How much do you know about cardia fundus cancer?

  According to the Japanese “Surgical and Pathological Gastric Cancer Treatment Statute”, the uppermost part of the gastric flexure and the lesser curvature of the stomach are divided into three equal parts and connected to each corresponding point, then the uppermost part of which is the fundus of the cardia.  Etiology: Like other tumors, the etiology is unknown and may be related to dietary factors, environmental factors, genetic factors, and H. pylori infection. In addition, there are precancerous changes such as chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyp, epithelial cell metaplasia and heterotypic hyperplasia of gastric mucosa.  Clinical manifestations: There are no obvious symptoms in the early stage of the lesion, even if there are some upper gastrointestinal symptoms, they are non-specific and often lead to delayed diagnosis, therefore, if adults over 40 years old have upper gastrointestinal symptoms or aggravated changes of existing symptoms without any cause, as well as black stools and positive fecal occult blood of unknown origin, especially if they have family history, further diagnosis should be made to exclude the possibility of malignant tumor; when it develops to the progressive stage, there may be such as In the progressive stage, more specific symptoms such as progressive dysphagia, epigastric swelling and supraclavicular lymph node enlargement may appear.  Diagnosis: It is more difficult to diagnose cardia fundic cancer in early stage and easier to miss the diagnosis, but it is relatively easier to diagnose in progressive stage. Close combination of clinical examination, barium meal X-ray and gastroscopy combined with pathological examination can often confirm the diagnosis.  Treatment: Surgery is recommended for early stage lesions; various treatments are available for progressive stage lesions, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, thermotherapy, surgery and even palliative treatment for advanced stage lesions, but radical surgery is the only possible cure for cardia fundic cancer, so it should be pursued. Surgical radical treatment includes resection of the lesion and its surrounding normal tissues, local lymph nodes (such as lymph nodes around the cardia, the large and small curved side of the stomach and the abdominal para-aortic lymph nodes, etc.), and due to the location of cardia fundic cancer, proximal gastrectomy or total gastrectomy + jejunostomy is often decided according to the size and invasion scope of the tumor. Due to the special characteristics of cardia fundic cancer, the limitation of the length of the abdominal segment of the esophagus, the exposure of the surgical field, and the difficulty of intraoperative management, the surgical treatment of cardia fundic cancer is often classified as thoracic surgery, and radical surgery is performed through the thoracic cavity via the diaphragm or through a combined thoracoabdominal incision. If TV thoracoscopic surgery is adopted, it can not only achieve the same effect of radical treatment, but also avoid the shortcomings of this type of surgery which is more traumatic and has more postoperative complications, which is the trend of development.  For decades, our department has formed a scientific, effective and mature system for diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer, with rich experience in surgical treatment and perfect comprehensive treatment methods.