Benign and metastatic tumors of the esophagus

With the widespread use of fiberoptic endoscopy, benign esophageal tumors are being identified with increasing frequency. It is important to be familiar with the radiologic, endoscopic, and histologic features of these tumors so that appropriate therapy may be facilitated. Overall, the prognosis of patients with benign esophageal tumors is excellent. These tumors must not be confused with the much more common malignant tumors, which carry a dismal prognosis. Metastatic tumors may involve the esophagus, and esophageal symptoms may be the presenting symptoms of an extraesophageal malignancy. Endoscopic biopsy specimens frequently show a normal mucosa. The endoscopist should be aware of this and pursue further workup to exclude extraesophageal malignancy when indicated. As endoscopic ultrasonography becomes routinely available, it will improve the characterization of these lesions and allow more benign esophageal lesions to be safely removed using endoscopic methods.