A case is presented of carcinoma of the esophagus (Im) which developed at a site of chronic corrosive stricture caused by ingestion of an alkaloid mixture about seventy years previously.
Thoracic esophagectomy was performed and the antesternal route reconstruction with esophagogastrostomy was done. The carcinoma was confined to the muscula propria of the strictured esophagus and was surrounded by severe to mild dysplasia. The incidence of carcinoma among patients with chronic corrosive esophageal stricture is significantly higher than that in the general population. But in Japan, the incidence of this type of case has been less than ten.
In this case report, we have emphasized that, (1) The risk of carcinogenesis is high after a lapse of 30 years following stricture of the esophagus and that careful examination is needed, (2) The primary cause of malignant transformation of corrosive stricture is long localized irritation in the area where physical esophageal peristalsis has been lost and (3) During surgical treatment for stricture of the esophagus, with or without carcinoma, esophageal resection with reconstruction is better than a bypass procedure for preventing subsequent development of carcinoma.