Abstract
Two cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus of limited extent were treated one by local excision and the other by segmental resection with end-to-end esophageal anastomosis. The former, an intramucous tumor, recurred seven years after surgery; the latter, infiltrating the muscular wall, recurred after 18 months. It is concluded that local excision or segmental resection for localised squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is justified only in poor-risk patients and that failures are due to intramural extension of the disease. It is also suggested that the progression of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is silent and slow when the tumor is still confined to the mucosa and that it becomes aggressive and swift when the wall of the viscus is invaded.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.