
recent advances in the treatment of
cancer of the esophagus
whether combining surgery and supervoltage radiation therapy will
noticeably improve the 5-year survival rate for carcinoma of the esopha-
gus remains to be seen.  it is encouraging, however, to observe at the time
of operation that the previously irradiated esophagus is firmly encased in
fibrous tissue, which gives the impression that the danger of disseminating
tumor at the time of resection is diminished.  in addition, the fibrosis sug-
gests that the tumor that had spread locally, beyond the limits of surgical
excision, may have been destroyed.
