Advances in the management of early esophageal carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) has a dismal prognosis mainly because its recognition in Western countries usually occurs in late stages, when the possibilities of cure are minimal. However, in recent years, several advances have been observed in the management of ESSC, such as the identification of high-risk patients, the use of high-resolution endoscopy and lugol chromoscopy favoring the diagnosis of early stage ESCC, and the development of endoluminal techniques of en-block tumor resection, namely endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). These factors have enabled the application of endoscopic minimally invasive curative interventions in selected patients with superficial ESCC. This review article, designed by a multicenter international group, has the primary objective to provide a comprehensive overview of the most important recent advances in the management of ESCC. Secondarily it intends to provide a detailed and practical description of the technical approach to ESD in order to facilitate the dissemination of this concept and the incorporation of this new technologies in Brazil and in Latin-America.