Necessity of cervical lymph node dissection by retrospective analysis of submucosal cancer in mid-thoracic esophagus

The frequency and distribution of metastatic lymph node of submucosal cancer (sm) located in mid-thoracic esophagus were investigated retrospectively to evaluate the significance of cervical lymph node dissection, so-called "radical neck dissection". In the further investigations of lymph node dissection in sm cancer located only in mid-thoracic esophagus, cervical lymph node metastasis was found only in 2 cases of 19 mid-thoracic esophageal sm cancer, which were both at paraesophageal area, resectable from the thoracic approach. Comparison of the survival cases receiving esophagectomy for sm cancer located in mid- and lower esophagus, with cervical lymph node dissection (n = 26) and without (n = 16) showed no significant differences. Therefore cervical lymph node dissection can be omitted in cases of mid-thoracic esophageal sm cancer.     

Extrathoracic esophagectomy in the treatment of esophageal cancer

Extrathoracic esophagectomy has the potential of improving the results of resectional therapy for carcinoma of the esophagus by eliminating the need for thoracotomy and decreasing postoperative pulmonary complications. This report compares the operative and functional results of blunt extrathoracic esophagectomy and substernal reversed gastric tube reconstruction in patients with esophageal cancer to results in 10 consecutive nonrandomized control patients treated by standard esophagogastrectomy. Extrathoracic esophagectomy was associated with greater pulmonary dysfunction than standard esophagogastrectomy. While there was no significant difference in survival in the two groups, three patients in the standard esophagogastrectomy group (mean survival 9.0 months) and none in the extrathoracic esophagectomy group (mean survival 7.4 months) developed anastomotic recurrence. Extrathoracic esophagectomy evidently does not afford patients with esophageal carcinoma better palliation than standard esophagogastrectomy.     

Combined lung resection for advanced thoracic esophageal carcinoma

We performed lung resection together with esophagectomy in 2 patients with advanced thoracic esophageal cancer. Both patients survived more than 2 years with no evidence of disease. The first case was a 60-year-old man who had a cancer lesion in middle of the intra-thoracic esophagus (Im) and the right lower lobe of the lung was involved. In March 1989, right lower lobectomy of the lung was performed with esophagectomy. Pathologic examination showed well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma invading the lung parenchyma and intrapulmonary lymph node. Postoperatively, 44 Gy of radiation and Peplomycin cancer chemotherapy was performed. The patient survived 51 months after surgery and died of chronic myelogenous leukemia. The second case was a 60-year-old man who underwent thoracic esophagectomy with resection of the involved pericardium and right lung in February 1992. Pathologic examination showed N3 lymph node metastasis. Postoperatively, the patient received 48 Gy of radiation and was free from cancer after 30 months. In conclusion, better surgical results are expected in cases of advanced thoracic esophageal cancer with lung involvement which can be completely resected en bloc with the primary tumor even in a3 cases than in those with aortic or tracheobronchial involvement.     

Development of synchronous bilateral lung cancers after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: report of a case

It is well known that squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus can be associated with carcinoma of other organs. We report herein the rare case of a 60-year-old man who developed synchronous bilateral lung cancers after undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Staged bilateral lobectomy was successfully performed to minimize respiratory complications 3 years after his esophagectomy. This case report serves to demonstrate that aggressive and careful surgical approach with adequate followup offers the chance of long-term survival for patients with multiple primary cancers.     

