A Case of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Esophagus

with Reference to Immunohistochemical Study

Abstract

We report a case of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the esophagus determined immunohistochemically. A 51-year-old man with an ulcerative localized esophageal tumor that stained with iodine dyeing was found from the biopsy specimen in preoperative endoscopy to have ACC. He underwent subtotal esophagectomy with two-field lymph node dissection. Histopathologic findings showed pure ACC of the esophagus. Immuno-histochemically, tumor cells stained positively for EMA, αSMA, and vimentin, similar to ACC of the salivary gland. Immunohistocemical examination was thus useful in distinguishing between ACC and basaloid squamous carcinoma of the esophagus. This tumor was not biologically aggressive in light of cell proliferation because the MIB-1 labeling index was 5%, similar to ACC of the salivary grand.