Endocytoscopy: technology and clinical application in upper gastrointestinal tract

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Endoscopic Technology
• Oncology

Background:

• Magnifying endoscopy has advanced gastrointestinal lesion detection.
• Endocytoscopy offers ultra-high magnification for in vivo assessment.
• Intraprocedural stains are utilized with endocytoscopy.

Purpose of the Study:

• Review the latest endocytoscopic technology and clinical applications.
• Focus on upper gastrointestinal tract applications (esophagus and stomach).
• Introduce a simplified, updated endocytoscopic classification for esophageal and gastric lesions.

Main Methods:

• Review of current endocytoscopic technology.
• Analysis of clinical applications in the esophagus and stomach.
• Development and presentation of a novel endocytoscopic classification system.

Main Results:

• Endocytoscopy enables high-quality in vivo assessment of gastrointestinal lesions.
• Recent studies show good diagnostic accuracy for esophageal and gastric lesions.
• A simplified classification for esophageal and gastric endocytoscopy is proposed.

Conclusions:

• Endocytoscopy aids in the in vivo diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract lesions.
• Challenges include staining methods and classification standardization.
• Further advancements may revolutionize in vivo endoscopic diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer, akin to an optical biopsy.