Esophageal adenocarcinoma that probably originated in the esophageal gland duct: a case report.

A case of primary esophageal adenocarcinoma in a 64-year-old man is reported. An ulcerating tumor was located in the middle intrathoracic esophagus. Histopathological examination revealed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, which had invaded down to the adventitia. The cancerous tubuli were lined by flattened cuboidal cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm, which were analogous with the esophageal gland ducts and syringoma of the skin. The carcinoma was spread widely in the lamina propria mucosae without intraepithelial neoplastic elements. An immunohistochemical profile of individual cytokeratins and other epithelial markers in the carcinoma was similar to that of the esophageal gland ducts. Barrett's metaplastic epithelium or ectopic gastric mucosa was not found around the tumor. It is strongly suggested that this unique carcinoma is derived from the esophageal gland ducts.