Long-term survival of two patients with esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma who underwent multidisciplinary therapy

Abstract

　Esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma (ECC) is rare and has a poor prognosis when presenting with vascular invasion and distant metastasis from an early stage. Multidisciplinary therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy may prolong survival in patients with advanced ECC, but there is as yet no standard therapy for advanced ECC. We treated two patients who have achieved long-term survival (> 4 years) who underwent multidisciplinary therapy, including chemotherapy, for ECC. Our experience with these two cases suggests that multidisciplinary therapy, including chemotherapy, may be effective for treating ECC at an advanced stage.