Total thoracic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer

BACKGROUND: Many current methods of esophageal resection have drawbacks that result in inadequate proximal resection, inadequate lymphadenectomy, and difficult gastric and splenic access. We describe a technique that allows reliable and safe access to the chest, abdomen, and neck. STUDY DESIGN: From 1988 to 1995, 113 patients (82 men; mean age 65.3 +/- 4.5 years) with carcinoma of the esophagus or esophagogastric junction (middle third in 34, lower third in 41, and cardia in 38) underwent total thoracic esophagectomy. The histology was adenocarcinoma in 71 (62.8%), squamous cell carcinoma in 32 (28.3%), and undifferentiated carcinoma in 10 (8.9%) of the patients; 57 tumors (50.5%) were stage III. The esophagus and stomach were mobilized through a left thoracoabdominal incision. After completion of the esophageal resection, the fundus of the stomach was sutured to the esophageal stump to allow later delivery of the stomach into the neck. The esophagogastric anastomosis was performed with continuous single-layer absorbable suture through a left oblique cervical incision. RESULTS: The mean duration of the operation was 309.2 +/- 47.9 minutes. Hospital stay ranged from 5 to 49 days (median, 12 days). The perioperative mortality rate was 4.4%. Anastomotic leak occurred in six patients (5.3%), one of whom died. The proximal resection margin was microscopically free of tumor in all cases, and with a minimum followup period of 18 months, there has been no anastomotic recurrence in any patient. Actuarial survival at 1 year was 63.4% +/- 4.9%, at 3 years 41.4% +/- 5.9%, and at 5 years 22.7% +/- 6.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Total thoracic esophagectomy through the left chest with a separate left cervical incision allows clear access to the esophagus and stomach and good tumor clearance. This procedure may be performed with a low rate of anastomotic leakage, a very low mortality rate, and no anastomotic tumor recurrence.     

Microsatellite instability associated with primary head and neck cancers and secondary esophageal cancers

BACKGROUND: It is common that patients with head and neck cancers have secondary malignant neoplasm of esophageal cancer. METHODS: To know the genetic background of the development of these secondary cancers, we performed microsatellite assay at six loci and immunohistochemical analysis on head and neck cancers of eight patients with esophageal cancer and on those of 19 patients without esophageal cancer. RESULTS: Replication error (RER) at more than two loci was observed in two (25%) of eight double cancer patients, whereas it was not observed in the patients without the secondary cancer. Immunohistochemically, overexpression of cyclin D1 was detected in two (25%) of eight double cancer cases and in two (11%) of 19 non-double cancer cases, respectively, the incidence showing a higher tendency in the former. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that microsatellite instability may be implicated in the development of head and neck double cancers and that RER (+) phenotype may serve as a biomarker to predict the development of secondary esophageal cancer in patients with head and neck cancer.     

Hyperfractionated radiotherapy and simultaneous cisplatin for stage-III and -IV carcinomas of the head and neck. Long-term results including functional outcome

PURPOSE: To assess the survival rate, the probability of local control, the patterns of relapse and late sequelae including self-reported quality of life in patients treated with hyperfractionated radiotherapy (RT) and simultaneous CDDP chemotherapy for stage-III to stage-IV carcinomas of the head and neck. METHODS: From 1988 to 1994, 64 patients (median age 55.5 years) with carcinomas of different subsites, excluding the nasopharynx, were treated in a pilot study with 1.2 Gy bid (6 h interval; total dose 74.4 Gy) and simultaneous CDDP (20 mg/m2 daily, 5 days in week 1 and 5) and followed at regular intervals. Overall survival and local control, as well as the rates of late toxicity, were estimated using the actuarial method. Median follow-up was 3.3 years for all and 5.2 years for surviving patients. To assess the quality of life, the EORTC QLQ-C 30 questionnaire and the H&N35 module questionnaire were sent to the patients surviving with no evidence of disease or second primary tumors; they were answered by 15/23 (67%). RESULTS: Overall survival was 37% at 5 years, whereas disease-specific survival was 59%. Twenty-three patients died from uncontrolled head and neck cancer. Second primary tumors were observed in 13 patients, most frequently in the lung. Local control without salvage surgery was 74% at 5 years for all subsites and stages, and loco-regional disease-free survival was 72%. Eleven patients developed distant metastases, which was the only site of failure in 6 cases. Salvage surgery was successful in 2 cases. The actuarial estimates of > or = grade-3 late toxicity was 4% for the mandibular bone and 23% for dysphagia, and 50% of the patients experienced a permanent xerostomy. Self-reported global quality of life in surviving patients was good (mean 68 points on a scale 0 to 100); consequences of impaired salivary function had most impact on nutritional and social aspects. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperfractionated RT with concomitant CDDP is well tolerated and highly efficient in controlling moderately advanced to advanced cancers of the head and neck. Second primary tumors are the main cause of death after 3 years and were observed outside of the irradiated area, most frequently in the lung. Even after RT of large volumes to a high dose, salvage surgery can be successfully performed in individual cases. Self-reported quality of life of surviving patients is good, despite xerostomy-associated nutritional difficulties.     

