Usefulness of Bronchoscopy in Thacheobronchial Involvement of Esophageal Cancer

We investigated the relationship between tracheobronchial involvement in esophageal cancer and bronchoscopic findings in 27 patients. The bronchoscopic findings were classified into five types. Tracheobronchial involvement was confirmed in cases with endobronchial tumor, with protrusion and abnormal mucosa. In cases without protrusion, the absence of involvement was confirmed. Since a judgment of tracheobronchial involvement is difficult in cases with protrusion but an otherwise normal mucosa, use of CT and MRI, where an assessment of the thickness of the esophageal cancer may be made, is important for detecting involvement.