Imaging oesophageal cancer

The 5-year survival rate is only 3% for patients with lymph node involvement, whereas it is 42% for patients who do not have nodal involvement. Approximately 18% of patients will have distant metastases; of these 45% will be to abdominal lymph nodes, 35% to the liver, 20% to the lungs, 18% to supraclavicular nodes, 9% to bone, and 5% to adrenal glands. Consequently, the prognosis is poor, with surgical cure achieved in less than 10% of patients. Surgeons differ in their approach to patients with advanced-stage diseae. Palliative therapies include surgery, laser resection, radiation therapy or chemotherapy, and oesophageal stent placement or dilation. Surgery, whether curative or palliative, carries a Significant risk of mortality that ranges from 5% to 20% depending on the surgeon's experience. Therefore, accurate preoperative staging, particularly with regard to depth of wall invasion, mediastinal invasion, nodal involvement, and distant metastases, is vital in determining the most appropriate therapy and in helping avoid inappropriate attempts at curative surgery.peer-reviewe