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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2001;20:1089-1094
© 2001 Elsevier Science NL

Clinicopathologic characteristics and survival of patients with clinical Stage I squamous cell carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus treated with three-field lymph node dissection

^a Department of Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital and Research Institute,1-1 Tsukiji 5-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan
^b Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center Hospital and Research Institute,1-1 Tsukiji 5-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan

Received 16 June 2001; received in revised form 13 September 2001; accepted 13 September 2001.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-3-3542-2511; fax: +81-3-3542-3815
e-mail: hiigaki{at}gan2.res.ncc.go.jp

Objective: Clinicopathologic characteristics and survival rates of patients with clinical Stage I tumors treated with three-field lymph node dissection have not been well investigated. This report documents the results of a series of cases of clinical Stage I squamous cell carcinomas treated with this surgical procedure in our institute. Methods: From January 1988 to March 1997, 326 patients with carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus underwent transthoracic esophagectomy with three-field lymph node dissection. Two hundred and ninety-seven (91%) of these had squamous cell carcinomas. Fifty-seven (18%) patients with clinical Stage I squamous cell carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus were retrospectively reviewed here. Results: Among 57 clinical Stage I squamous cell carcinomas, ten (18%) were diagnosed as T1-mucosal and 47 (83%) as T1-submucosal. Seventy percent of the patients with clinical T1-mucosal tumors had additional primary esophageal lesions. The operative morbidity and in-hospital mortality rates were 63 and 0%, and the overall 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 95, 86, 78, and 70%, respectively. Of the 57 tumors assessed pathologically, 12 (21%) were T1-mucosal, 42 (74%) were T1-submucosal, and three (5%) were T2. Nineteen (33%) exhibited lymph node metastasis. The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates for patients with lymph node metastasis were 90, 79, 73, and 58%, respectively, as compared with 97, 90, 80, and 76, respectively for patients without lymph node metastasis (P=0.24). The accuracy of preoperative staging, based on both wall penetration and the status regarding lymph node metastasis, was 63%. With reference to the 1997 UICC-TNM staging system, 36 (63%) were pStage I, two (4%) were pStage IIA, 18 (28%) were pStage IIB, and three (6%) were pStage IVB. The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates for patients with pStage I disease were 97, 92, 85, and 81%, respectively. In those with pStage II or IV disease, the values were 91, 76, 65, and 52%, respectively. Conclusions: Three-field lymph node dissection may be indicated even for patients with clinical Stage I squamous cell carcinoma requiring surgical intervention because this surgical procedure provides for possible cure by removing unsuspected lymph node metastasis.

Key Words: Esophageal carcinoma • Squamous cell carcinoma • Three-field lymph node dissection • Clinical Stage I • Lymph node metastasis

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				M. Tachibana, S. Kinugasa, H. Yoshimura, D. K. Dhar, and N. Nagasue Extended Esophagectomy With 3-Field Lymph Node Dissection for Esophageal Cancer Arch Surg, December 1, 2003; 138(12): 1383 - 1389. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]