Patterns of recurrence after curative resection for carcinoma of the thoracic part of the esophagus.

Two hundred patients with a previously untreated carcinoma of the thoracic portion of the esophagus and who underwent curative or noncurative resection were retrospectively evaluated. The patterns of recurrence were compared with the pathologic findings at operation. In 30 of 90 (33.3 per cent) patients in the curative resection group and 68 of 110 (61.8 per cent) of those in the noncurative resection group, there was a recurrence. Hematogenic recurrence was most frequent in instances of blood vessel invasion of the carcinoma detected at the time of the operation, and death occurred during the early postoperative period. Lymph node recurrence was most frequent in instances of lymphatic invasion or blood vessel invasion, or both, and the postoperative survival time in such patients was double that seen in those with a hematogenic-related recurrence.