Lymph node dissection for T1 esophageal cancer

Proper mucosal cancer of esophagus of esophageal has no lymph node metastasis, and lymph node metastasis occurs when the tumor invades to muscularis mucosa. Submucosal cancer of esophagus has lymph node metastasis in the rate of 44.4% (40/90). The incidence and number of metastatic lymph node increase with the depth of invasion. Lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer spreads widely to cervix, mediastinum and abdomen. It's same in submucosal cancer and first metastasis occurs also appears at everywhere from cervix to abdomen. There are high rate of lymph node metastasis in 101L, 105, 106rR, 106rL, 108, 110, 1, 2, 3, 7 lymph nodes. The cancer in upper thoracic esophagus has high rate of lymph node metastasis in cervix and upper mediastinum and lymph node metastasis of lower thoracic esophageal cancer is liable to appear in lower mediastinum and abdomen. Then the cancer in middle thoracic esophagus should be performed the lymph node dissection in cervix, mediastinum and abdomen, especially 101, 102m, 104, 105, 106r, 106t, 107, 108, 110, 1, 2, 3, 7 lymph nodes. On the other hand, cancers limited to proper mucosal layer should be treated with endoscopic mucosal resection. And its same as in the greater part of cancers invaded to muscularis mucosa and shallow layer of esophageal submucosa. The 5 year survival rate of T1 cancers of esophagus is 85.6%, which were performed surgical treatment.     

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer: is it worthwhile?

BACKGROUND: With promising results from several institutions, many centers began treating patients with esophageal cancer with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NC) followed by esophagectomy. This approach is demanding for the patient and has not been proved to be better than esophagectomy alone. OBJECTIVE: To assess survival time and measures of quality of life associated with NC. DESIGN: A retrospective review during 1990 to 1996. SETTING: The 3 tertiary academic hospitals affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. PARTICIPANTS: All patients (N=51) with cancer of the middle or lower esophagus who were treated with NC followed by esophagectomy during this period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Median and 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival times; median preoperative treatment time (first office visit for surgical consultation before beginning NC to the date of surgery), median hospital stay, and postoperative swallowing function. RESULTS: The median survival time of all patients was 16.3 months; 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 67%, 46%, and 39%, respectively. The median hospital stay was 12 days. The median postoperative treatment time was 3.3 months, which was 20% of the median survival time. Of the 51 patients, 19 were alive with a median follow-up time of 2.5 years. Twenty-nine percent of the patients had a complete pathological response with median and 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates of 17.5 months, 73%, 57%, and 57%, respectively. Palliation of dysphagia was excellent, with 44 (93%) of 47 operative survivors taking either a soft diet (18 [38%]) or a regular (26 [55%]) diet by the first postoperative visit. CONCLUSIONS: Median survival time with NC followed by esophagectomy for resectable cancer of the esophagus does not appear to be significantly better than that reported for esophagectomy alone. Further, treatment time with NC consumed 20% of survival time. Examining only these outcome variables suggests that NC is not worth-while. However, examining a longer-term outcome survival variable, such as 3-year survival time, suggests that NC followed by esophagectomy may result in greater long-term survival than that reported for esophagectomy alone. We conclude that further randomized, controlled studies are necessary before NC followed by esophagectomy is considered superior to esophagectomy alone for the treatment of resectable esophageal cancer.     

