title: Lymph Node Metastases in Esophageal Carcinoma: An Endoscopist's View.
abstract: One of the most important prognostic factors in esophageal carcinoma is lymph node metastasis, and in particular, the number of affected lymph nodes, which influences long-term outcomes. The esophageal lymphatic system is connected longitudinally and transversally; thus, the pattern of lymph node metastases is very complex. Early esophageal cancer frequently exhibits skipped metastasis, and minimal surgery using sentinel node navigation cannot be performed. In Korea, most esophageal cancer cases are squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), although the incidence of adenocarcinoma has started to increase recently. Most previous reports have failed to differentiate between SCC and adenocarcinoma, despite the fact that the Union for International Cancer Control (7th edition) and American Joint Committee on Cancer staging systems both consider these separately because they differ in cause, biology, lymph node metastasis, and outcome. Endoscopic tumor resection is an effective and safe treatment for lesions with no associated lymph node metastasis. Esophageal mucosal cancer confined to the lamina propria is an absolute indication for endoscopic resection, and a lesion that has invaded the muscularis mucosae can be cured by local resection if invasion to the lymphatic system has not occurred.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Presbyterian Medical Center, Jeonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Woong
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Korea.
authors.forename: Suck Chei
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Kwan
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kee Don
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun Haeng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Gyun
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Kyu
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Center for Gastric Cancer, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Il Ju
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Gwang Ha
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sam Ryong
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Wan Sik
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hwoon-Yong
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Jung
keywords: Endoscopic resection; Esophageal neoplasms; Lymph node metastasis