[Multidisciplinary treatment of carcinoma of the esophagus]

Abstract

The recent amazing improvements in surgery for esophageal carcinoma which have been due largely to several factors such as pre- and postoperative management, surgical techniques, etc., have reduced the operative mortality. However, long term survival rates are not yet satisfactory. As more than 95% of patients with esophageal carcinoma are advanced carcinoma, multidisciplinary treatment is necessary. We have devised preoperative hyperthermo-chemo-radiotherapy, intraoperative local adjuvant chemotherapy, and postoperative long term cancer chemotherapy. Long term results of these combined therapy suggested the effectiveness of multidisciplinary treatment.