It is a common observation that benign tumors of the esophagus are of rare occurrence. In 1933 Patterson1 was able to assemble only 63 cases from the world's literature, and since that time case reports have been few and scattered. The actual rate of occurrence may be slightly higher than the figures indicate. Benign tumors often are asymptomatic and are encountered accidentally at autopsy. Since a "routine" autopsy often does not include thorough examination of the esophagus, it must be presumed that a certain percentage of such tumors are never discovered.
Within the group of benign neoplasms, those tumors which are grossly polypoid or pedunculated appear to be of somewhat greater interest and importance than the others. To judge from the literature, they account for slightly more than one third of all benign lesions. Exception might be taken to any classification of tumors based on size and shape alone.