TRANSCUTANEOUS ULTRASOUND OF THE CERVICAL ESOPHAGUS IN PATIENTS WITH ESOPHAGEAL-CARCINOMA

Transcutaneous ultrasound of the cervical esophagus was performed in 4 6 patients with esophageal carcinoma and in 35 controls. The former ha d 24 upper segmental lesions and 22 lower segmental lesions. The level of the sternoclavicular joint was used to divide the esophagus into t he upper segmental (USE) and lower segmental esophagus (LSE). The ante rior esophageal wall thickness and luminal dimensions were measured be fore and immediately after phonation. The mean wall thickness in the c ontrols was 1.8 mm before phonation and 2.1 mm after phonation, with a significant difference (t test, P<0.05). The mean wall thickness in t he USE carcinoma group was 4.3 mm and 4.4 mm before and after phonatio n respectively. There was a significant difference between the control s and USE carcinoma groups (t test, P<0.05). The cross sectional area, which was calculated as the product of anteroposterior and lateral di ameters, averaged 28 mm2 before phonation in the controls and increase d to 44 mm2 after phonation (t test, P<0.05). The mean cross sectional area in the USE carcinoma group was significantly smaller before phon ation than that in the controls (t test, P<0.05) and showed little cha nge after phonation. No significant difference was found between LSE c arcinoma and control groups. Transcutaneous ultrasound appears to be a promising non-invasive method of investigation for cervical esophagea l carcinoma.