Endoscopic submucosal dissection for colorectal tumors—1,000 colorectal ESD cases: one specialized institute’s experiences

Purpose Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a very useful endoscopic technique, making it possible to perform en bloc resection regardless of lesion size. Since the introduction of ESD at our hospital, we have performed 1,000 colorectal ESDs during 56 months. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of our colorectal ESD experience and to access the efficacy and safety of colorectal ESD. Methods Between October 2006 and August 2011, we performed ESD on 1,000 consecutive colorectal tumors in 966 patients. We evaluated the clinical outcomes of all said cases. Results The mean resected tumor size was 24.1 ± 13.3 (3–145) mm. Our overall endoscopic en bloc resection rate was 97.5 % (975/1,000), and our R0 resection rate was 91.2 % (912/1,000) respectively. Our perforation rate was 5.3 % (53/1,000). Of these 53 perforations, 50 cases were treated through conservative management with/without endoscopic clipping, whereas the remaining 3 patients received laparoscopic operation. Pathological examination showed adenocarcinoma in 37.2 % of cases (372/1,000) and neuroendocrine tumors in 11.2 % (112/1,000). We recommended additional radical surgery to 82 patients who had a risk of lymph node metastasis. Follow-up colonoscopies were performed on 722 patients. During the median follow-up period of 13 (1–62) months, there were three recurrences (0.4 %). Conclusions ESD is technically difficult, with a substantial risk of perforation. However, ESD enabled en bloc resection and pathologically complete resection of large colorectal epithelial tumors and submucosal tumors. As experience with the technique increases, ESD may gradually replace piecemeal endoscopic mucosal resection and radical colon resection in the treatment of colorectal tumors.