A comparative study on endoscopic resection and open esophagectomy for early esophageal cancers

Objective To compare the value of endoscopic resection and open esophagectomy for early esophageal cancers. Methods A total of 43 endoscopic resections and 29 esophagectomies were performed on 72 patients from February 2008 to March 2013. Postoperative complications (e.g. reflux esophagitis, anastomotic stenosis, and stomal leak), three-year recurrence rate and five-year survival rate were compared. Results The incidence of reflux esophagitis, esophageal stenosis and stomal leak in the esophagectomy group were 37.9% (11/43), 24.1% (7/43), 3.4% (1/43), while the incidence of reflux esophagitis and esophageal stenosis in the endoscopic resection group were 11.6% (5/29) and 14.0% (6/29) respectively. The incidence of reflux esophagitis in the endoscopic resection group was significantly lower than the open esophagectomy group(P 0.05). Conclusion The endoscopic resection is of the similar effects on early esophageal cancers, compared with open surgery, but can reduce the incidence of postoperative reflux esophagitis and improve the living standard. Key words: Early esophageal cancers; Endoscopic resection; Open esophagectomy