Treatment Results of Endoscopic Mucosal Resection with a Ligation Device for Duodenal Neuroendocrine Tumors

Objective The vertical margin of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) removed by endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is often tumor-positive. We examine the treatment results of endoscopic mucosal resection with a ligation device (EMR-L) for the removal of duodenal NETs located in the submucosal layer without metastasis. EMR-L can be performed with less technical skill, and the ligation device reduces the rate of positive vertical margin. Methods Ten consecutive patients with 10 duodenal NETs resected by EMR-L were enrolled. All of the lesions were located in the submucosal layer, were assessed to be free of metastasis, and were confirmed to be NETs pathologically by an endoscopic biopsy. The endoscopic results, pathological results, and prognosis were all examined. Results The en bloc resection rate and endoscopic complete resection rate were both 100%. Complete resection was achieved pathologically in 7 lesions (70.0%). The vertical margins were negative in all cases. Lymphatic vessel invasion was observed in three patients, all of whom underwent additional surgery with lymph node dissection (one of them also exhibited blood vessel invasion and a positive horizontal margin). No evidence of residual tumors or lymph node metastasis was observed in any of the patients. No recurrence was observed in any of the 10 patients (mean follow-up period: 18.6 months). One patient (10.0%) experienced intraoperative bleeding. Perforation occurred in 1 patient (10.0%), but the condition was managed well by conservative therapy. Conclusion EMR-L was an acceptable method for endoscopically resecting submucosal duodenal NETs, and the NETs resected by EMR-L were tumor-negative in the vertical margins.