Abstract
It is well known that hypopharyngeal carcinoma frequently associate with the carcinoma of the esophagus. We reviewed the management of the carcinoma of the esophagus in the patients who had undergone operation against hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Between 1988 and 1995, 120 cases had received the operation to hypopharyngeal carcinoma. We recognized the carcinoma of the esophagus simultaneously for 17 patients (14%) out of 120 patients. In nine cases, the presence of carcinoma were found as unstained area by iodine staining. These results suggest the importance of screening preoperative endoscopy of upper digestive tract. The 3-and 5-year overall survival rates of 17 cases were 31.8%, and cause specific 3-and 5-year survival rates of hypopharyngeal carcinoma were 37.4%. Eleven patients died and 9 of 11 patients died of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. The patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma requiring operation had advanced disease, whereas most of the synchronous esophageal carcinomas were in early stage. We considered that the existence of esophageal carcinoma was not a prognostic factor for the patients who had received operation to hypopharyngeal carcinoma.
