Abstract: Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the digestive tract.Different from that adenocarcinoma is much more common in the West,squamous cell carcinoma is the predominate pathological type in more than 90% patients with esophageal cancer in China,majority of which had the cancer located in the middle and lower thoracic esophagus.Radical resection is still the important treatment for resectable esophageal cancer by now.Based on the anatomy of esophagus and staging of esophagus cancer,surgical treatment for the disease includes endoscopic submucosal dissection,transhiatal esophagectomy,transthoracic esophagectomy,and minimally invasive esophagectomy.The aim of this study was to analysis the “best” surgical treatment for middle and lower esophageal cancer,and to help surgeons for treatment decisionmaking.

Key words: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, esophagectomy, surgical treatment