METHODS
Patients were identified by searching for “intramucosal carcinoma”
from single-center hospital-wide pathology specimen database.
Institutional ethics committee approval was sought and obtained. Results
were hand-searched to identify all consecutive patients either
undergoing EMR treatment or esophagectomy for intramucosal carcinoma
from July 2005 to July 2013. Patients with invasive disease not amenable
to endoscopic treatment (deeper than T1sm1 or node positive) were
excluded. Results were then cross-referenced with a prospectively
collected endoscopic procedures database (Clinical Outcomes Research
Initiative (CORI), Portland, OR). This was supplemented with
retrospective patient chart review from electronic records for
endoscopy, operative, pathological, and clinic reports up to a total
follow up time of 5 years.