[Pre-malignant and malignant diseases of the esophagus, a centralized and multidisciplinary approach]

Esophageal cancer is the 19th most common cancer in the European Union. Its prognosis remains poor with a 5-year survival rate estimated between 15 % and 25 %. Accurate diagnosis and pre-therapeutic assessment are essential and should allow a rapid start of therapy. Current treatment is based on multimodal management of which surgery remains the cornerstone. Since 2019, Belgium has started an agreement to centralize esophageal surgery in order to improve surgical outcomes. One year after implementation of centralization, our centre shows a low rate of severe complications (Clavien-Dindo classification IIIb-V) of 20 % and a 0 % mortality rate at 30 and 90 postoperative days. Our patients have benefited from a full minimally invasive or hybrid surgical procedure, contributing to those positive results. In the future, all our efforts must be done to improve collaboration between hospitals in order to provide best medical and surgical treatments.