Surgical treatment for esophageal cancer patients with myelodysplastic syndrome

Background Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clinical condition with pancytopenia, dysfunction of neutrophils and poor prognosis caused by dysplasia of the bone marrow. MDS patients tend to have other malignant diseases, and the treatment is complicated because of high morbidity and mortality. Moreover, esophageal cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers, and its surgical treatment has high morbidity. Methods Among 450 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgical treatment, 4 (0.8 %) had MDS. We describe esophageal cancer patients with MDS who underwent radical surgical treatment and estimate the perioperative management and postoperative outcome. Results Two patients underwent transhiatal resection involving lower esophagectomy and proximal gastrectomy, and two other patients underwent thoracoscopic thoracoabdominal resection. Important critical points for the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer patients with MDS were as follows: hematological examination for patients with cytopenia, surgical indication for patients with WHO classification of RA or RARS and IPSS of low or intermediate-1 risk, planning transfusions for patients with thrombocytopenia, expecting postoperative complications such as pneumonia or bleeding, and careful follow-up for the early detection of relapse of disease. Conclusion With careful management, we were able to treat esophageal cancer patients with MDS surgically.