Multiband Mucosectomy Versus Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Treatment of Squamous Intraepithelial Neoplasia of the Esophagus

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We compared the efficacy and safety of multiband mucosectomy (MBM) vs endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for the treatment of squamous intraepithelial neoplasia of the esophagus. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 78 patients with squamous intraepithelial neoplasia of the esophagus who received either ESD or MBM between January 2009 and January 2011 at the Tengzhou Central People's Hospital in China. We compared rates of bloc resection and curative resection, as well as complications and local recurrence, between groups. RESULTS: Overall, there was no statistical difference in the rate of complete resection between patients who received ESD (95.8%) vsMBM(93%) (P >.05). For tumors less than 15 mm in width, ESD produced a significantly higher rate of en bloc resection (100%) and curative resection (92.3%) than MBM (44.8% and 41%; P <.05). No significant differences were found between lesions less than 15 mm. MBM had a significantly shorter procedure time (38 +/- 11 min) than ESD (84 +/- 35 min) (P <.05). Major bleeding occurred in 1.85% of MBM procedures and in 16.7% of ESD procedures (P >.05). ESD led to perforations in 8.3% of cases, whereas MBM did not lead to any perforations (P <.05). No significant differences were found between groups in proportions of cases with postoperative esophageal strictures (16.7% vs 14.8%; P >.05) or the 3-year rate of local recurrence (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Based on a retrospective comparison of patients who underwent ESD vs MBM for squamous intraepithelial neoplasia of the esophagus, ESD should be reserved for patients with larger neoplastic lesions (> 15 mm), with respect to the success of attempted en bloc resection and the number of curative resections achieved. However, ESD has longer procedure times and higher rates of complication. MBM allows for safe and easy piecemeal resections, and is associated with similar levels of clinical success as ESD for lesions less than 15 mm. Large, randomized, controlled studies are needed to determine which endoscopic resection modality is superior for patients with high-grade intraepithelia neoplasms.