Lymphatic metastasis of esophageal cancer is one of the main ways of esophageal cancer metastasis and it is as well one of the most important factors influencing the prognosis of esophageal cancer patients. Compared to intravenous administration of chemotherapy, local chemotherapy has the less toxicity and less systemic side effects. Nano carbon is a safe and effective carrier for intraoperative lymphatic chemotherapy. It plays an important role in tracing and targeting lymph node during the lymphatic chemotherapy. Lymphatic chemotherapy can induce tumor into necrosis and apoptosis. For esophageal cancer, lymphatic chemotherapy is also to be proved to improve the rate of lymph node dissection and the number of metastatic lymph nodes, decrease tumor size, improve the quality of life and survival rate. In conclusion, lymphatic chemotherapy can be considered an assistant therapy to eliminate the tumor cell in lymph nodes and micrometastatic foci. In this review, the metastatic characteristic of esophageal cancer, the significance, mechanism and application of lymphatic chemotherapy carried by nano carbon are summarized.
