title: Esophageal cancer. Autopsy findings in 171 cases.
abstract: We present the autopsy findings in 171 patients with primary esophageal cancer and compare our results with those of other investigators. The ratio of men to women was 5.84:1. The average age of the women was 72.9 years. The average age of the men was 61.6 years. Squamous cell carcinomas were found in 91.8% of the cases, adenocarcinomas in 6.4% of the cases, and sarcomas in 1.8% of the cases. In the cases of squamous cell carcinoma, there was an ulcerating and infiltrating growth, primarily. In the cases of adenocarcinoma, there was a polypoid exophytic growth and an ulcerating growth. Most of the tumors were localized in the medial third of the esophagus (50.9%), followed by the distal third of the esophagus (39.7%), and, lastly, the proximal third of the esophagus (9.4%). Of all the tumors, 42.7% had an extension of more than 5 cm in the longitudinal axis at autopsy. The trachea was the organ most commonly infiltrated (21%). No metastases occurred in 28.6% of the cases. Lymph node metastases existed in 67.3% of the cases, and visceral metastases were present in 29.8% of the cases.
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D002296:Carcinosarcoma / Q000473:pathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000473:pathology; D012744:Sex Ratio