title: [Clinicopathological analysis of esophageal carcinosarcoma:a report of 22 cases].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and surgical treatment of esophageal carcinosarcoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patients with esophageal carcinosarcoma were divided into two types according to barium swallow: intraluminal carcinosarcoma (n=20) and fungating carcinosarcoma (n=2). Only one esophageal carcinosarcoma case was diagnosed by esophagoscopic biopsy preoperatively. Twenty patients underwent left thoracic approach esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy above aortic arch, and two patients underwent esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy below aortic arch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the cases survived during operation and had no severe complication. Post-operative biopsy revealed that 21 cases had definite boundary between the carcinoma and the sarcoma. Only one case showed the invasion of carcinomatous tissues into sarcomatous tissues and mixed growth. Four cases had lymph node metastases (18.2%). The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 90.9% (20/22), 77.3% (17/22) and 68.2% (15/22) respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Esophageal carcinosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor with little invasiveness, low lymph node metastasis, early clinical symptom occurrence, low preoperative accurate diagnostic rate and good prognosis. Surgical resection is the main treatment for esophageal carcinosarcoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery, Renmin Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China. dr.zhenyu@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Bang-Chang
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zhi-Fu
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Gan-Jun
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Hui-Qing
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yong-Guang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002296:Carcinosarcoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis