Abstract
We report a case of basaloid-squamous carcinoma of the esophagus in a 70-year-old man with a chief complait of epigastric discomfort. A barium esophagogram showed a filling defect, 4-cm in length, in the midportion of the esophagus. Endoscopic examinations revealed a lobular, protruding tumor with an ulceration on its surface (34 cm distal to the incisirs). Biopsy of the tumor showed moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, and surgery was performed. The resected specimen showed a type 1 lesion, 4.0×3.5 cm in diameter. The histopathological diagnosis was esophageal basaloid-squamous carcinoma. The cancer cells formed solid sheets with squamous differentiation and pseudo-glandular appearance, and the tumor exhibited submucosal expansion with normal esophageal epithelium on its surface and had slightly invaded the muscularis propria. The prognosis of esophageal basaloid-squamous carcinoma is considered to be very poor. The patient died of liver metastasis 9 months later. PyNPase, a known angiogenic factor, was highly expressed in the cancer cells. This suggests a relation with the malignant potential of esophageal basaloid-squamous carcinoma.
