The use of minimally invasive surgery for lymph node recurrence after endoscopic mucosal resection of superficial esophageal cancer

A 73-year-old man was diagnosed with superficial esophageal cancer, and endoscopic mucosal resection was performed. Histologically, the lesion was found to be a squamous cell carcinoma invading the muscularis mucosae without vascular invasion. The patient was followed without being given adjuvant therapy, and lymph node recurrence along the lesser curvature of the stomach was found after 2.5 years. He underwent laparoscopic removal of the metastatic lymph node and cholecystectomy for cholecystolithiasis. He had two courses of adjuvant chemotherapy and showed no recurrence during 3 years of observation. Although the effectiveness of surgical resection for nodal recurrence of esophageal cancer remains controversial, this case highlights the possibility of salvage resection using minimally invasive surgery.