Surgical resection for esophageal cancer synchronously or metachronously associated with head and neck cancer.
BACKGROUND
Esophageal cancer is frequently associated with head and neck cancer, and esophagectomy is usually difficult in such a case. The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancer associated either synchronously or metachronously with head and neck cancer.


METHODS
The clinical outcomes of surgical resections for esophageal cancer were compared between 26 patients with head and neck cancer (double cancer group) and 176 without head and neck cancer (control group).


RESULTS
Staged operations were performed in 5 patients in the double cancer group, while microvascular anastomosis as well as a muscle flap was added for 3 and 4 patients, respectively. The mortality and morbidity of the double cancer group were 0 and 35 %, respectively, which were not significantly different from those of the control group (3 and 31 %, respectively). There were no significant differences in overall survival in the double cancer and control groups, which had 5-year survival rates of 59 and 49 %, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Esophagectomy can be an effective treatment when techniques are adopted that are appropriate for each case, such as staged operations, muscular flaps, and microvascular anastomosis, even in patients with double cancers of the esophagus and the head and neck.
Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. masarum@surg2.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Masaru
M
Morita
Hiroyuki
H
Kawano
Hajime
H
Otsu
Yasue
Y
Kimura
Hiroshi
H
Saeki
Koji
K
Ando
Satoshi
S
Ida
Eiji
E
Oki
Tetsuo
T
Ikeda
Tetsuya
T
Kusumoto
Jun-Ichi
J
Fukushima
Torahiko
T
Nakashima
Yoshihiko
Y
Maehara
D000368:Aged; D057868:Anastomotic Leak / Q000209:etiology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D010039:Otorhinolaryngologic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy