Benign tumors of the esophagus: radiologic evaluation

Benign tumors of the esophagus can be classified as mucosal or submucosal in origin. The most common mucosal lesions include squamous papillomas, adenomas arising in Barrett's mucosa, inflammatory esophagogastric polyps, and glycogenic acanthosis. These benign mucosal lesions can often be diagnosed on double-contrast esophagrams based on their characteristic radiographic findings. Major submucosal or intramural lesions include leiomyomas, leiomyomatosis, fibrovascular polyps, granular cell tumors, and duplication cysts. Despite their infrequency, these lesions also can often be diagnosed on esophagography and/or CT based on their characteristic radiographic findings. The purpose of this article is to review in some detail the radiographic features of these various benign tumors of the esophagus.