Endoscopy on Esophageal Cancer Delivered the Same Survival Rates as Surgery

Research by the Mayo Clinic Florida, has shown that endoscopic removal of early tumor of the esophagus produced the same results as the total surgical removal of the esophagus. The survival rate of patients treated by this non invasive method was the same as that of those who were subject to esophagectomy a major surgery where their entire esophagus was removed. Endoscopic resection is a treatment similar to the laparascopic removal of polyps from the colon although a lot more complex. Patients with early stages of esophageal adenocarcinoma, the commonest form of cancer of the esophagus in the United States, now have the option of being treated by endoscopy and thereby retaining their esophagus. Studies were conducted over a period of five years of patients undergoing the two different treatment methods. Both seemed to offer similar chances of cure and long term survival.