Cryoballoon ablation as salvage therapy after nonradical resection of a high-risk T1b esophageal adenocarcinoma: a case report

Although esophagectomy with or without (neo)adjuvant chemoradiation therapy is the current standard of care for patients with early esophageal adenocarcinoma with high-risk features or after nonradical endoscopic resection of an early esophageal adenocarcinoma, not all patients are eligible for surgery due to varying reasons. In these patients, cryoballoon ablation may serve as an alternative treatment option considering the potential of deeper tissue ablation as compared to heat-based ablation techniques. We report the first case in which cryoballoon ablation was successfully performed as salvage therapy with a curative intent for positive deep resection margins after an incomplete endoscopic resection of a recurrent early esophageal adenocarcinoma.