We report on a patient with
small cell carcinoma of the esophagus treated with effective
combination chemotherapy followed by surgical resection. A 69 year-old male had an ulcerated
tumor in the middle part of the esophagus, which was microscopically diagnosed as
small cell carcinoma of the esophagus. After
combination chemotherapy, endoscopy showed that the esophageal
tumor had changed into a shallow
ulcer. No
cancer cell was found in the biopsy specimen of the
ulcer. A subtotal
esophagectomy with regional
lymph node dissection was performed. Histological examination showed that a few
cancer cells remained in a microvessel of the submucosal layer in the removed esophagus and no cancerous lesion was found in regional lymph nodes. The patient was well and was able to remain at home. However, he eventually died 21 months after first detection of the
carcinoma due to progression of multiple lung and mediastinal
lymph node metastases. After complete or partial remission is achieved by the
combination chemotherapy, surgical resection may be recommended as the second
therapy that occasionally produces long-term remission and possibly long-term survival for patients with
small cell carcinoma of the esophagus, such as the present case.