Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma co-existing with achalasia: report of two cases

Esophageal achalasia is a primary motility disorder of the esophagus. Although various treatments can relieve the symptoms, esophageal cancer arising in patients with achalasia is the most important problem for long-term survivors. We encountered 2 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma co-exis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society 2011-06, Vol.8 (2), p.131-136
Main Authors: Matsumoto, Masataka, Uchikado, Yasuto, Kita, Yoshiaki, Omoto, Itaru, Setoyama, Tetsuro, Okumura, Hiroshi, Owaki, Tetsuhiro, Ishigami, Sumiya, Ueno, Shinichi, Natsugoe, Shoji
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Report
Dysphagia
Endoscopy
Esophageal cancer
Esophagus
Gastroenterology
Medical diagnosis
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Ostomy
Squamous cell carcinoma
Surgical Oncology
Thoracic Surgery
Throat surgery
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Esophageal achalasia is a primary motility disorder of the esophagus. Although various treatments can relieve the symptoms, esophageal cancer arising in patients with achalasia is the most important problem for long-term survivors. We encountered 2 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma co-existing with achalasia that had been diagnosed 27 and 30 years earlier, respectively. Neither patient had been aware of dysphagia due to dilatation of the esophagus. Both patients underwent esophagectomy via right thoracotomy. Although esophagectomy with radical lymphadenectomy was performed successfully in one case of submucosal cancer, the primary tumor in the other case was more invasive and aggressive than indicated by the preoperative clinical diagnosis, and could not be completely resected. Regular endoscopic examination should be scheduled for long-term survivors of achalasia in order to detect esophageal cancer early and evaluate any changes in the esophagus carefully.
ISSN:1612-9059
1612-9067
DOI:10.1007/s10388-011-0272-x