LONG-TERM SURVIVAL ASSOCIATED WITH METASTATIC SMALL-CELL CARCINOMA OFTHE ESOPHAGUS TREATED BY CHEMOTHERAPY, AUTOLOGOUS BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION, AND ADJUVANT RADIATION-THERAPY

A 44-year-old woman had small cell carcinoma of the esophagus complica ted by liver and lymph node metastases. She was treated with aggressiv e combination chemotherapy, followed by autologous bone marrow transpl antation and adjuvant radiation therapy. (The authors believe this to be the first use of autologous bone marrow transplantation for treatme nt of this condition.) This regimen resulted in apparent complete regr ession of the disease as documented by computed tomography and endosco pic study. Three years later, she again experienced general malaise an d was found to have extensive recurrent disease in the lung, bone, and liver. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she died within 1 mont h. A review of the literature reveals that this patient survived longe r than any others who have had this rare but aggressive tumor. The aut hors suggest that this form of therapy should be considered for future patients.