Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) examination showed that: (a) the right hypopharyngeal wall was thickened with increased metabolism, hypopharyngeal cancer was considered, (b) the esophageal wall was limited to hypermetabolic foci at the level of the thoracic 6-10 vertebral body, which was considered esophageal carcinoma, infiltrated to the plasma membrane layer and involved the gastric cardia, (c) the right submandibular hypermetabolic lymph node, the small lymph nodes adjacent to the lower esophagus and the gastric cardia had slightly higher metabolism, which were all considered to be metastatic cancer.