title: Histopathologic characteristics of early adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus.
abstract: To elucidate the early events of cancer development in the columnar cell-lined lower esophagus, 13 esophagectomy specimens with early adenocarcinoma (T1) were histopathologically studied and the morphometry of the lesion was performed on a histologic map. Eleven (84.6%) of the 13 early Barrett's carcinomas were contiguous to both the distinctive specialized-type Barrett's mucosa and squamous epithelium. Furthermore, ten (76.9%) of the 13 tumors had residual squamous islands on the surface. These data suggest that carcinomas in Barrett's esophagus mostly develop at a place very close to the squamocolumnar epithelial border. The distance from the tumor center to the nearest squamous epithelium, including squamous islands, was 2 cm or less in all cases but one. Therefore, the authors conclude that the primary site of cancer development in Barrett's esophagus is the metaplastic columnar-lined area, particularly of specialized type, within 2 cm from the squamocolumnar epithelial border.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishimaki
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Hölscher
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schüler
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bollschweiler
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Siewert
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D000368:Aged; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000473:pathology*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged