Abstract
A 63-year-old male complained of coughing and a choking sensation in the throat and was examined in our hospital. On esophagogastroscopy, a slightly depressed tumor in the middle of the esophagus was found. The tumor, as well as a widespread area of the mucosa in its periphery, was not stained by iodine. On histology, the diagnosis of poorly differentiated, superficially widespread squamous cell carcinoma was made. An esophagectomy was done with a two-field lymphadenectomy. The final histological diagnosis after detection of peripheral unstained mucosa was of a squamous cell carcinoma limited to the muscular layer of the mucosa ; the depressed tumor was diagnosed as an undifferentiated carcinoma with massive invasion of the submucosal layer. Thus, this patient presented with a rare combination of an undifferentiated carcinoma accompanied by a widespread superficial squamous cell carcinoma. Of note, it is difficult to correctly diagnose an undifferentiated carcinoma based solely on a biopsy specimen if a superficial squamous cell carcinoma is present.
