Carcinogenic potential of the noncancerous epithelium in patients with oesophageal cancer.

Detailed histopathological examination of serial blocks and subserial sections of the entire resected oesophagus in 63 patients operated upon for oesophageal cancer revealed 11 associated minute superficial cancers, independent and apart from the main tumours, in 10 patients (15.9 per cent). Only one of these eleven lesions was diagnosed preoperatively, and only three of the eleven lesions were detected macroscopically on the resected specimens. The high incidence of such coexisting independent lesions may indicate a possible increased multicentric carcinogenic potential in the non-cancerous epithelium of patients who have had an antecedent oesophageal cancer. These results emphasize the need for careful attention to the choice of margins during surgical resection of the oesophagus.