A importância da endoscopia digestiva alta com soluçäo de lugol no diagnóstico de câncer superficial e displasia em esôfago de doentes com neoplasias de cabeça e pescoço / The importance of the upper digestive endoscopy using lugol dye solution for diagnosis of the superficial esophageal cancer and dysplasia in patients with head and neck cancer

RESUMO

Head and neck cancer has a high incidence in Brazil, with cancer of the oral cavity being one of the five most common cancers among Brazilians. Alcohol and tobacco consumption may contribute to synchronous or metachronous head and neck cancer and esophageal cancer. A prospective study involving 60 patients with head and neck cancer was carried out at the State University of Campinas--UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil to screen for superficial esophageal cancer and dysplasia using endoscopy and a 2 per cent lugol dye solution followed by biopsy of the suspicious areas. Five patients (8.3 per cent) had superficial esophageal cancer, which was diagnosed as intraepithelial carcinoma in three of them (5.0 per cent). In four patients, the superficial esophageal cancer was synchronous and in one it was metachronous to head and neck cancer. Five patients (8.3 per cent) had dysplasias in the esophageal epithelium (three were classified as mild and two as moderate). These results demonstrate the value of endoscopic screening of the esophagus using lugol dye in patients with head and neck cancer, particularly since superficial esophageal cancer is extremely difficult to detect by conventional methods in asymptomatic patients