[A case of juvenile esophageal cancer with hematemesis]

We here report a case of juvenile esophageal cancer which developed with a chief complaint of hematemesis. The case was a 36-year-old male patient who was admitted to the hospital because of dysphagia and repeated hematemesis episodes. Through various imaging studies, the patient was diagnosed as having advanced esophageal carcinoma. Since it was considered to be impossible to perform a curable surgical treatment, we tried, using a Laser apparatus, to alleviate the stenosis of the esophageal lumen and to control the bleeding from the cancerous lesion. However, an operation was finally performed after observing that the Laser therapy had not been so effective. Hematemesis is an uncommon symptom among primary complaints of esophageal cancer. The present case developed a protuberant cancerous mass which considerably obstructed the esophageal lumen. It is speculated that the patient repeatedly vomited blood which had gradually originated from ruptured capillary vessels in the tumor and had accumulated in the esophageal lumen. The histological type of the cancer was poorly-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma which partially contained an undifferentiated element. This histological nature might have accelerated the growth of the esophageal cancer in the present case.