Surgical resection for cancer located mainly in the lower esophagus

The aim of the present study was to clarify the results and feasibility of surgical approaches for cancer, which is mainly occupied by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), of the lower esophagus.

Forty-four patients (34 men, 10 women) with cancer located at the lower esophagus were enrolled in this study. SCC was diagnosed in 36 cases and adenocarcinoma (ADC) in 8 cases. Thirteen patients underwent transhiatal esophagectomy, 18 underwent lower thoracic esophagectomy by left thoracotomy, and 13 underwent esophagectomy with a right thoracic approach by open thoracotomy or thoracoscopy.

Ten cases (ADC, n = 2; SCC, n = 8) showed involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes, although lymph node dissection varied with each surgical approach. Five-year survival rates were 75% for ADC and 31.9% for SCC, and ADC tended to be associated with a more favorable prognosis than SCC (p = 0.058). Transhiatal esophagectomy was performed more often in older patients (p < 0.05), but no other clinicopathological parameters appeared to affect the selection of surgical approach. No significant prognostic differences existed between surgical approaches (p = 0.35), even though the examination was limited to SCC (p = 0.98).

No significant prognostic differences were identified between transhiatal and left and right transthoracic approaches for lower esophageal cancer.