[Surgical treatment of undifferentiated esophageal carcinoma]

From 1961 through 1983, a total of 3,804 cases with carcinoma of esophagus underwent surgical resection of cancer at Shanghai Chest Hospital. Thirty-nine of them were primary undifferentiated esophageal carcinoma (UEC) with an incidence of 1%. In 97% of the cases, the lesions were located at the mid- and lower-esophagus. All cases underwent tumor resection and esophagogastrostomy, with an operative complication rate of 10%, and mortality rate of 13%. Follow-up until December 1994, all patients were dead. 42% of the cases died within 6 months, another 42% of the cases died within 7-24 months, with a median survival period of 7 months only. The postoperative 5-year survival rate was 15%. To improve the therapeutic results, preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative adjuvant therapy are needed.