الفهرس 
Normal features of the esophagus
Malignant epithelial neoplasms of the esophagusOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Esophageal cancer occurs worldwide with a variable geographic distribution and ranks ninth in order of cancer occurrence, combining both sexes. This malignancy exists in two main forms with distinct etiological and pathological characteristics, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma Most cases of esophageal carcinoma are diagnosed at an advanced stage, presenting with dysphagia, pain and/or weight loss. The principal precursor lesion of esophageal SCC is epithelial dysplasia, whereas Barrett’s esophagus, resulting from GERD, is recognized as a key precursor lesion of esophageal adenocarcinoma. This study was performed on seventy (70) cases of precancerous esophageal lesions and (269) cases of esophageal carcinoma diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy, in addition to sixty nine (69) cases of esophageal carcinoma diagnosed by surgical resection specimens. Cancer esophagus accounted for 4.15% of all GIT malignancies resected at the GEC, Mansoura University in the period 1996-2005. Adenocarcinoma showed nearly a two and a half fold increase in incidence over the last five years of the observed period but SCC is still more prevalent. The mean age of esophageal carcinoma in the study was 59.67 years, and was slightly lower in patients with squamous cell cancer compared to patients with adenocarcinoma. All cases of the study showed male predominance. The majority of resected carcinomas in the current study were found to infiltrate beyond the submucosa i.e. advanced esophageal carcinoma. About 54% of the resected adenocarcinomas in this study were associated with Barrett’s mucosa, whereas dysplastic squamous epithelium was found adjacent to the cancer in 60.5% of SCC cases. In this work, forty six endoscopic cases of Barrett’s esophagus and fourteen surgical resection specimens were diagnosed along the period of the study (1996-2005) with a mean age of 45.41 years and a male-female ratio 1.9:1. Regarding the grade of glandular dysplasia, the proportion of Barrett’s esophagus with LGD in the current study was 21.74%, while HGD was diagnosed in 15.22% of Barrett’s esophagus cases. The study also included twenty-four cases of squamous dysplasia with a mean age 48.88 years and a slight male predominance (1.4:1). The study also included twenty-four cases of squamous dysplasia with a mean age of 48.88 years and a slight male predominance (1.4:1). The results of this study showed that esophageal carcinoma epidemiology displays marked increase in the incidence of adenocarcinomas within the distal third of the esophagus. Despite this, SCC still more predominant in our locality. This cancer correlates strongly with old age and male gender.The diagnosis of precancerous lesions of the esophagus is of utmost importance as cancer esophagus is curable in its earliest stages.