A suction-abrasive cytology tube for the diagnosis of esophageal carcinoma.

A simple, easily constructed, and inexpensive suction-abrasive cytology tube was developed to study esophageal cytology. The reliability of this method for the diagnosis of esophageal carcinoma was evaluated in 101 patients. Of 47 patients with esophageal carcinoma, 93% were diagnosed correctly on exfoliative cytology. There were no false diagnoses of cancer. The cytology tube was well tolerated by all patients and provided a rapid and reliable method of diagnosis. As a screening procedure, this method may be applicable for widespread use to detect early esophageal cancer in high-risk populations.