Surgical techniques and the latest trends in surgical treatment of oesophageal cancer - a brief review.

<b>Introduction:</b> Oesophageal cancer is one of the leading causes of malignant death worldwide, and its incidence has increased sixfold in recent decades. Although it ranks sixth in mortality and eighth in incidence worldwide, it is one of the least understood and described cancers, which is probably related to its highly aggressive course and poor treatment outcomes.<b>Aim:</b> The aim of this study was to review the current literature regarding the treatment of oesophageal cancer.<b>Results:</b> Surgical treatment is the most important stage of therapy, and advances in this field and the development of new surgical techniques have significantly improved the five-year survival and reduced the incidence of postoperative complications. However, surgical treatment of oesophageal cancer is considered one of the most extensive and invasive procedures in cancer surgery, resulting in a steep learning curve for oesophageal resection procedures, especially minimally invasive (MI) techniques. Nevertheless, in the early stages of disease, oesophageal resection is the only currently accepted and used procedure that can potentially lead to a cure. The results of several studies comparing conventional and MI approaches have demonstrated the superiority of MI oesophagectomy, which is associated with fewer perioperative complications and inhospital deaths, shorter operation times, shorter intensive care unit stays, and higher quality of life rates. The learning curve for hybrid surgery, which bridges the gap between classic and MI procedures, is much shorter than for fully MI procedures, which is particularly appealing for surgeons who lack extensive experience in laparoscopy and thoracoscopy.<b>Conclusions:</b> In conclusion, given the clear advantages of MI techniques over classic techniques, we believe that despite a longer learning curve and more difficult surgical procedures, MI techniques should be the target techniques for treating oesophageal cancer.