Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
An Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy Designed to Minimize Anastomotic Complications and Optimize Conduit Function
Published on: April 17, 2020
Minimally invasive surgical staging for esophageal cancer
J D Luketich1, M Meehan, N T Nguyen
1Section of Thoracic Surgery and the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, C-800 Presbyterian University Hospital, 200 Lothrop Street, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Background:
The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma is increasing in the United States, and the 5-year survival rate is dismal. Preliminary data suggest that conventional imaging is inaccurate in staging esophageal cancer and could limit accurate assessment of new treatments. The objective of this study was to compare minimally invasive surgical staging (MIS) with conventional imaging for staging esophageal cancer.
Methods:
Patients with potentially resectable esophageal cancer were eligible. Staging by conventional methods used computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest and abdomen, and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), whereas MIS used laparoscopy and videothoracoscopy. Conventional staging results were compared to those from MIS.
Results:
In 53 patients, the following stages were assigned by CT scan and EUS: carcinoma in situ (CIS; n = 1), I (n = 1), II (n = 23), III (n = 20), IV (n = 8). In 17 patients (32.1%), MIS demonstrated inaccuracies in the conventional imaging, reassigning a lower stage in 10 patients and a more advanced stage in 7 patients.
Conclusions:
In 32.1% of patients with esophageal cancer, MIS changed the stage originally assigned by CT scan and EUS. Therefore, MIS should be applied to evaluate the accuracy of new noninvasive imaging methods and to assess new therapies for esophageal cancer.
