[Endoscopic treatment of esophageal cancer]

With the advance of endoscopic equipment the number of superficial cases of esophageal cancer has been increasing dramatically. It has been clarified as to which cancer can be treated as an early cancer with desirable results as in gastric cases. Endoscopic treatment for early cancer already established in gastric or colorectal cases have been applied to esophageal cases with nationwide popularity. Especially endoscopic mucosal resection, which can assure accurate pathological findings, can be the treatment of choice for endoscopic procedures for early cancer. In this paper, our methodology of endoscopic treatment of early esophageal cancer is introduced and our endoscopic approach to advanced cases which is still to be established is reported.