EARLY ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE ESOPHAGUS AND ESOPHAGEAL CYST

Aims: An increased risk of adenocarcinoma cf the oesophagus has been d emonstrated in patients with long segments of Barrett's mucosa, The ri sk of cancer associated with short segments of metaplasia of the oesop hagogastric junction is not known, Methods and results: We report a ca se of early adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus arising on short tongues of Barrett's mucosa associated with an oesophageal cyst, The patient w as a 68-year-old man with no previous clinical history of gastro-oesop hageal reflux disease, The fortuitous discovery of an oesophageal cyst lead to the diagnosis of: short tongues of Barrett's mucosa with high -grade dysplasia, On pathological examination of the resected specimen , an early adenocarcinoma had developed in Barrett's mucosa, localized just above the oesophageal cyst, Conclusions: As oesophageal cysts ca n cause symptoms suggestive of reflux, we hypothesize that this associ ation may not be fortuitous.