ACCURACY OF ENDOSCOPIC ULTRASONOGRAPHY FOR PREOPERATIVE STAGING OF ESOPHAGEAL MALIGNANCY

Surgery for esophageal cancer carries a high mortality rate and a low rate of resectability for cure. Accurate preoperative staging is there fore of utmost importance. Staging is based on computerized tomography (CT), and recently, the use-of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). We p erformed EUS and CT on 10 patients with esophageal cancer. Tumors were staged according to the TNM classification. According to the CT resul ts, seven patients had a T-3 tumor, one T-1-2 and two T-0. All patient s were diagnosed as T-3 by EUS. One patient, who was treated by combin ed modality treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, converted to T-0. Six patients were operated on, and in five, pathological finding s were of an invasive tumor. The T stage was predicted correctly in fi ve patients by CT and in all six patients by EUS. N stage was correctl y diagnosed in two patients by CT and in five by EUS. It is concluded that EUS is superior to CT for preoperative staging of esophageal tumo rs. EUS should be undertaken as a routine procedure prior to surgery f or esophageal cancer.