Carcinoma of the oesophagus after radiotherapy for Hodgkin's disease

[Radiation-induced esophageal carcinoma: report of 11 cases]

STUDY AIM

Radiation-induced oesophageal carcinoma can occur several years after mediastinal irradiation. The aim of this study was to report 11 cases of this rare entity with analysis of its diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic special features.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From 1983 to 2001, 10 female and one male patients, aged 47 to 76 years, were treated for an oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma which was diagnosed 5 to 25 years after mediastinal irradiation. This irradiation (30 to 78 Gy) was administered in 8 women for breast carcinoma and in other patients for lymphoma. Only one patient had alcoholic consumption and 2 were smokers. An oesophagectomy was performed whenever possible.

RESULTS

All (but one) oesophageal tumors were symptomatic. Ten patients underwent an oesophagectomy, including 2 without thoracotomy. Postoperative course was uneventful in 6 cases, 3 patients developed transient respiratory failure and one patient died postoperatively. At late follow-up, 6 patients developed distant metastases (mainly hepatic and pulmonary). These metastases were associated with mediastinal recurrences in 2 cases. No isolated mediastinal recurrence occurred. Median survival was 13 months.

CONCLUSION

Clinical presentation and surgical treatment of radiation-induced oesophageal carcinoma are similar to those of other oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas. After oesophagectomy, isolated mediastinal recurrences seem to be rarer than with other cancers. These cancers, which are almost all symptomatic, have a poor prognosis.

Radiation-induced esophageal carcinoma 30 years after mediastinal irradiation: case report and review of the literature

A 54-year-old man who had been irradiated in 1964 for cervical involvement by Hodgkin's disease was admitted in December 1994 to our clinic with strong complaints of dysphagia. The reason was a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the proximal esophagus in the previously irradiated region. The patient had no risk factors (abuse of nicotine or alcohol) for the developement of esophageal carcinoma. A reirradiation was performed, but the disease progressed locally and two weeks after the beginning of the therapy the patient developed two tracheoesophagocutaneous fistulae. The radiation therapy was discontinued and the tumor stenosis was bridged by a tube closing the fistulae. A retrospective dose analysis to evaluate the applied doses will be performed. Furthermore, an overview of 66 cases of the literature with radiation-induced esophageal carcinoma analysed concerning applied dose and latent interval will be given. In conclusion the reported case fits the criteria for radiation-induced malignancies (Chudecki Br J Radiol 1972;45:303-4) known from literature: (1) a history of previous irradiation, (2) a cancer occurring within the irradiated area, (3) gross tissue damage due to an excessive dose of radiation, and (4) a long latent interval between irradiation and development of cancer. Esophageal carcinomas belong to the rare secondary malignancies after the therapeutic use of ionizing radiation. Nevertheless in patients with dysphagia they should be suspected as a differential diagnosis even many years after mediastinal irradiation. The treatment of these tumors is very difficult and is associated with a poor prognosis.

The management of radiation-associated oesophageal carcinoma: a report of 16 cases

16 patients, presenting with squamous cell carcinoma in previously irradiated sections of the oesophagus, are described. Oesophagectomy could be performed in 2 patients, resulting in long-term disease-free survival (38 and 60 months after diagnosis). 14 patients were treated with palliative radiotherapy (external beam or intraluminal), oesophageal stenting, bougienage or chemotherapy. Although most patients previously received curative dosages of mediastinal irradiation, additional full courses of high-dose radiotherapy could be given on five occasions; no major complications were encountered and adequate palliation for up to 10 months was achieved. Similar results were observed after oesophageal stenting and/or bougienage. Relief of dysphagia following intraluminal radiotherapy or chemotherapy was only minimal (2 months or less). Median survival in the palliative treatment group was 6.5 months (range 2-27 months), which is in keeping with results observed in non-radiation-associated oesophageal carcinoma. We concluded that, in selected cases, both surgery and radiotherapy offer good prospects for patients with radiation-associated oesophageal cancer.