[Cancer of the esophagus and cardia: diagnostic problems]

For many decades, the problem of cancer of the esophagus has been dominated by constant failure in diagnosis and therapy. Today the widespread use of upper digestive endoscopy could seem to constitute, for the moment, the only hope of changing this situation. Leaving aside the clinical, radiological, and enoscopic symptomatology of invasive esophageal cancer, this study is limited to practical considerations on the technology of endoscopic diagnosis in esophageal cancerology; the endoscopic expression of carcinoma "in situ" and chronic irritative esophageal condition; the precancerous and early-stage symptomatology of cancer of the esophagus; and the problem of "pseudo-cancer" of the esophagus.