Commentary: Fluorodeoxyglucose –positron emission tomography/computed tomography for cervical adenopathy in esophageal carcinoma, an option for the selective surgeon

There are juxtaposed opinions in the literature as to the efficacy of fluorodeoxyglucose –positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) for evaluating cervical lymph nodes in esophageal cancer. Much of this debate resides within a larger, more contentious issue–the potential treatment options for the cervical nodal basin. On one hand, 3-field dissection performed by experienced surgeons historically emerged as superior to lesser dissection. The vast experience of Akiyama and colleagues1 was described in their manuscript from 1994, in which patients treated with 3-field esophagectomy were found to have frequent incidence of cervical adenopathy (27%).
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research