Staging of esophageal cancer

Abstract

Treatment of esophageal cancer with curative intent harbours a great morbidity and should only be applied to patients with no evidence of distant metastases or unresectable disease. Several studies have demonstrated that a proper staging is one of the relevant factors that has contributed to achieve good treatment results and, on the other hand, avoids unnecessary therapy. Significant progress in the imaging techniques have been achieved during the past years, improving its sensitivity and accuracy. FDG-PET scan obtains images based on tumor cells activity before morphological changes occur. The goal of the present chapter is to understand the diagnostic tools for an accurate staging of esophageal cancer and to propose a decision-making algorithm based on the characteristics of each institution.