Tumors arising in the esophagus are relatively rare among those of gastrointestinal tract, but are important because the difficulties in early diagnosis and radical treatment make the prognosis of the victims poor. And the features of esophageal tumors among Koreans are not certain due to lack of extensive clinico-pathologic studies about esophageal tumors.
This report was attempted to deal with a clinicopathologic evaluation of 49 cases which had been diagnosed in the Department of Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine during the period from 1961 to 1972.
The results are:
1. Forty-nine cases of esophageal tumors were all carcinomas, which were 0. 8 per cent of total malignant tumors and 4. 2 per cent of all malignancies in gastrointestinal tract among surgical specimens examined during the same period.
2. Among the patients, there were 42 males and 7 females. The mean age of them was 55.2 years and most of patients were 51 to 70 years old. Th resenting symptoms of them were dysphagia (92.5%), loss of weight (55.0%), regurgitation a d chest discomfort, the duration of which were within 4 months in most cases.
3. The tumors located at the middle 1/3 in 16, at the lower 1/3 in 11, at the cardia in 8, and at the upper 1/3 in 4 cases. However, tumors of the female patients tended to locate more distally.
4. Histologically, 42 cases were moderately to poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas; remainings were 6 adenocarcinomas and 1 undifferentiated small cell carcinoma.
5. Four cases of the patients, 3 female and 1 male patients, had been in the state of esophageal stricture due to ingestion of lye. One cases of multiple primary carcinoma was found who had had adenocarcinoma of stomach 5 years previously.
6. Only 7 cases were radically treated; others were treated with conservative or palliative methods.
In_ conclusion it seems to be that esophageal tumors are rarer in Korea than in other countries, most of which are rather undifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma than those of ther sites, and that the stricture due to ingestion of lye is one of interesting predisposing factors in the development of esophageal carcinoma in Korea.
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