Abstract
The use of radioactive phosphorus (32P) in combination with a miniature Geiger counter passed through the esophagoscope was evaluated in 204 tests on 198 patients during a 10-year period. In 66 patients with primary cancer of the esophagus the method was 96% accurate, and in 28 patients with gastric cancer invading from below it was 93% accurate. There were 4 falsely positive results in 27 patients with esophagitis (85% accurate), 1 in 9 cases of cardiospasm or achalasia, and 2 in 68 control cases (97% accurate). The test was especially useful in 6 cases of primary esophageal carcinoma without gross mucosal involvement and in delineating extent of esophageal involvement in gastric cancer. It is not a survey method, but may be decisive in the occasional symptomatic patient without definite roentgenographic or esophagoscopic evidence of cancer.
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