Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma associated with gastric adenocarcinoma

Adenocarcinoma of the stomach occurred in six of 425 consecutive patients with esophageal squamous cell cancer. In two cases, the gastric cancer, which was recognized at 17 and 29 months, respectively, after the nonsurgical treatment of the esophageal tumor, was treated by surgical resection. In three cases, the tumors which were diagnosed simultaneously, were treated by surgery (one case) resection of the gastric tumor and nonsurgical therapy for the esophageal tumor (one case), and nonsurgical therapy for both tumors (one case). In one case, a gastric cancer was resected 6 years before diagnosis of an esophageal tumor and a second cancer in the gastric stump. A nonsurgical protocol was then adopted for both tumors. The association of these two cancers raises questions concerning their epidemiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and management. There is room for nonsurgical multimodality protocols and, in association with surgery, survival was prolonged for more than 1 year in five of six patients.