Prospects of polyglycolic acid sheets for the treatment of esophageal stricture after esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection

Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common type of cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer -related mortality worldwide. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is widely used for the resection of early esophageal cancer. However, post-ESD esophageal stricture is a common long-term complication, which requires attention. Patients with post-ESD esophageal stricture often experience dysphagia and require multiple dilatations, which greatly affects their quality of life and increases healthcare costs. Therefore, to manage post-ESD esophageal stricture, researchers are actively exploring various strategies, such as pharmaceutical interventions, endoscopic balloon dilation, and esophageal stenting. Although steroids-based therapy has achieved some success, steroids can lead to complications such as osteoporosis and infection. Meanwhile, endoscopic balloon dilatation is effective in the short term, but is prone to recurrence and perforation. Additionally, esophageal stenting can alleviate the stricture, but is associated with discomfort during stenting and the complication of easy displacement also present challenges. Tissue engineering has evolved rapidly in recent years, and hydrogel materials have good biodegradability and biocompatibility. A novel type of polyglycolic acid (PGA) sheets has been found to be effective in preventing esophageal stricture after ESD, with the advantages of a simple operation and low complication rate. PGA membranes act as a biophysical barrier to cover the wound as well as facilitate the delivery of medications to promote wound repair and healing. However, there is still a lack of multicenter, large-sample randomized controlled clinical studies focused on the treatment of post-ESD esophageal strictures with PGA membrane, which will be a promising direction for future advancements in this field.