Abstract
A survey was conducted among a group of European surgeons in order to investigate current attitudes and strategies in the management of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The survey consisted of a questionnaire mailed to surgeons in eight different countries with extensive clinical experience and scientific interest in the field. Eight questionnaires including the data of 6146 operated patients were available for analysis. A consensus emerged among the panelists that protocols of induction therapy should be routinely used in patients with locally advanced disease, especially in supracarinal tumors. Four of the surgeons advocated bilateral neck dissection in these patients. A progressive improvement in survival over the past three decades was noted. After 1990, the postoperative mortality rate was 6.2% after surgery alone and 9.7% after chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery. The 5-year survival rate after a complete resection was 38.5%. In the opinion of the panelists, esophagectoy remains the “gold standard” of therapy and should be regarded as an integral component of the treatment plan for patients with squamous cell carcinoma.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bonavina L (1995) Early oesophageal cancer. Results of a European multicenter survey. Br J Surg 82: 98–101
Munoz N, Castellsagué X (1994) Epidemiology of oesophageal cancer. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 6: 649–655
Murray C, Lopez A (1997) Mortality by cause for eight regions of the world: global burden of disease study. Lancet 349: 1269–1276
Macfarlane G, Boyle P (1994) The epidemiology of oesophageal cancer in the UK and other European countries. J R Soc Med 87: 334–337
Earlam R, Cunha-Melo J (1980) Oesophageal squamous-cell carcinoma. A critical review of surgery. Br J Surg 67: 381–390
Muller J, Erasmi H, Stelzner M, Zieren U, Pichlmaier H (1990) Surgical therapy of oesophageal carcinoma. Br J Surg 77: 845–857
Ruol A, panel of experts (1996) Multimodality treatment for non-metastatic cancer of the thoracic esophagus. Dis Esoph 9 [Suppl 1]: 39–54
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Peracchia, A., Bonavina, L., Ruol, A., Stein, H. (2000). Esophageal Cancer: A European Perspective. In: Lange, J., Siewert, J.R. (eds) Esophageal Carcinoma. Recent Results in Cancer Research, vol 155. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59600-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59600-1_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64044-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59600-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive