Adenocarcinoma in situ arising from the submucosal oesophageal mucous glands

The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus is increasing; this type of carcinoma commonly arises on Barrett's oesophagus. We report a case of in-situ adenocarcinoma of the lower oesophagus arising in submucosal oesophageal mucous glands without intestinal metaplasia. We describe the histological findings, discuss the difficulties of differentiating this from invasive disease and review the current literature regarding this rare condition. (C) 2003 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.