TWIST gene mutation in a patient with radial aplasia and craniosynostosis: further evidence for heterogeneity of Baller-Gerold syndrome

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of high-grade dysplasia in patients with Barrett's esophagus is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of unsuspected carcinoma at esophagectomy in patients with Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia after endoscopic surveillance with jumbo biopsy forceps compared with standard biopsy forceps. METHODS: Twelve patients with high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus without gross or microscopic evidence of carcinoma underwent esophagectomy after preoperative endoscopy with 4-quadrant jumbo biopsies at 2-cm intervals. The findings in this group were compared with those in a group of patients with Barrett's esophagus who underwent esophagectomy for high-grade dysplasia after biopsies obtained at 2-cm intervals with standard biopsy forceps. RESULTS: Unsuspected cancer was found in 4 of 12 (33%) patients in the jumbo biopsy group compared with 6 of 16 (38%) in the standard biopsy group (p = NS). All 6 cancers in the standard biopsy group were intramucosal, whereas 2 were intramucosal and 2 were submucosal in the jumbo biopsy group. No patients in either group had lymph node metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Unsuspected cancer is found frequently in patients with Barrett's esophagus who are undergoing esophagectomy for high-grade dysplasia despite the use of a rigorous jumbo biopsy protocol. Esophageal resection is still indicated in appropriately selected patients with high-grade dysplasia until better markers of cancer risk are available.     

Metastatic esophageal tumors from distant primary lesions: report of three esophagectomies and study of 1835 autopsy cases

Three cases of esophagectomy for secondary esophageal carcinoma metastasized from the ovary, breast and lung are reported. Long-term survival, 14 and 4 years, after esophagectomy was achieved in two patients. The intervals between surgery for primary cancer and dysphagia onset in these two patients were 16 and 7 years, respectively. An aggressive surgical approach appears to be the therapeutic procedure of choice for metastatic esophageal carcinoma when the primary tumor growth rate is suspected to be slow. Autopsy data on 1835 cases revealed 112 (6.1%) had metastasis to the esophagus. The lung was the most common primary tumor-bearing organ and the diffusely infiltrative type was the most common esophageal tumor observed macroscopically which corresponded to the findings in our three patients. When an esophageal stricture with normal mucosa is encountered, a metastatic tumor must be taken into consideration.     

Canary finches (Serinus canaria) as an avian infection model for Lyme borreliosis

Head and neck cancer is often associated with second primary neoplasms. These cancers most commonly involve other regions of the head and neck, esophagus, and lung. The majority of cases are also squamous cell carcinomas. In view of this rather frequent occurrence of multiple primary cancers and how they adversely affect the patient's survival, it becomes imperative to analyze how the clinician can intervene effectively. One such approach is to detect multiple primaries as early as possible. As such, panendoscopy as a part of the tumor-staging procedure has been advocated by many investigators to search for simultaneous second primary malignant neoplasms in patients presenting with head and neck cancer. In a 24-month period, data were gathered from 127 consecutive patients referred to University Hospital, Gheni with previously untreated, squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. One hundred-eighteen patients underwent an endoscopic examination under general anesthesia, during which 4 simultaneous second primary tumors were found in 3 patients. This represents an incidence of 3.4% of simultaneous second primary neoplasms. The results for the different parts of the endoscopy are discussed and compared with literature findings. Guidelines are given for the initial evaluation of the head and neck cancer patient.     

Biopsy-negative malignant esophageal stricture: diagnosis by endoscopic ultrasound

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) of the esophagus has been used primarily in staging biopsy-proven cancers. Its use as a primary diagnostic modality for esophageal malignancy has not been previously described. We report our recent experience in four patients with dysphagia and endoscopic biopsies negative for malignancy, including one patient with clinical and manometric features suggestive of achalasia. In all cases, EUS revealed a large infiltrating tumor invading through the esophageal wall into the surrounding tissues, and in one case into the aorta. Computed tomography suggested the possibility of a tumor in only one of the cases. Two patients underwent esophagectomy and were found to have adenocarcinoma. Two patients underwent repeat biopsy with alternative aggressive biopsy techniques and were found to have squamous cell carcinoma. We conclude that EUS is useful in the diagnosis of esophageal cancer and should be performed in selected patients with esophageal strictures whose biopsies are negative for malignancy; i.e., those with suspicious endoscopic or radiographic appearance, atypical presentation (e.g., profound weight loss, short duration of symptoms, or advanced age), and failure to respond to treatment.     

