Esophageal malignancies. Experience with 110 cases.

At present radical esophagectomy is the operation of choice whenever resection can be achieved with hope of long-term survival. In patients with extensive node or liver metastases, the palliation achieved by standard resection is superior to that obtained by other methods of treatment such as radiation, bypass, or intubation. Radical resection appears to offer the only current avenue towards improving long-term survival rates in this most difficult of neoplasms. The role of anticipated advances in chemotherapy or immunotherapy on carcinoma of the esophagus remains to be defined, but en bloc resection of the tumor with adequate margins will remain the cornerstone of treatment, hopefully to be improved by new types of adjuvant therapy.