The multidisciplinary management of early-stage cervical esophageal cancer

Cervical esophageal cancer (CEC) was historically treated with primary surgery, typically a pharyngo-laryngo-esophagectomy (PLE), a morbid procedure with substantial impact on a patient’s long-term quality of life. More recently, a paradigm shift has occurred such that now the preferred initial approach is treatment with definitive, concurrent chemotherapy and radiation (CRT), with a goal of preserving a functional larynx while not compromising survival. There is ongoing debate as to whether CEC should be treated with CRT schedules used in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC) as opposed to the CRT schedules used in more distal esophageal cancers. The anatomy, risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, and a discussion of the data that have informed the current, however variable, approach to the treatment of CEC will be reviewed in this chapter.

Duke Scholars

Author Joseph Kamel Salama Radiation Oncology

Author Manisha Palta Radiation Oncology