Esophageal cancer. Autopsy findings in 171 cases.

We present the autopsy findings in 171 patients with primary esophageal cancer and compare our results with those of other investigators. The ratio of men to women was 5.84:1. The average age of the women was 72.9 years. The average age of the men was 61.6 years. Squamous cell carcinomas were found in 91.8% of the cases, adenocarcinomas in 6.4% of the cases, and sarcomas in 1.8% of the cases. In the cases of squamous cell carcinoma, there was an ulcerating and infiltrating growth, primarily. In the cases of adenocarcinoma, there was a polypoid exophytic growth and an ulcerating growth. Most of the tumors were localized in the medial third of the esophagus (50.9%), followed by the distal third of the esophagus (39.7%), and, lastly, the proximal third of the esophagus (9.4%). Of all the tumors, 42.7% had an extension of more than 5 cm in the longitudinal axis at autopsy. The trachea was the organ most commonly infiltrated (21%). No metastases occurred in 28.6% of the cases. Lymph node metastases existed in 67.3% of the cases, and visceral metastases were present in 29.8% of the cases.