Four multiple primary malignant neoplasms of the aerodigestive tract

Multiple primary cancers of the head, neck, and upper aerodigestive tract have been documented in patients previously treated for oropharyngeal cancer. There generally is no causal relationship established between the different tumors. Two synchronous or metachronous cancers are common, three are unusual, and four are very unusual. We describe the treatment of a patient with tonsillar and synchronous esophageal and pulmonary cancers followed by a tongue cancer over a 6-year period.     

Squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus following radiation therapy for breast cancer

Between 1981 and 1995, 4 patients (3 females, 1 male; aged 48-80) were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, following mediastinal irradiation for breast cancer. The interval between irradiation and the presentation of esophageal cancer was 10.75 years on average (7-19). The treatment consisted of: radiotherapy only; a partial esophagectomy with proximal gastrectomy without post-operative radiotherapy; laser photocoagulation for a superficial tumor; and, palliative treatment including gastrostomy, tracheal photocoagulation and chemotherapy for 1 patient suffering from advanced stage cancer with tracheal invasion, respectively. Radiotherapy of the esophageal cancer (exclusive or adjuvant) should take into account previous esophageal radiation therapy. The indications of curative excision surgery are the same as for other types of esophageal cancer, but the anastomoses should be performed in a non-irradiated area. Excision by esophageal stripping without thoracotomy is contraindicated because of the presence of peri-esophageal sclerosis. Preventive measures in radiation therapy for breast cancer are suggested.     

Two cases of gastric involvement of esophageal cancer: intramural metastasis and intramural lymph node metastasis

Cases of esophageal cancer with intramural metastasis to the stomach and esophageal cancer with metastasis to an intramural lymph node of the stomach are herein reported. The former patient was a 52 year-old male. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower esophagus with an intramural metastasis located at the gastric cardia and a small leiomyoma at the fornix were resected. The latter patient was a 70 year-old female. SCC of the lower esophagus and an intramural lymph node metastasis located at the anterior wall of the gastric cardia were resected. The patient died nevertheless of multiple liver metastases. These gastric involvements were detectable by endoscopy before surgery. The clinicopathological features of these esophageal cancers were characterized; the sites were the lower part of the esophagus, and extreme lymphatic and vascular invasions were shown histologically. The gastric tumors were located in the upper third of the stomach, and the findings revealed submucosal tumors. It is therefore important to discriminate other gastric tumors, and to resect them simultaneously with esophageal cancer when a gastric tube has been used for reconstruction after esophagectomy.     

Head and neck cancer: guidelines for chemotherapy

Head and neck cancer is estimated to be one of the most prevalent cancers in the world. This tumour type accounts for 5% of all new cancer cases in the US and Europe each year. Patients with locally recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck have a poor prognosis, with a median duration of survival between 4 and 6 months. During the past few years, screening for potentially active new compounds, new associations and new modalities of chemotherapy administration have had some degree of success. Clinical investigations have also focused on the addition of chemotherapy to locoregional treatment for patients with locally advanced disease. Induction chemotherapy or concomitant chemo- and radiation therapy can result in high response rates, and reduced incidence of distant metastases. However, there is no clear demonstration of any benefit from the addition of chemotherapy to locoregional therapy on overall survival in patients with resectable disease. In patients with resectable laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer, chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy can be considered as a standard treatment option for larynx preservation, keeping total laryngectomy reserved for salvage therapy. In patients with unresectable head and neck cancer, simultaneous chemoradiotherapy has been shown to improve locoregional control and survival, at the cost of greater toxicity. Outside clinical trials, this approach can also be considered as a standard therapy for unresectable disease.     

