Aim: To investigate the accuracy of Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in staging and sub-staging T1a and T1b esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Methods: A retrospective analysis involving 72 patients with pathologically confirmed T1a or T1b ESCC, was undertaken between January 2005 and December 2011 in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The accuracy and efficiency of EUS for detecting stages T1a and T1b ESCC were examined.
Results: The overall accuracy of EUS for detecting stage T1a or T1b ESCC was 70.8% (51/72), and the sensitivity was 74.3%. 77.8% (7/9) of lesions originated in the upper thoracic region, 73.1% (38/52) in the mid-thoracic region and 72.7% (8/11) in the lower thoracic region. Multivariate analysis revealed that the diagnostic accuracy of EUS was closely related to lesion length (F = 4.984, P = 0.029).
Conclusion: EUS demonstrated median degree of accuracy for distinguishing between stages T1a and T1b ESCC. Therefore, it is necessary to improve EUS for staging early ESCC.
Keywords: Early cancer; Endoscopic ultrasound; Esophageal cancer; Squamous carcinoma; Stage.