Long-term Survival After Curative Resection of Carcinoma of the Thoracic Esophagus

Since Torek first successfully performed radical surgery for esophageal carcinoma in 1913, the results of esophageal surgery have been somewhat disappointing. A high operative mortality rate and a low 5-year survival rate were consistent features of surgery for esophageal cancer for a long time. The results of surgery, however, have shown marked improvement in Japan in the last 15 years. In the 12-year period from 1969 to 1980,10113 cases of esophageal carcinoma were registered in Japan. Among these cases, resection was carried out on 6130, and re-sectability was 67%. The operative mortality rate was 8.0%. Of these cases, 1953 survived 5 years or more after surgery, and the 5-year survival rate was 23.7% (Table 1).