[Long-term survivors in patients with esophageal cancer treated with radiation]

Of 80 patients with esophageal cancer treated with radiotherapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy during the past 8 years, 5 patients have survived for more than three years. Their X-ray findings revealed that of these cancers were the serrated type, 1 a tumorous type, 1 a spiral type, and 1 a funnel type. The sites of the primary tumor were Im in 3, Ei Im in 1, and Ei in 1. The length of the primary tumor ranged from 3 to 5 cm. The given radiation dose was 50 to 70 Gy. Our findings suggest that in such cases where the tumor length is 5 cm or less, that cancers sited in the Im or Ei regions and of the radiological serrated or tumorous type are candidates for curative irradiation.