Targeted labeling with tissue marking dyes guided by magnifying endoscopy of endoscopic submucosal dissection specimen improves the accuracy of endoscopic and histopathological diagnosis of early gastric cancer: a before-after study.

BACKGROUND

Although histopathological evaluation after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is critical to assess the accuracy of endoscopic diagnosis, it is still challenging to perform precise endoscopic to pathological evaluation. We evaluated the importance of tissue marking dye (TMD)-targeted marking for post-ESD specimen guided by magnificent endoscope on histopathological accuracy and endoscopic-to-histopathological reconstruction.

STUDY DESIGN

A total of 81 specimens resected by ESD [43 without TMD marking (N-TMD group), and 38 specimens with TMD-targeted cancerous areas marking guided by post-procedural magnifying endoscopy on resected specimens (TMD group)] between January 31, 2019, and January 31, 2022 at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were included in the study. The baseline characteristics of patients, discrepancies between endoscopic and histopathological diagnosis, and the impact of TMD on histopathological diagnosis and reconstruction were analyzed.

RESULTS

Discrepancies between endoscopic (pre-ESD) and histopathological (post-ESD) diagnosis increased significantly in TMD group (68.4% (26/38) for tumor areas, 26.3% (10/38) for tumor margins, and 26.3% (10/38) for tumor differentiations) when compared with N-TMD group (p < 0.0001). Deeper sections were achieved in all TMD-marked resected lesions and 27.9% (12/43) lesions in the N-TMD group (p < 0.001). More pathological evaluations in TMD group were changed from curative resection to non-curative resection [6/38(15.8%) vs 1/43(2.3%)] compared with N-TMD group (p < 0.0001). TMD-targeted marking also improved the efficiency of histopathological reconstruction on pre-procedural endoscopic images and benefit endoscopists training.

CONCLUSION

TMD-targeted labeling on resected specimens could improve precise endoscopic-to-pathological diagnosis, reconstruction by point-to-point marking and benefit endoscopists training.