Squamous papilloma of the esophagus.

BACKGROUND

Squamous papilloma of the esophagus (SPE) is a rare lesion, with a prevalence of 0.01% to 0.04%. This study was to assess the incidence, symptoms, signs and prognosis of squamous papilloma of the esophagus.

METHODS

From October 1981 to October 1994, 124,000 patients at our hospital were examined with panendoscopy; 9 (0.0073%) subjects were histologically proved to have squamous papilloma of the esophagus.

RESULTS

They included 4 males and 5 females, aged 60.8 +/- 9.7 years, ranging from 49 to 78 years old. These tumor locations were seven in the lower, one in the middle and one in the upper portion of the esophagus; sizes were not larger than 5 mm. Most of them were single (seven of nine) and sessile (eight of nine). Three of them were followed up with panendoscopy and six of them were followed up through clinical symptoms. The longest follow-up period were 11 years. The mean following time was 2.2 +/- 3.6 years.

CONCLUSIONS

All of the patients are alive, and none has malignancy in the SPE. It is suggested that squamous papilloma of the esophagus may have a benign clinical course. Symptoms and signs are thought to be associated with gastroesophageal reflux or peptic ulcer diseases, and not to be related to the squamous cell papilloma itself.