RELATIONSHIP OF ESOPHAGEAL DYSPLASIA TO ASSOCIATED HEAD AND NECK-CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH ESOPHAGEAL-CARCINOMA

To investigate the relationship between esophageal dysplasia acid the development of both esophageal cancer (EC) and head and neck cancer (H NC), a clinicopathological study was performed in 113 patients with EC who underwent esophagectomy without any preoperative treatment. The i ncidence of dysplastic lesions in the resected esophagus was determine d by a whole-organ stepwise cutting method. Synchronous or metachronou s primary HNC was present in 25 patients, all of whom were male (Group A) and absent in both 70 male patients (Group B) and 18 female patien ts. A total of 628 dysplastic lesions were found in 79 patients; 67 of them were graded as carcinoma in situ (CIS) in 26 patients, 44 as sev ere dysplasia (SD) in 16 patients, 182 as moderate dysplasia (MOD) in 59 patients, and 335 as mild dysplasia (MID) in 58 patients. The incid ence of CIS, SD and MOD was low in females, slightly increased in Grou p 8, and markedly increased in Group A, and the differences between Gr oup A and Group B and between Group A and females were statistically s ignificant. There was a sex difference in smoking and alcohol consumpt ion, only a few smokers or drinkers being female, whereas there was no significant difference between Groups A and B in smoking and alcohol consumption. CIS, SD or MOD in the esophagus appear to be closely rela ted to both EC and HNC, and patients with EC associated with CIS, SD o r MOD are at increased risk of developing HNC.