The transition of therapy for recurrent esophageal cancer by PET-CT

In our institute, we introduced PET-CT examination as the preoperative and postoperative screening for esophageal cancer patients in April 2006. During two years before the introduction of PET-CT examination, we performed an intensive local control therapy (operation, RFA, definitive chemoradiotherapy) to 13 cases with single region recurrence (including 5 cases of cervical lymph nodes recurrence, 5 of local recurrence, 3 of distant metastatic recurrence). On the other hand, we performed an intensive local control therapy to 21 cases (including 4 cases of cervical lymph nodes recurrence, 10 of local recurrence, and 7 of distant metastatic recurrence) during two years after the introduction of PET-CT examination. In any pattern, there was a tendency of improvement in the prognosis of recurrent esophageal cancer patients. These results raised the possibility that PET-CT examination was useful for an early detection of the recurrent lesions in postoperative follow-up for esophageal cancer patients. And there might be a chance of curability in patients with single region recurrence by the early detection.