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Malignant Disease Of The Esophagus

Categories: MALIGNANT DISEASE OF THE ESOPHAGUS
Sources: A Manual Of Peroral Endoscopy And Laryngeal Surgery

Cancer of the esophagus is a more prevalent disease than is commonly

thought. In the male it usually develops during the fourth and fifth

decades of life. There is in some cases the history of years of more

or less habitual consumption of strong alcoholic liquors. In the

female the condition often occurs at an earlier age than in the male,

and tends to run a more protracted course, preceeded in some cases by

years of p
ecancerous dysphagia.



Squamous-celled epithelioma is the most frequent type of neoplasm. In

the lower third of the esophagus, cylindric cell carcinoma may be

found associated with a like lesion in the stomach. Sarcoma of the

esophagus is relatively rare (Bibliography 1, p. 449).



The sites of the lesion are those of physiologic narrowing of the

esophagus. The middle third is most frequently involved; and the lower

third, near the cardia, comes next in frequency. Cancer of the lower

third of the esophagus preponderates in men, while cancer of the upper

orifice is, curiously, more prevalent in women. The lesion is usually

single, but multiple lesions, resulting from implantation metastases

have been observed (Bibliography 1, p. 391). Bronchoesophageal fistula

from extension is not uncommon.



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