran.
METHODSIn this descriptive study, the medical records of patients with gastric cancer were collected from the archives of Yazd hospitals from 2001 to 2008. The data gathered included age, sex, type of histopathology, site of involvement, cancer staging, and mode of treatment, which were analyzed using SPSS software version 11.5. To investigate the survival and the factors influencing the survival time of patients, which are the main objectives of this study, Kaplan-Meier method was used and Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to the data. To compare survival function in different subgroups, the log rank test or generalized Wilcoxon test was used.
RESULTS295 cases of gastric cancer were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the subjects was 59.3 ± 9 years. 5-year survival rate of the patients was calculated as 18% where the highest rate was 39% for the age group of 50-60 years and the lowest was 3% for the age group of above 80 years. 5-year survival rates in different groups were as follows: 32% in women, 13% in men; 16% in adenocarcinoma, 46% in other pathologies; 16% in gastric cardia involvement, 17% in antrum; 59% in stage 1, 31% in stage 2, 13% in stage 3, and 3% in stage 4.
CONCLUSIONThe results of this study showed that age, stage of the cancer, mode of therapy, and type of histopathology affected the survival rate of gastric cancer. No significant association was found between the site of involvement and survival rate. In general, the survival rate for gastric cancer was low, which might be due to slow but steady progress of the disease and delayed referral of the patients.

Laterally spreading tumors (LSTs) are generally defined as superficial lesions ≥10 mm in diameter that typically extend laterally rather than vertically along the colonic wall. Such lesions are now increasingly reported because of increased awareness and the introduction of chromo and magnifying colonoscopy. Although the clinicopathological characteristics and the efficacy of endoscopic management of LSTs have been defined in Japanese cohorts, reports from the Middle East are lacking where surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment. We report a case with an LST about 20 cm from anal verge removed by endoscopic mucosal resection. After histopathological evaluation of the removed specimen, we categorized the patient as having high risk early colon cancer. The intensive follow-up as an additional treatment strategy was chosen for the patient. This review addresses the management of early carcinoma in colorectal polyp with reference to proper preoperative assessment, treatment selection with special attention to role of biomarkers, the need for additional treatment on the basis of the presence of risk factors and endoscopic follow-up after treatment.

Type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is a rare disease that is reported from Asia, especially from Taiwan. In this paper, we present a patient from Iran (Arab) with Type II EATL whose disease was not associated with celiac disease or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The patient died due to intestinal perforation during the first chemotherapy. Type II EATL is a gastrointestinal lymphoma with poor prognosis and a high affinity for intestinal perforation. Early detection of EATL II is essential for chemotherapy prior to the onset of malnutrition symptoms.

A 54-year-old man was referred to our center with complaint of dysphagia since 1 year ago. Before admission to our center, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) had been done by general internist, which was reported normal. The patient had mentioned discomfort with solid and liquid diets. He suffered from cough and sometimes nausea during swallowing. Nasal regurgitation was not reported. Because of such complaints, thorough gastrointestinal and pulmonary investigations were performed and eventually he was discharged with medical treatment.