Fiberoptic bronchoscopy in the evaluation of newly diagnosed esophageal carcinoma

To determine the diagnostic utility of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FB) in the evaluation of patients with newly diagnosed esophageal carcinoma (EC) and whether FB findings impact therapy and survival, we retrospectively reviewed 2,832 FB records (1984 through 1992). Twenty-two cases were identified in which FB was performed to evaluate pulmonary involvement in patients with newly diagnosed EC. Two cases were eliminated due to data unavailability. Seventeen of 20 patients had no pulmonary symptoms and most of them (15/17) had normal chest radiographs. All three patients with pulmonary symptoms (cough, hemoptysis, dyspnea) had significant radiographic abnormalities. In the asymptomatic group, FB findings were normal in nine, showed extrinsic compression of the trachea and/or bronchi in seven, and demonstrated a submucosal tumor nodule in one. The pathologic diagnosis of malignant airway involvement was not made in any asymptomatic patient. In the three symptomatic patients, extensive endobronchial abnormalities were present. Therapy with surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy did not differ among patients with extrinsic compression compared to patients with normal FB. Average survival in the patients with normal endobronchial anatomy was 20.5 months, in the group with extrinsic compression 12.2 months, and in the group with marked endobronchial abnormalities, less than 1 month. Statistical analysis of our findings suggest that FB is a low-yield procedure in the evaluation of patients with EC unless pulmonary symptoms of cough and/or hemoptysis or chest radiographic abnormalities are present.