[Current treatment of thoracic oesophageal carcinoma (author's transl)].

Always severe and increasingly frequent carcinoma of the thoracic oesophagus now ranks among the most worrying malignancies. However, the authors' experience concur with recent publications to demonstrate that an a priori pessimistic attitude is no longer justified. The considerable progress achieved in pre- and post-operative care and surgical techniques has reduced to 10% the operative mortality rate and has made surgery the best prospect of comfortable and, possibly, prolonged survival. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy still have a place in the treatment, either alone when surgery is contra-indicated or combined with surgical excision.