Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) outcomes in T1B esophageal cancer: a retrospective study

The role of submucosal endoscopic dissection (ESD) in management of invasive esophageal cancer (EC) remains unclear. In this case series, we evaluate the clinical and technical outcomes of patients who underwent ESD with pathologically staged T1b EC.

This retrospective study included patients who underwent ESD between December 2016 and April 2023 with pathologically staged T1b EC. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and ESD technical outcomes were analyzed. Patients were followed to determine disease-free survival and tumor recurrence rates.

Sixteen patients with a total of 17 pathologically staged T1b ECs were included in this case series with a median follow-up time of 28 months [range 3-75]. ESD had high en-bloc (100%) and R0 (82.3%) resection rates. 16/17 patients (94.1%) were discharged the same day, and there were no immediate perioperative complications. 4/17 patients (23.5%) had curative ESD resections with no tumor recurrence. Among those with non-curative resections (n = 13), 5 patients had ESD only, 6 had ESD + surgery, and 2 underwent ESD + chemoradiation. In the ESD only group, 2/5 patients (40%) had tumor recurrence. In the ESD + surgery group, one patient died from a surgical complication, and 1/5 (20%) had tumor recurrence at follow-up. There was no tumor recurrence among patients who had ESD + chemoradiation.

ESD is safe with high en-bloc and R0 resection rates in T1b EC. Recurrence rates are low but patients need close monitoring. Larger-scale studies are needed to determine the long-term clinical efficacy of ESD in T1b EC.