OBJECTIVES:Few studies have simultaneously evaluated the long-term outcomes of endoscopic resection (ER) for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) of the esophagus in Japan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of ER for superfi cial esophageal cancer in consecutive patients.
METHODS:This was a retrospective study from a single institution. From April 2001 to June 2012, 204 patients with SCC and 26 patients with AC were included from a total of 355 consecutive patients who were treated by esophageal ER at the Tohoku University Hospital. Patients with submucosal invasion deeper than 200 μ m and lymphovascular involvement were excluded. The intervention followed was endoscopic therapy.
RESULTS:Overall survival, disease-free survival, and recurrence rates were evaluated as long-term outcomes. In the SCC group, during the median observation time of 36.5 months (range, 6 -120 months), 22 (10.8 % ) patients experienced metachronous recurrence, 4 (2.0 % ) patients experienced local recurrence, and 27 (13.2 % ) patients died from causes unrelated to SCC. In the AC group, during the median observation time of 45.5 months (range, 6 -131 months), one patient (3.8 % ) experienced metachronous recurrence and two (7.7 % ) died from causes unrelated to AC. The cumulative 5-year overall survival rates were not signifi cantly different between SCC (75.9 % ) and AC (88.9 % ) ( P = 0.120). The cumulative 5-year disease-free survival rates of SCC (57.1 % ) were signifi cantly lower than those of AC (85.2 % ; P = 0.017). The cumulative 5-year recurrence rates of SCC (32.0 % ) were signifi cantly higher than those of AC (4.2 % ; P = 0.023).
CONCLUSIONS:The rate of recurrence after ER was higher in patients with SCC than that in patients with AC. These fi ndings suggest that, by detecting AC of the esophagus earlier, a satisfactory prognosis without recurrence can be expected after ER in Japan, and more rigorous endoscopic follow-up is necessary after ER in patients with SCC than in those with AC.