Lugol staining and histological evaluation of esophageal mucosa in achalasia.

Background/aims: Esophageal cancer in achalasia is often diagnosed in the advanced stage, which makes for a poor prognosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the macroscopic and histological features of the esophageal mucosa in order to improve the early detection of cancer.

Methodology: We studied the macroscopic features of esophageal mucosa using Lugol's solution and compared them with histological analysis of the entire mucosa in 20 esophagectomy specimens resected for achalasia.