Accuracy and influencing factors of Type B2 vessels in predicting the invasion depth of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma under narrow-band imaging magnifying endoscopy

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of Type B2 based on narrow-band imaging-magnifying endoscopy (NBI-ME) in judging invasion depth of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SESCC) and analyze potential influencing factors. Method Data from 113 patients where Type B2 was observed by magnifying endoscopy and confirmed by postoperative pathology as SESCC at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and Fujian Provincial Hospital from January 2015 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into correct prediction and incorrect prediction groups according to the postoperative pathological results, and the prediction accuracy was calculated. The incorrect prediction group was further divided into overestimation and underestimation groups to identify the influential factors for overprediction and underprediction, respectively. The independent influential factors for the prediction were assessed using multivariate Cox logistic regression analysis. Results B2-narrow (Type B2 area <= 5 mm) (p < 0.001) and Type B2 around erosion (p = 0.040) were independent risk factors of overpredicting the invasion depth of SESCC based on Type B2. The presence of significant endoscopic features was an independent protective factor for overpredicting the invasion depth of SESCC (p = 0.014), whereas the presence of significant features under endoscopy was an independent risk factor for the underprediction (p = 0.005). Conclusion B2-narrow (Type B2 area <= 5 mm), Type B2 vessels around erosion, and non- significant endoscopic features are closely related to overpredicting the invasion depth of SESCC based on Type B2, and the presence of significant endoscopic features is closely associated with underprediction.