Introduction and importance: Hypopharyngeal carcinoma (HC) is a relatively rare malignancy, with an incidence of approximately 0.7 per 100 000 individuals. The early detection rate of hypopharyngeal carcinoma is low, ranging from 4% to 13%. Synchronous early detection of esophageal cancer (EC) and hypopharyngeal carcinoma occurs in approximately 15% of cases. Gastrointestinal endoscopy with image-enhanced endoscopy (IEE) using narrow-band imaging (NBI) is a valuable tool for synchronous early detection of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a minimally invasive, safe, and effective method for endoscopic resection. Presentation of case: We reported the case of a 46-year-old Vietnamese male diagnosed with synchronous early-stage left pyriform sinus cancer and EC diagnosed using gastrointestinal endoscopy with image-enhanced endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (IEE-NBI). Both lesions were successfully resected en bloc using ESD. After 24 months of follow-up, there were no new lesions or metastases from the tumor. Clinical discussion: This case highlights the application of NBI classification according to intrapapillary capillary loops morphology under IEE–NBI endoscopy for the diagnosis of synchronous early HC and EC and the prediction of the invasion depth based on microvessel morphology. Conclusion: Gastroenterologists should be vigilant in observing the pharynx with IEE-NBI for patients with EC to facilitate early detection of HC, and vice versa.
Nguyen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.