An 80-year-old woman was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on biopsy by the index esophagogastroduodenoscopy. One month later, the subsequent esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed that the lesion decreased in size, and no cancer cells were noted on biopsy specimen. Based on the index biopsy histology, we diagnosed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in cStage I (cT1bN0M0). Robot-assisted esophagectomy was performed approximately 2 months after the diagnosis. Postoperative pathological examination revealed no cancer cells in the primary lesion. One lymph node (left main bronchus lymph node) showed squamous cell carcinoma metastasis. The patient neither underwent treatment in the 2 months between diagnosis and surgery nor chemotherapy before that. The tumor had spontaneously regressed, but had metastasized to the lymph node.
Spontaneous regression of malignant tumors is a rare phenomenon, especially in esophageal cancers, and the mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this report, we describe a case of esophageal cancer that spontaneously regressed and discuss the relevant literature.
