ACell, Inc. announced recently that a peer-reviewed study, “Esophageal Reinforcement with an Extracellular Scaffold During Total Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer,” was published in the October, 2014 issue of Annals of Surgical Oncology, featuring its MatriStem Surgical Matrix PSM device.

The retrospective study compared the rate of anastomotic leaks after total gastrectomy in two patient groups – one group that had esophageal reinforcement using MatriStem Surgical Matrix PSM and a second group as a control.  2.7% of patients in the MatriStem group had a postoperative leak, compared to 12% in the control group – a reduction of more than 75%.

“Post-operative leaks are a potentially devastating complication of esophageal reinforcement, with morbidity rates approaching 50%,” said Thomas Gilbert, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at ACell.  “Various approaches have been developed and tried with the hopes of reducing the occurrence of post-operative leaks, but none have been widely accepted by the clinical community.”

Post-operative leaks can also increase the incidence of strictures (narrowing of the esophagus) and have a negative impact on the patient’s nutritional status.

Gastrectomy is a surgical procedure that removes a patient’s stomach; typically the surgeon then connects the esophagus directly to the small bowel with a procedure called anastomosis.  A full or partial gastrectomy is usually the only curative measure for patients with primary stomach cancer, which affects more than 20,000 Americans each year.

 “The research presented is very promising and could represent a significant step forward in treating stomach cancer patients who have undergone total gastrectomy,” said Gilbert.  “We have initiated a prospective study with the same research team to further examine the potential for MatriStem technology to improve outcomes after esophageal anastomosis, which we believe will validate these initial promising results and lead to broader adoption of the technique.”