[Long-term survival of a patient with stage IV basaloid squamous carcinoma of the esophagus with lung metastases following combined modality therapy].

A 72-year-old man visited our hospital because of dysphagia and weight loss. He was diagnosed by endoscopy with advanced (stage IV) basaloid squamous carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. CT and CT-guided tumor biopsy revealed two lung metastases in the right upper and lower lobes, with diameters of 8 and 5 mm, respectively. The primary lesion disappeared after concurrent chemoradiotherapy consisting of 5-FU, cisplatin, and 60-Gy irradiation, which was administered for palliation of obstructive and hemorrhagic symptoms. Subsequently, eight cycles of chemotherapy were administered, resulting in a reduction in size of the metastases. However, multiple cycles of chemotherapy caused prolonged toxicity, and the metastases slightly enlarged during chemotherapy-free periods. Since the number of metastases did not change, stereotactic body radiotherapy was performed, which resulted in disappearance of the lung metastases. Five years following initial diagnosis, the patient has been doing well, with no signs of disease recurrence.