Abstract: Objective：To explore the preoperative influencing factors for cervical lymph node metastasis in thoracic midupper esophageal carcinoma patients.Methods：A total of 64 esophageal carcinoma patients were divided into two groups，namely the metastasis group（20 cases）and nonlymph node metastasis group（44 cases）.The preoperative clinical data of the two groups were compared and analyzed the independent risk factors of cervical lymph node metastasis.Results：In the preoperative clinical data of patients with midupper esophageal carcinoma，the results of ultrasound examination included short diameter，aspect ratio，internal echo，RI value were closely related to the occurrence of cervical lymph node metastasis，and were statistically significant（all P<0.05）.Thoracic lymphatic enlargement，thoracic lymphatic enlargement along recurrent laryngeal nerve have significantly difference between the two groups（all P<0.05）.ROC curve analysis demonstrated important significance of short diameter and RI value in predicting cervical lymph node metastasis，with the area under ROC curve being 0.823，0.694，respectively.Logistic regression analysis showed that aspect ratio，thoracic lymphatic enlargements along recurrent laryngeal nerve were independent risk factors for cervical lymph node metastasis in esophageal carcinoma patients.Conclusion：The short diameter，aspect ratio，internal echo，RI value，thoracic lymphatic enlargement and thoracic lymphatic enlargement along recurrent laryngeal nerve may be important indexes in predicting cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with thoracic midupper esophageal carcinoma，moreover，the lymph node aspect ratio，thoracic lymphatic enlargement along recurrent laryngeal nerve are the independent risk factors of cervical lymph node metastases in patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Key words: esophageal carcinoma, cervical lymph node metastasis, risk factor