SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE ESOPHAGUS WITH MUCIN-SECRETING COMPONENT - MUCOEPIDERMOID CARCINOMA

Among 1058 patients with cancer of the esophagus, 20 patients with muc oepidermoid or adenosquamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and cardi a, together defined as squamous cell carcinoma with a mucin-secreting component, were seen over a 10-year period. Their records were reviewe d and appropriate comparisons were also made with the more common squa mous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas. Squamous cell carcinoma with mucin-secreting component comprised 1.9 % of all tumors encountered. Clinical features including age, male predominance, symptoms at presen tation, length of tumor, and appearance of tumor did not differ from t hose of squamous cell and adenocarcinoma, The location of these tumors , however, followed that of squamous cell carcinomas, with 55 % in the middle third and 25 % in the lower third. Adenocarcinomas were found predominantly at the cardia (83 %). Operability and resectability rate s were higher than those of squamous cell and adenocarcinomas. Primary treatment consisted of resection in 19 of the 20 patients (95 %); 18 of them had a one-stage resection and 1 patient had a two-stage resect ion. Postresection staging showed that 5 % had stage I disease, 16 % h ad stage II, and 79 % had stage m disease. None of the patients who un derwent resection died within 30 days of the operation, The mortality after 30 days was 10.5 %. The 1 patient in whom intubation was the pri mary treatment had distant metastases at the time of presentation (sta ge IV). The overall median survival was 9.2 months. The median surviva l for patients who had their tumors resected was 9.5 months. The survi val improved to 33 months for curative resection but was only 8.7 mont hs for palliative resection. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year survivals were 46 %, 39 %, and 0 %, respectively. This prognosis was not significantly d ifferent from that of patients with squamous cell carcinoma or adenoca rcinoma.