Positron Emission Tomography in the Initial Staging of Esophageal Cancer

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Abstract
THE INCIDENCE of esophageal cancer continues to increase in the United States. In 2002, it is estimated that there will be 13 100 new cases and 12 600 deaths.1 Treatment can include a number of options, such as surgery, neoadjuvant treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiation therapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy, and stent placement. Treatment planning for individual patients should be based on the physician's ability to correctly define the extent of local, regional, and distant disease. The question facing both the clinician and the patient is who achieves the most benefit from which therapy. The role of surgical treatment in palliation is limited, and it is reserved for those patients who may derive some curative benefit from the intervention. The only patients who are candidates for resection are those with no evidence of metastatic disease.