Clinical Study on 20 Cases of Early Esophageal Cancer -Treatment of sm Esophageal Cancer-

Kazuo Tenma, Shichisaburo Abo, Michihiko Kitamura, Masaji Hashimoto, Keiichi Izumi, Akira Kamiya, Nobuhiko Shimoma, Yasuo Yamazaki

Second Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine

In order to determine a therapeutic policy, we conducted a retrospective study on 20 cases of early esophageal cancer (mm 4, sm 16) concerning histopathological findings, treatment and prognosis. Of the 20 patients, 18 were male, and 2 were female. There were no differences in clinical fetures between mm and sm cancers. Twelve patients (7.5%) with sm cancers complained of some kind of symptom, while only one (25%) with mm cancer did. mm cancers were classified macroscopically as 0-II type, and most of the sm cancers as 0-I type. The mean longitudinal diameter of the lesions in sm cancers was 2.1 cm and that in mm cancer was smaller (0.9 cm). In the 8 patients with lymphatic invasion, 7 of the cancers were in sm and only 1 was mm histopathologically. We observed no recurrence of mm cancers, while there was recurrence in 2 patients wth sm cancers. The 5 year survival rate for our early esophageal cancers (75%) was the same as that reported in Japan as a whole. We concluded that the great histopathological difference between mm cancer and sm cancers reflected their own prognoss. It is essential that we adopt the same surgical approach and multidisciplinary treatment for sm cancers as we do for advanced cancers.

Key words
early esophageal cancer, diagnosis of early esophageal cancer, histopathological findings of early esophageal cancer, prognosis of early esophageal cancer, therapeutic policy to early esophageal cancer

Reprint requests
Kazuo Tenma Second Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine
1-1-1 Hondo, Akita, 010 JAPAN

Accepted
December 13, 1989

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