Esophageal carcinoma: pre-operative staging and evaluation of anastomotic recurrence.

Survival after surgical resection of esophageal carcinoma is highly related to stage. The latest staging classifications (UICC/AJCC, 1987/1988) use the TNM system. Accumulating data show endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) to be consistently more accurate than CT in pre-operative staging of depth of tumor invasion. Detailed images of the esophageal wall obtained by EUS allow accurate staging even in early cancer where CT is ineffective. EUS is also more accurate than CT in staging regional lymph nodes, but is less accurate than CT in staging distant metastases due to tumor stenosis in some patients and limited depth of field. EUS has also been shown to be accurate in diagnosing post-operative recurrence of cancer in the area of the surgical anastomosis. EUS represents a major advance in the clinical staging of esophageal cancer.