THE Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan recently forged a partnership with St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City’s Institute of Digestive and Liver Diseases (IDLD) for the continuous transfer of technology and skills, particularly in the field of advanced gastrointestinal endoscopy.
This partnership is a first in the Asian region where Filipino gastroenterologists will be able to learn and apply highly advanced Japanese technology and skills in performing innovative endoscopic procedures, holding of clinical conferences and conducting clinical research.
Together with the agreement is the opening of the country’s first Center for Advanced Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, an advanced gastrointestinal diagnostic and therapeutic center that is able to diagnose and treat upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) diseases using highly advanced technologies from Japan, and manned by expert doctors and nurses. A Japanese gastroenterologist will also be part of the center to serve as advisor and support the development of endoscopic skills among the staff.
“Whatever will be developed in Japan when it comes to endoscopy, as well as in liver-disease treatment will be continuously transferred to our institute,” said Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, head of the IDLD in St. Luke’s-Global City. “Our aim is to be able to elevate the level of gastrointestinal endoscopy here in our institute to be comparable to that of Japan, which is considered a pioneer in endoscopy. Through the center, we will be able to help more patients here, so they need not go to Japan for treatment. We will also be able to come up with good research that we can convert to better clinical outcomes so we can attain our goal to be one of the best gastrointestinal and liver centers in the region or even in the world.”
The Center for Advanced Gastrointestinal Endoscopy will mainly focus on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of difficult medical and gastrointestinal problems, particularly polyps that are difficult to reach or excise in the GI tract. If not identified and removed, polyps may progress into colon cancer. The prevention, diagnosis and treatment of such entails the use of highly advanced endoscopes which are highly flexible and equipped with lenses capable of ultra-high-definition imaging. This new, highly advanced state-of-the-art technology greatly aids the gastroenterologist in the easier and earlier identification of small polyps which may otherwise be missed by regular endoscopes, enabling the gastroenterologist to help prevent the onset of colon cancer by safely removing or excising the polyps. This is particularly important in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer.
Among the procedures to be performed in the center, also using these advanced endoscopes, include endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Both procedures allow the endoscopic removal of larger and/or deeper polyps or lesions instead of removing these through open surgery. Many cancers originate from the innermost lining (mucosal surface) of the gastrointestinal tract, including colon, esophageal and stomach cancer. EMR is the removal of pre-cancerous or early cancer lesions form the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, helping prevent or treating these cancers. If the lesion has not spread beyond the surface layers of the gastrointestinal lining, or there is no lymphovascular invasion, then EMR is curative for these growths.
In ESD, even larger and deeper lesions are endoscopically removed with a specialized knife, with the submucosa dissected under the lesion. First developed as a non-operative alternative to treat early gastric neoplasia, ESD has seen dramatic improvements in procedural techniques and highly advanced endoscopic equipment, so that its revolutionary applications have expanded to locations throughout the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the treatment of deeper, non-epithelial lesions.
Cervantes said many colon, esophageal and stomach cancers can be prevented with early diagnosis and through minimally invasive, endoscopic means. “Particularly in colon cancer, it all starts with a polyp. If polyps are not detected early, there is a 40-percent to 60-percent chance of developing colon cancer. That is why once we reach the age of 50, we must be diligent enough to have a colonoscopy. And a polyp can easily be removed endoscopically.”
With the new, highly advanced state-of-the-art endoscopes operated by highly-skilled endoscopic gastroenterologists at the Center for Advanced Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, many more patients can be saved from gastrointestinal cancers.
The Center for Advanced Gastrointestinal Endoscopy is located at the second floor, main building of St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City. For inquiries, please call (02) 7897700 ext. 2042/ 2046.