Management of esophageal adenocarcinoma

The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma is increasing in Western countries with a tendency to exceed that of squamous-cell carcinoma. Prognosis is unfavorable with 5-year survival less than 15%, irrespective of treatment and the stage. At the time of diagnosis, more than two thirds of patients have a non-operable cancer because of extension or associated co-morbidities. Most studies have included different tumoral locations (esophagus and stomach) and different histological types (adenocarcinoma and squamous-cell carcinoma), making it difficult to interpret results. Surgery is currently the standard treatment for small tumors. Surgery should be preceded by neo-adjuvant treatment for patients with locally advanced resectable tumors, either preoperative chemotherapy or preoperative chemoradiation therapy. The therapeutic choice should be decided during multidisciplinary meetings according to patient and tumor characteristics and the expertise of the center. For patients with contraindications to surgery, exclusive chemoradiation therapy is recommended. Herein we reviewed and synthesized the different therapeutic strategies for esophageal adenocarcinoma. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.