Autopsy findings of 35 patients, treated with radiotherapy for an esophageal carcinoma, were reviewed. A residual tumor was seen at autopsy in 7 of 16 patients treated with high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation following external irradiation, in 13 of 14 patients treated with external irradiation of 50 Gy or more, and in all 5 patients treated with external irradiation of less than 50 Gy. Incidence on lymph node metastasis, at autopsy, did not differ between the combined radiotherapy group and the external irradiation groups. However, it correlated with disease stage. It was observed in 11 of 17 patients with Stage 1 and Stage 2 disease, compared to 17 of 18 patients with Stage 3 and Stage 4 disease. Distant organ metastasis, at autopsy, also did not differ between the combined radiotherapy group and the external irradiation groups, and was also correlated with disease stage. It was found in 8 of 17 patients of the patients with Stage 1 and Stage 2 disease, compared to all 18 patients with Stage 3 and Stage 4 disease. Mean (average) survival was different between the patients treated by high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation following external irradiation and those treated by external irradiation alone; 11.3 months in the 16 patients treated with combined therapy, as compared to 6.9 months in the 14 patients who received external irradiation of 50 Gy or more, and 3.6 months in the 5 patients who received external irradiation of less than 50 Gy.