Carcinoma of the esophagus: sites of failure.

A clinico-pathologic study of 173 patients with esophageal cancer was done. The median survival for all patients was 6.4 months. Persistent tumor in esophagus at the time of death was present in 78% of patients treated with radiation alone. Metastases to mediastinal, intraabdominal and supraclavicular nodes were found in 73%, 49% and 20% of patients respectively. Systemic metastases were found in 57% of patients, liver being the most common site. In 15% of patients, fistulae developed between esophagus and trachea or bronchus because of direct extension of the primary tumor. Local and regional tumor caused the death of 111 patients, whereas distant metastases led to death in only 27 patients. This study confirms the extensive intra- and extrathoracic spread of malignancy in a majority of patients with cancer of the esophagus.