ASO Author Reflections: Surgical Resection of Esophageal Neuroendocrine Tumors Should Be Considered as an Integral Part of Multimodal Therapy in Localized Disease

Excerpt

Localized esophageal neuroendocrine tumors (eNETs) are exceedingly rare. Given the lack of prospective data, specific treatment algorithms do not exist.1 Systemic therapy is considered to be a cornerstone of any treatment algorithm.2 In contrast, recommendations of whether surgical resection should be performed is based on case series and case reports. This limited experience suggests that surgery should be considered for patients with distal tumors, early disease stage, and good performance status. With increasing reports of the potential beneficial impact of surgery on survival in a multidisciplinary treatment setting and with better short-term outcomes after esophagectomy in general, there is growing interest in more closely examining the role of eNET resection.3,4 We utilize a large national cancer database to further assess the independent impact of surgical resection on this rare disease. …