Increased cutaneous toxicity to ionizing radiation in HIV-positive patients. Military Medical Consortium for the Advancement of Retroviral Research (MMCARR)

Little is known about the etiology of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (EGA), a cancer with one of the fastest-rising incidences in the developed world. To explore the etiology of this cancer, we conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program of the United States National Cancer Institute to study EGA and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESC), in association with cancers of other sites. Standardized incidence ratios, adjusted for age, sex, and time period, were calculated as a measure of the relative risk (RR) of developing a second primary cancer (EGA or ESC) following a given first primary site. We found a moderately elevated risk of EGA following cancers of the lung (RR = 1.9 in men and RR = 2.0 in women) and of the head and neck (RR = 2.1 in men and RR = 6.3 in women) and a strongly elevated risk of ESC following cancers of the lung (RR = 2.8 in men and RR = 5.1 in women) and of the head and neck (RR = 9.6 in men and RR = 38.8 in women). A significantly elevated risk following breast cancer in women was observed for both EGA (RR = 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-3.7) and ESC (RR = 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.9). We also found a significantly elevated risk of EGA following bladder (RR = 2.0), colorectal (RR = 1.7), and prostate (RR = 1.4) cancer in men and of ESC following colorectal cancer (RR = 1.7) in women in this study. The strong association with tobacco-related malignancies in this study reinforces the role of tobacco in the etiology of esophageal cancers, which appears stronger for squamous cell carcinoma than for adenocarcinoma and stronger in women than in men. The study also suggests a possible shared etiology between esophageal adenocarcinoma and colorectal cancer in men and provides new evidence about the association of both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus with breast cancer in women. Findings of this study provide clues to the etiology of EGA and ESC.     

Skin cancer of the head and neck in Zaria, Nigeria

This 12-year review looked at the clinical presentation and predisposing factors of head and neck cancer treated at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria, from 1978 to 1989. There were 174 patients with skin cancer in the head and neck region out of a total of 721 skin cancer patients. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common tumour type. Unlike in other sites where chronic ulcer and scars were the main predisposing factors, most of the head and neck skin cancers arose without any obvious underlying predisposing lesion. However, 14 of the 174 patients had albinism, a well-known risk factor for skin cancer in black Africans. The head and neck skin cancer patients usually presented late with advanced fungating lesions beyond curative surgery.     

Characteristics and clinical outcome of proximal-third gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: It is generally accepted that the prognosis of patients with proximal gastric cancer (PGC) is worse than that of patients with more distal gastric cancer. STUDY DESIGN: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical features and outcomes of PGC with those of middle- and distal-third gastric cancers. A total of 646 primary gastric cancers was analyzed as a retrospective study. RESULTS: Proximal gastric cancer occurred in 21.8% of the 646 cancers analyzed, and approximately 21% of PGCs had esophageal invasion. The 5-year survival rate for patients with PGC was significantly lower than that of patients with more distal tumors. When the PGC group was divided into patients with esophageal invasion and without esophageal invasion, patients with esophageal invasion had significantly worse outcomes. When corrected for depth of invasion, lesions with esophageal invasion had significantly worse outcomes than those of other sites in T2 curative cancers. Proximal gastric cancer with esophageal invasion was characterized by a larger tumor, deeper penetration, and a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis compared with tumors in other sites, and in multivariate analysis of all curative cases, these variables were independent prognostic factors for survival. The frequency of positive proximal margins of PGC was higher than those of other sites. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively poor prognosis associated with PGC is mainly from advanced tumor stages of esophageal invasion. Early detection is the most important strategy to improve the survival of patients with PGC. In addition, aggressive lymph node dissection and chemotherapy for esophageal invasion should be considered even if the tumor invasion is moderate (T2 tumor), and a tumor-free margin is important.