Considerable multiple esophageal carcinoma. Implications of a new clinical entity.
OBJECTIVE
The multiple occurrence of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is often observed, and most such occurrences are double cancers. There have also been some cases with three or more intra-esophageal cancers, however, no detailed clinicopathologic study has yet been performed in the literature.


METHODS
Two hundred and fifty patients of primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma without preoperative treatment that underwent esophageal resection were re-evaluated by serial histopathologic investigations and we analyzed the data of ten patients with three or more intraesophageal cancers.


RESULTS
The clinical and histopathologic characteristics were as follows; 1) all but one of the cases were male, 2) all patients had a history of both heavy smoking and drinking but only one case had a family history of esophageal cancers among their siblings, 3) the depth of invasion in the carcinomas was restricted to within the submucosal layer of the esophageal wall, which was defined as superficial esophageal carcinoma, almost all (90%) of the cases accompanied esophageal squamous epithelial dysplasia.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on these prominent characteristics of considerable multiple intra-esophageal cancers, a new clinical entity of "esophageal field cancers" could thus be suggested.
Kuwano
Hiroyuki
H
Department of General Surgical Science (Surgery I), Gunma University, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan. hkuwano@akagi.sb.gunma-u.ac.jp
Egashira
Akinori
A
Araki
Kohshi
K
Saeki
Hiroshi
H
Kawaguchi
Hidetoshi
H
Morita
Masaru
M
Kitamura
Kaoru
K
Sugimachi
Keizo
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome