[Diagnosis of esophageal neoplasms by sponge biopsy (I)]

Fifty-one (51) patients with carcinoma of the esophagus, 27 with cancer of the gastric fundus invading gastroesophageal junction, and 28 controls with non-tumoral esophageal problems were studied by the sponge biopsy technique, an effective procedure for cytologyc diagnosis of esophageal tumors. Various advantages of this technique over esophageal washings are described and results with the sponge biopsy technique are favorably compared with them.