Primary treatment of carcinoma of the esophagus and cardia rests on surgical resection. Although recent advances have shown the suitability of endoscopic treatment in selected patients with very early cancers, and preliminary studies have suggested that responders to primary chemoradiation may be equivalent to resection in selected patients with squamous cell carcinoma, surgical resection remains the mainstay of therapy, as it has for the past 50 years. Various changes support highly individualized treatment decisions, in which each patient receives the treatment with the best chance of eliminating all disease.
