A Case of Surgical Resection for Superficial Esophageal Cancer With a Single Giant N4 Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis

Superficial thoracic esophageal cancer with a solitary metastasis to a lymph node outside the usual target area of lymphadenectomy is extremely rare. We report a case of superficial esophageal cancer with a solitary, giant metastasis to the right upper deep cervical lymph node that was treated with surgery. A 57-year-old man presented to our institution with a chief complaint of a mass in the right neck. Fine needle cytology showed squamous cell carcinoma. No lesion was found in the pharyngolaryngeal area or the lungs. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed superficial squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. Detailed examinations showed no other lymph node enlargement or metastasis to distant organs. The patient was diagnosed with esophageal cancer with a solitary lymph node metastasis (N4; No.102upR). Subtotal esophagectomy and 3-field lymphadenectomy were performed. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy. At 3 years postsurgery, no recurrence has been found. We think this case is extremely rare.