Pattern and surgery for oesophageal carcinoma in Saudi Arabia.

Forty-three patients with carcinoma of the oesophagus are presented, 30 of whom were male and 13 female, with ages ranging from 42 to 88 years. Mean duration of symptoms was 4.6 months. Of patients, 65.2% were in stage III and 30.2% in stage IIA. Stages I and IV were encountered in one patient each. Twenty-five were Saudis and 14 non-Saudis. Of the Saudi patients, 64.3% were from the Qaseem region. 48.8% had subtotal oesophagectomy with neck anastomosis and 51.2% had limited oesophagectomy with intrathoracic anastomosis. The mortality rate was 11.6% The 5-year survival rate was 33.3%. We found sex, histology, stage of disease and extent of oesophageal resection influence long-term survival.