Abstract
It has been reported that proton beam therapy is an effective treatment method for patients with locally confined esophageal cancer. However, there seems to be serious problems related to post-radiotherapy (RT) esophageal ulcers. We treated 7 patients who developed post-RT esophageal ulcers with the earliest symptom of esophageal stenosis, which was observed 7–17 months (median, 10.0) after completion of RT. Five of the patients had unhealed ulcers leading to lethal events such as perforation or penetration. The mean time between the appearance of the earliest symptom and lethal episode was no more than 2 months (mean, 2.1). The first 3 patients who underwent conservative therapies died from severe complications caused by perforation or penetration of post-RT esophageal ulcers. In the case of 2 consecutive patients, we performed surgical treatment as soon as possible since there were indications of penetration in post-RT developed esophageal ulcers. Therefore, they could be cured by a salvage operation which was subtotal esophagectomy using the stomach for esophageal replacement. Through the above-mentioned experience, we discussed surgical management for esophageal ulcers after proton beam therapy.
