The role of computed tomography and esophageal ultrasonography in the preoperative evaluation of esophageal cancer resection

Objectives. Esophageal cancer is one of the most aggressive types of cancer, with a 5-year relative survival rate of only 18%-20.5%. Survival is highly dependent on accurate positive diagnosis and staging, in which the imaging modalities available have a primary role. The study is focused on the analysis of the preoperative T and M staging strategy and the reliability of computed tomography and endoscopic esophageal ultrasound in predicting resectability. A second objective was to evaluate the influence of preoperative imaging modalities on decreasing the number of unnecessary thoracotomies and laparotomies. Material and Methods. This study was conducted on a lot of 97 consecutive esophageal cancers, admitted in the Second General Surgery Clinic of Emergency County Hospital No. 1 of Craiova, between January 2007 to December 2019. We recorded patient data, imaging details and staging, as well as intraoperative aspects and tactics. For statistical analysis we have used chi square test. Conclusions. Computed tomography is not a basic investigation in the T-category evaluation of the TNM stage, the accuracy of the method being extremely variable with the T-stage, the type of CT scan. The maximum utility of CT remains in the identification of invasion of neighboring organs and the operability of the case. Despite the differences in the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of computed tomography and endoscopic ultrasound in esophageal cancer, the use of these imaging methods is essential in staging esophageal cancer and establishing the therapeutic indication.