The European experience with esophageal cancer limited to the mucosa and submucosa.

In a survey concerning the diagnosis of esophageal cancer and especially early esophageal cancer (EEC) made during the years 1976 to 1980 we collected from all over Europe the results of 902,207 upper gastrointestinal endoscopies. There were 6,719 (0.7%) reports of esophageal carcinoma of which 51 (0.75%) were EEC. Only 8 patients with EEC were asymptomatic. The tumor was localized to the middle third of the esophagus in 24 cases, to the lower third in another 24 cases, and to the upper third in 3 cases. All patients had resection of the esophageal cancer. Thirty-one (60.7%) patients are still alive, but 6 show evidence of recurrence.