Abstract
Recent advances in endoscopic equipment have improved the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors. Image-enhanced endoscopy, including narrow-band imaging, blue light imaging, and linked color imaging, has unified magnifying observation classification methods and significantly improved the qualitative and quantitative diagnostic performance of gastrointestinal epithelial tumors. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), a minimally invasive treatment for early-stage gastrointestinal cancer, is widely used. The aging population in Japan has been gradually increasing. Despite this, ESD has shown good outcomes in older adults. However, long-term prognostic analyses should take into account the high mortality rate from other illnesses. Prognostic indicators such as the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the Prognostic Nutrition Index (PNI) should be used to determine whether ESD should be performed. Even in cases of noncurative resection, follow-up without additional surgical resection is an option if there are other comorbidities that affect the prognosis.