Update on Neoadjuvant Regimens for Patients with Operable Oesophageal/Gastrooesophageal Junction Adenocarcinomas and Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Genetic Variants in EGFR/PLCE1 Pathway Are Associated with Prognosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma after Radical Resection

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most deadly malignant diseases. Several studies revealed that variations of the phospholipase C epsilon 1 (PLCE1) gene were associated with EC susceptibility. PLCE1 is located downstream of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. Presently, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of EGFR/PLCE1 genes and their associations with EC survival remain unclear. In this study, the associations between genetic variants in the EGFR/PLCE1 pathway and prognosis in 124 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients with radical resection were explored. The results showed that CC genotype of both PLCE1 rs17109671 and EGFR rs2072454 was associated with ESCC prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with the two unfavorable genotypes had the worst overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) (HR=6.099, 95%CI=1.903-19.552; HR=3.994, 95%CI=1.49-10.702, respectively). Additionally, combination of SNPs and tumor stage could better predict OS (for AUC, 0.774 vs. 0.709) and PFS (for AUC, 0.773 vs. 0.704) than tumor stage alone. In conclusion, genetic variants of the EGFR/PLCE1 may be predictors of the prognosis of ESCC after surgery. The individuals with the CC genotype of PLCE1 rs17109671 and EGFR rs2072454 should receive more aggressive treatments.

Prognostic value of lymphovascular invasion in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Whether lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) should be considered an independent prognostic factor for survival is controversial. The aim of this report was to investigate the prognostic value of LVI for patients with ESCC.

Methods

Between October 2010 and July 2011, 152 ESCC patients were retrospectively reviewed. All of the patients underwent curative resection as their primary treatment. Clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) rate were investigated. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to calculate the OS rate, and the prognostic factors were identified by Cox regression model.

Results

Positive LVI was found in 49 (32.2%) patients. Patients with negative LVI had a significantly better 5-year OS rate than those with positive LVI (52.9% vs. 28.8%; P=0.000). The age, T stage, N stage, tumor differentiation, and LVI were demonstrated to be significant prognostic factors for OS through univariate analyses. LVI was confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for OS through multivariate survival analyses. Subgroup analyses revealed that LVI was associated with a decreased OS in node-negative patients, and no significant difference was observed in node-positive cases.

Conclusions

Our study highlighted that LVI is an independent prognostic factor in patients with resectable ESCC. LVI may facilitate the stratification of patients with poor survival.

Radiation With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Does Not Improve Outcomes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Cancer

BACKGROUND

Neoadjuvant treatment improves survival for patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Recent evidence suggests that neoadjuvant chemoradiation offers no advantage over chemotherapy alone before surgical resection for adenocarcinoma histology. We sought to examine if this applies to patients with squamous cell histology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The National Cancer Database was queried for patients who underwent treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus from 2004 to 2012. Patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy before esophagectomy were compared with those undergoing chemotherapy and radiation before surgical resection. Associations between potential covariates and treatment were analyzed using the Pearson chi-square test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables. Univariate and multivariate proportional hazards modeling results were used to assess the effect of treatment on overall survival. Relative prognosis was summarized using estimates and 95% confidence limits for the hazard ratio. Unadjusted differences in overall survival and disease-specific survival between the treatment are shown using Kaplan-Meier methods.

RESULTS

A total of 902 patients underwent neoadjuvant therapy before surgical resection during the study period, with 827 receiving chemotherapy and radiation, and 75 receiving chemotherapy alone preoperatively. The 30- and 90-d mortality for patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation followed by surgery were 5.4% and 10.4% compared to 5.5% and 11.1% for patients who received chemotherapy alone preoperatively (P = 0.963 and P = 0.856), respectively. Median overall survival for patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation was 36.0 mo versus 40.8 mo for chemotherapy alone. The 5-y survival was 39% for the chemotherapy and radiation group and 43% for the chemotherapy group (logrank P = 0.7212).

CONCLUSIONS

For patients undergoing neoadjuvant treatment before planned surgical resection of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, the addition of radiation to neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not improve long-term survival and did not appear to impact short-term outcomes postoperatively. Further study with a randomized phase III trial is needed.