Esophagectomy for metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus from lung cancer.

A patient with metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus from lung cancer is reported. The patient was a 54-year-old woman who underwent a left lower lobectomy for lung cancer 5 years previously. The authors performed a thoracic esophagectomy, dissection of mediastinal lymph nodes, and reconstruction of the esophagus; the surgery was followed by chemotherapy. Because the histologic pattern of the esophageal tumor was similar to that of lung cancer and mucosal involvement was not seen, the esophageal tumor was interpreted to be a metastasis from lung cancer. The patient is well without recurrence of disease 23 months after operation. This is the first report of a successful esophagectomy for metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus from lung cancer.