title: The role of thoracoscopic staging of esophageal cancer patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study was designed to compare thoracoscopy/laparoscopy (TS/LS) staging with non-invasive clinical staging by CT and EUS for patients with esophageal carcinoma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CT and EUS followed by TS/LS were used to stage 88 patients with EGD proven esophageal carcinoma. Thoracoscopic staging was done in 82 patients and found N1 in 11 patients. Fifty-four patients had laparoscopy which detected N1 in 21 patients. Thirty-four cases had chemoradiation followed by surgery. Esophagectomy was performed in 47 patients after thoracoscopic staging and 33 with laparoscopic staging. Of these 47 resected patients, thoracoscopic staging showed N0 in 42 patients and N1 in five patients with an accuracy of 93.6%. Laparoscopic staging detected normal celiac lymph nodes in 20 patients and diseased LN in 11 patients with an accuracy of 93.9%. Comparing with final resection pathology, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of staging for N1 disease in the chest was 62.5, 100.0 and 100.0% by TS; 75.0, 75.6, and 23.1% by CT and 0.0, 51.4 and 5.5% by EUS, respectively. For N1 disease in the abdomen it was 84.6, 100.0 and 100.0% by Ls; 0.0, 97.1 and 0.0% by CT and 22.2, 81.5 and 28.6% by EUS, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TS/LS staging of esophageal cancer patients with or without preoperative chemoradiation has a higher specificity and accuracy than CT and EUS, especially for N1 disease in the chest. It also allows individualization of preoperative radiotherapy fields.
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Maryland Medical School Baltimore, 21201, USA. mkrasna@surgerylab.umd.edu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Krasna
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sonett
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gamliel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D019160:Endosonography / Q000379:methods*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013906:Thoracoscopy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed