A Propensity-matched Analysis Comparing Survival After Esophagectomy Followed by Adjuvant Chemoradiation to Surgery Alone for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

PET/CT deep learning prognosis for treatment decision support in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

The clinical decision-making regarding choosing surgery alone (SA) or surgery followed by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (SPOCT) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. We aim to propose a pre-therapy PET/CT image-based deep learning approach to improve the survival benefit and clinical management of ESCC patients.

METHODS

This retrospective multicenter study included 837 ESCC patients from three institutions. Prognostic biomarkers integrating six networks were developed to build an ESCC prognosis (ESCCPro) model and predict the survival probability of ESCC patients treated with SA and SPOCT. Patients who did not undergo surgical resection were in a control group. Overall survival (OS) was the primary end-point event. The expected improvement in survival prognosis with the application of ESCCPro to assign treatment protocols was estimated by comparing the survival of patients in each subgroup. Seven clinicians with varying experience evaluated how ESCCPro performed in assisting clinical decision-making.

RESULTS

In this retrospective multicenter study, patients receiving SA had a median OS 9.2 months longer than controls. No significant differences in survival were found between SA patients with predicted poor outcomes and the controls (p > 0.05). It was estimated that if ESCCPro was used to determine SA and SPOCT eligibility, the median OS in the ESCCPro-recommended SA group and SPOCT group would have been 15.3 months and 24.9 months longer, respectively. In addition, ESCCPro also significantly improved prognosis accuracy, certainty, and the efficiency of clinical experts.

CONCLUSION

ESCCPro assistance improved the survival benefit of ESCC patients and the clinical decision-making among the two treatment approaches.

CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT

The ESCCPro model for treatment decision-making is promising to improve overall survival in ESCC patients undergoing surgical resection and patients undergoing surgery followed by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.

KEY POINTS

ESCC is associated with a poor prognosis and unclear ideal treatments. ESCCPro predicts the survival of patients with ESCC and the expected benefit from SA. ESCCPro improves clinicians' stratification of patients' prognoses.

Completely Resectable (cT1-2) Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Minimal Lymph Node Involvement (cN1): Is Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy the Only Viable Treatment Option?

BACKGROUND

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) is recommended when lymph node metastasis is evident or strongly suspected on preoperative imaging studies, even for a completely resectable (cT1-2) tumor with minimal lymph node involvement (cN1). We evaluated the validity of upfront surgical approach in this patient group.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed data from 247 patients with cT1-2 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent upfront radical esophagectomy followed by the pathology-based adjuvant treatment. Oncologic outcomes of cN1 patients were compared with those of cN0 patients.

RESULTS

There were 203 cN0 and 44 cN1 patients. The lymph node yield was 62.0 (interquartile range [IQR], 51.0-76.0) in cN0 and 65.5 (IQR, 57.5-85.0) in cN1 patients (p = 0.033). The size of metastatic node was 0.6 cm (IQR, 0.4-0.9 cm) in cN0 and 0.8 cm (IQR, 0.5-1.3 cm) in cN1 patients (p = 0.001). Nodal upstaging was identified in 29.1% of cN0 and 40.9% of cN1 patients, whereas 18.2% of the cN1 had no actual lymph node metastasis (pN0). The 5-year disease-free survival rate was not significantly different between the groups (cN0, 74.4%; cN1, 71.8%; p = 0.529). Survival rates were closely correlated with pN stage, and a multivariate analysis revealed that pN2-3 stage was a risk factor for poor disease-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Upfront radical surgery provided accurate nodal staging information, potentially sparing some cN1 patients from unnecessary nCRT while demonstrating comparable survival rates. It might be a valid option for the treatment of cT1-2N1 ESCC.

Extensive clinical target volume in postoperative chemoradiotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a phase II clinical trial (ESO-Shanghai 9)

BACKGROUND

To compare the efficacy and safety of postoperative extensive target volume irradiation with elevated radiation dose and concurrent chemotherapy with radiotherapy only for the postoperative treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

METHODS

This trial was a single-arm phase II trial. Patients who underwent a radical transthoracic resection with negative margins within 3 months and histologically confirmed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (pT3-4N0M0 or pTxN + M0, AJCC 7th) were eligible for this study. Postoperative radiotherapy was performed at a total dose of 45 Gy in 25 fractions with clinical target volumes of the tumor bed, anastomosis, bilateral supraclavicular, mediastinal, left gastric and celiac trunk lymph node areas. Five cycles of weekly TC (paclitaxel 50 mg/m², d1, carboplatin AUC = 2, d1) were given as concurrent chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was the 2-year local control rate, and the secondary endpoints were overall survival, disease free survival, local-regional recurrence free survival, distant metastasis free survival and adverse events. All endpoints were compared with those in ESO-Shanghai 8 study with postoperative radiotherapy alone (40 Gy/20Fx).

RESULTS

A total of 70 patients were enrolled from 2016 to 2018. The 2-year local control rate was 87.9% (95% CI: 83.3-92.3) in this study, which achieved the hypothesized 2-year local control rate of at least 83%. Overall survival, disease free survival, local-regional recurrence free survival and distant metastasis free survival in this study were also longer than those in previous ESO-Shanghai 8 study while most toxicities were increased and two patients in this study died of radiation pneumonitis.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative extensive target volume irradiation with elevated radiation dose and concurrent chemotherapy was effective. Treatment related toxicity was increased due to higher treatment intensity. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02916511.

Development and validation of the novel subclassification of pN3 for patients with esophageal cancer

Background

Patients with stage pN3 esophageal cancer (EC) have a large number of metastatic lymph nodes (mLNs) and have poor prognosis. This study was to elucidate whether subclassification of pN3 according to the number of mLNs could improve the discrimination ability of EC patients.

Methods

This study retrospectively analyzed patients with pN3 EC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database as a training cohort and SEER validation cohort. Patients with pN3 esophageal cancer from the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University were used as the validation cohort. The optimal cutoff value of mLNs was identified using the X-tile software, and group pN3 into pN3-I and pN3-II based on mLNs. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to analyze the disease-specific survival (DSS). The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify the independent prognostic factors.

Results

For the training cohort, patients with 7 to 9 mLNs were categorized as pN3-I, while those with more than 9 mLNs were categorized as pN3-II. There were 183 (53.8%) pN3-I and 157 (46.2%) pN3-II. The 5-year DSS rates of pN3-I and pN3-II in the training cohort were 11.7% and 5.2% (P=0.033), and the pN3 subclassification was an independent risk factor associated with patient prognosis. More RLNs may not improve patient prognosis, but the use of mLNs/RLNs is effective in predicting patient prognosis. Furthermore, the pN3 subclassification was well validated in the validation cohort.

Conclusion

Subclassification of pN3 can better distinguish survival differences in EC patients.

Nomogram for prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell cancer after minimally invasive esophagectomy established based on non-textbook outcome

BACKGROUND

Non-textbook outcome (non-TO) represents a new prognostic evaluation index for surgical oncology. The present study aimed to develop new nomograms based on non-TO to predict the mortality and recurrence rate in patients with esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) after minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE).

METHODS

The study involved a retrospective analysis of 613 ESCC patients, from the prospectively maintained database from January 2011 to December 2018. All the included ESCC patients underwent MIE, and they were randomly (1:1) assigned to the training cohort (307 patients) and the validation cohort (306 patients). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to analyze the differences recorded between overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). In the case of the training cohort, the nomograms based on non-TO were developed using Cox regression, and the performance of these nomograms was calibrated and evaluated in the validation cohort.

RESULTS

Significant differences were recorded for 5-year OS and DFS between non-TO and TO groups (p < 0.05). Multivariate cox analysis revealed that non-TO, intraoperative bleeding, T stage, and N stage acted as independent risk factors that affected OS and DFS (p < 0.05). The results for multivariate regression were used to build non-TO-based nomograms to predict OS and DFS of patients with ESCC, the t-AUC curve analysis showed that the nomograms predicting OS and DFS were more accurate as compared to TNM staging, during the follow-up period in the training cohort and validation cohort. Further, the nomogram score was used to divide ESCC patients into low-, middle-, and high-risk groups and significant differences were recorded for OS and DFS between these three groups (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Non-TO was identified as an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients. The nomograms based on non-TO could availably predict OS and DFS in ESCC patients after MIE.

Propensity score analysis comparing survival between definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the current study is to compare definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with cT1-3/N0-3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in survival.

METHODS

Records from 2008 to 2014 of 4931 patients with clinical T1-3/N0-3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving definitive chemoradiotherapy or esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy were obtained from the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed and propensity score matching was used to minimize the bias. Overall survival was compared between definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, and also in the three different clinical stages.

RESULTS

Definitive chemoradiotherapy was performed on 4381 patients, and 550 patients received esophagectomy adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Each group produced 456 patients for comparison after propensity score matching. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year overall survival rates for matched patients in with definitive chemoradiotherapy group were 57.18%, 31.92%, and 23.8%. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year overall survival rates for matched patients treated in the esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy group were 72.35%, 45.74%, and 34.04%(p<0.0001). In multivariable analysis, treatment modality was an independent prognostic factor. Esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy provided better survival outcome than definitive chemoradiotherapy for patients with clinical stage II/III disease. As for patients with clinical stage I disease, there was no significant survival difference between definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy provided better survival than definitive chemoradiotherapy in clinical II/III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, more data are needed to conduct a convincing conclusion in clinical stage I patients.

Modern Management of Esophageal Cancer: Radio-Oncology in Neoadjuvancy, Adjuvancy and Palliation

The modern management of esophageal cancer is crucially based on a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach. Radiotherapy is involved in neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings; moreover, it includes radical and palliative treatment intention (with a focus on the use of a stent and its potential integration with radiotherapy). In this review, the above-mentioned settings and approaches will be described. Referring to available international guidelines, the background evidence bases will be reviewed, and the ongoing, more relevant trials will be outlined. Target definitions and radiotherapy doses to administer will be mentioned. Peculiar applications such as brachytherapy (interventional radiation oncology), and data regarding innovative approaches including MRI-guided-RT and radiomic analysis will be reported. A focus on the avoidance of surgery for major clinical responses (particularly for SCC) is detailed.

Modern Management of Esophageal Cancer: Radio-Oncology in Neoadjuvancy, Adjuvancy and Palliation

The modern management of esophageal cancer is crucially based on a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach. Radiotherapy is involved in neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings; moreover, it includes radical and palliative treatment intention (with a focus on the use of a stent and its potential integration with radiotherapy). In this review, the above-mentioned settings and approaches will be described. Referring to available international guidelines, the background evidence bases will be reviewed, and the ongoing, more relevant trials will be outlined. Target definitions and radiotherapy doses to administer will be mentioned. Peculiar applications such as brachytherapy (interventional radiation oncology), and data regarding innovative approaches including MRI-guided-RT and radiomic analysis will be reported. A focus on the avoidance of surgery for major clinical responses (particularly for SCC) is detailed.

Modern Management of Esophageal Cancer: Radio-Oncology in Neoadjuvancy, Adjuvancy and Palliation

The modern management of esophageal cancer is crucially based on a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach. Radiotherapy is involved in neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings; moreover, it includes radical and palliative treatment intention (with a focus on the use of a stent and its potential integration with radiotherapy). In this review, the above-mentioned settings and approaches will be described. Referring to available international guidelines, the background evidence bases will be reviewed, and the ongoing, more relevant trials will be outlined. Target definitions and radiotherapy doses to administer will be mentioned. Peculiar applications such as brachytherapy (interventional radiation oncology), and data regarding innovative approaches including MRI-guided-RT and radiomic analysis will be reported. A focus on the avoidance of surgery for major clinical responses (particularly for SCC) is detailed.

Prognostic impact of tumor length in esophageal Cancer: a systematic review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

In clinical studies, it has been observed that esophageal cancer (EC) patient prognosis can be very different even for those patients with tumors of the same TNM stage. Tumor length has been analysed as a possible independent prognostic factor in many studies, but no unanimous conclusion has been reached. Therefore, this review used a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between tumor length and prognosis in EC patients.

METHODS

A systematic search for relevant articles was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used as effective measures to estimate the correlation between tumor length and prognosis, including overall survival, disease-free survival, progression-free survival, disease-specific survival, and cancer-specific survival. STATA 15.0 software was used to perform the meta-analysis and the data synthesis.

RESULTS

Finally, 41 articles with 28,973 patients were included in our study. The comprehensive statistical results showed that long tumors are an independent prognostic parameter associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.21-1.40, p < .001) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.18-1.61, p < .001) in EC patients. Subgroup analyses also suggested a significant correlation between long tumors and poor OS. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias evaluation confirmed the reliability and stability of the results. Similar results were obtained in the analyses of progression-free survival (PFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS).

CONCLUSION

The results of this meta-analysis showed that long tumors were related to poor OS, DFS, PFS, DSS and CSS in EC patients. Tumor length might be an important predictor of prognosis in EC patients, and it can be used as an independent staging index. Further well-designed and large-scale prospective clinical studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Treatment Patterns and Outcomes in Patients with Esophageal Cancer: An Analysis of a Multidisciplinary Tumor Board Database

BACKGROUND

Multidisciplinary management strategies are standard in esophageal cancer. Based on a multidisciplinary tumor board (MTB) database in a high-volume center, we aimed to evaluate real-world treatment patterns and patient outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer. In addition, we determined the impact of MTB discussions on patient prognosis.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer between 2010 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The pattern of treatment modalities and overall survival (OS) of patients with limited, locally advanced, and advanced/metastatic disease were reported.

RESULTS

Data from 1132 patients, including 247 patients with limited esophageal cancer, 606 patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer, and 279 patients with advanced/metastatic esophageal cancer were included. Upfront surgery was the most common (56.3%) treatment modality for patients with limited esophageal cancer, while treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer included upfront surgery (19.1%), neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (44.9%), and definitive chemoradiotherapy (36.0%); however, 27.9% of patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy did not receive planned esophagectomy. Definitive chemoradiotherapy was mainly used for patients with locally advanced and advanced/metastatic disease, but had an incompletion rate of 22.0% and 33.7%, respectively. Regarding survival, the 5-year OS rates were 56.4%, 26.3%, and 5.1% in patients with limited, locally advanced, and advanced/metastatic disease, respectively. Additionally, patients whose clinical management was discussed in the MTB had a significantly better 5-year OS rate than the other patients (27.3% vs. 20.5%, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

We report the real-world data of treatment patterns and patient outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer with respect to multidisciplinary management, and demonstrate the positive impact of MTB discussions on patient prognosis.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of thoracoscopic versus open esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: a population-based study

The question as to whether the clinical benefits of video-assisted thoracoscopic esophagectomy (VATE) do outweigh its increased costs remains unanswered. Here, we analyzed the cost-effectiveness of VATE versus open esophagectomy (OE) in a real-world setting. Using 2008-2015 Taiwanese Health Insurance claim data, we identified 3271 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent transthoracic esophagectomy. By taking into account nine confounding variables, we constructed a 1:1 propensity score-matched sample of patients who underwent VATE or OE (n = 629 each). Direct costs incurred within three years after surgery and survival were analyzed. There were no significant intergroup differences in terms of R0 resection rates, length of stay, as well as 30- and 90-day mortality and unplanned readmission rates. However, the number of dissected nodes was higher in the VATE group (median: 24 vs. 18, P < 0.001). While VATE had higher index hospitalization costs (median, 12331 USD vs. 10730 USD, P < 0.001), cost differences were reduced over time. The average accumulated cost person-month of VATE declined below that of OE at 14 months after hospital discharge. Overall survival (OS) figures were more favorable for patients treated with VATE (3-year OS: 47% vs. 41%; life expectancy: 4.04 life-years [LY] vs. 3.30 LY). The cost-effectiveness plane showed that only 0.3% of all VATE procedures were more costly and less effective than OE. The probabilities for VATE to be cost-effective at the willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds of 10000 and 50000 USD/LY were 63.5% and 92.4%, respectively. Using commonly accepted WTP thresholds, VATE was more cost-effective than OE for patients with esophageal cancer.

Postoperative Adjuvant Therapy Versus Surgery Alone for Stage IIB-III Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Phase III Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Retrospective studies have shown that adjuvant treatment improves survival of patients with stage IIB-III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, but there is no evidence from prospective trials so far.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with pathological stage IIB-III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were randomly assigned to receive surgery alone (SA), postoperative radiotherapy (PORT), or postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (POCRT). PORT patients received 54 Gy in 27 fractions; the POCRT group received 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions, plus concurrent chemotherapy with paclitaxel (135-150 mg/m² ) and cisplatin or nedaplatin (50-75 mg/m² ) every 28 days. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS), and the secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

A total of 172 patients were enrolled (SA, n = 54; PORT, n = 54; POCRT, n = 64). The 3-year DFS was significantly better in PORT/POCRT patients than in SA patients (53.8% vs. 36.7%; p = .020); the 3-year OS was also better in PORT/POCRT patients (63.9% vs. 48.0%; p = .025). The 3-year DFS for SA, PORT, and POCRT patients were 36.7%, 50.0%, 57.3%, respectively (p = .048). The 3-year OS for SA, PORT, and POCRT patients were 48.0%, 60.8%, 66.5%, respectively (p = .048).

CONCLUSION

PORT/POCRT (especially POCRT) may significantly improve DFS and OS in stage IIB-III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The results of this phase III study indicated that postoperative radiotherapy/postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (PORT/POCRT) could significantly improve disease-free survival and overall survival in stage IIB-III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with surgery alone with acceptable toxicities. In-field and out-of-field recurrences were comparable between the POCRT and PORT groups, which demonstrates the rationality and safety of the radiation field used in this study. The postoperative regimens in this trial might be accepted as standard treatment options for pathological stage IIB-III esophageal cancer. Larger sample size prospective randomized trials to identify the value are warranted.

Survival and prognostic factors of patients with esophageal fistula in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of the present study was to investigate the survival and prognostic factors of patients who were with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and developed an esophageal fistula. The data from 221 patients with advanced ESCC developed esophageal fistula from January 2008 to December 2017 at the Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital was retrospectively analyzed. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by the Cox proportional hazard models. The median survival time after a diagnosis of the esophageal fistula was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. We found that the pathogens infected by patients are common bacteria in nosocomial infection. Besides, the incidence rate of esophagomediastinal fistula was the highest (54.2%) in the lower third of the esophagus. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed a median survival time of 11.00 months and a median post-fistula survival time of 3.63 months in patients who developed esophageal fistula in advanced esophageal cancer. In the univariate analysis, gender, therapies for ESCC before the development of fistula, type of esophageal fistula, treatment of esophageal fistula and hemoglobin (Hb) level were the factors with significant prognostic value. Gender, type of esophageal fistula and Hb level were identified as independent prognostic factors in further multivariate analysis. In summary, our study demonstrated that several factors are significantly related to patients with esophageal fistula and should be concerned about in clinical practice.

Preoperative Serum Sodium Level as a Prognostic and Predictive Biomarker for Adjuvant Therapy in Esophageal Cancer

BACKGROUND

Low serum sodium has been associated with unfavorable outcome in several cancers. The prognostic value of serum sodium in esophageal carcinoma (EC) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate preoperative serum sodium in association with outcome and survival benefit of adjuvant therapy for patients with EC.

METHODS

Preoperative serum sodium and clinicopathological indexes were retrospectively analyzed in 2155 patients who underwent esophagectomy at Sichuan cancer hospital. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed by using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. Benefit of adjuvant therapy was estimated by using Propensity Score Matching.

RESULTS

The incidence of hyponatremia and hypernatremia were 2% (43/2155) and 3.5% (76/2155) in treatment-naive patients. Both sodium disorders indicated unfavorable OS (hyponatremia, adjusted HR[95% CI] = 1.78[1.2-2.62]; hypernatremia, adjusted HR = 1.52[1.1-2.11]) and DFS (hyponatremia, adjusted HR[95% CI] = 1.52[1.03-2.23]; hypernatremia, adjusted HR = 1.45[1.06-1.99]). Decreased sodium concentrations within the normal range were associated with poor OS and DFS. Postoperative adjuvant therapy was associated with improved three-year OS (56.6 vs. 40%; adjusted HR = 0.55 [95% CI, 0.41-0.73]) and DFS (51.9 vs. 36.2%; adjusted HR = 0.63 [95% CI, 0.48-0.83]) versus surgery alone in patients with low serum sodium (Na < 139.6 mmol/liter), but not in other sodium subgroups. Meanwhile, serum sodium was inversely correlated with cell counts of leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes and C-reactive protein levels.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggested that low preoperative serum sodium is associated with poor outcome in EC patients, and may predict survival benefit of adjuvant therapy.

Postoperative Radiotherapy for Thoracic Esophageal Carcinoma with Upfront R0 Esophagectomy

Multidisciplinary therapies can improve the survival of patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma. However, the determination of the optimal modality is still a controversial subject. Many randomized controlled trials in the late 20th century showed that there was no survival benefit when postoperative radiotherapy was added to surgery for esophageal carcinoma. As a result, the treatment modality shifted thereafter to neoadjuvant therapies. Even so, these trials are criticized for many limitations and an increasing number of studies (mainly nonrandomized controlled trials) has indicated that postoperative radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy can improve the survival of patients with a poor prognosis after R0 esophagectomy. Additionally, a large number of patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma still choose upfront surgery in the clinical practice due to many reasons. Therefore, postoperative radiotherapy seems to be a feasible treatment for these patients with a poor prognosis, particularly in the new era of conformal radiotherapy. Here, we review published studies on postoperative radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy, and we discuss the clinical issues related to postoperative radiotherapy, such as the indication, target volume, total radiation dosage, time interval and complications of postoperative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy, to make recommendations of postoperative radiotherapy for both current practice and future research in esophageal carcinoma.

Risk Factors and Patterns of Abdominal Lymph Node Recurrence After Radical Surgery for Locally Advanced Thoracic Esophageal Squamous Cell Cancer

Background

We aimed to identify the suitable indication and delineate the target volume based on the pattern of abdominal lymph node recurrence (ALNR) after radical surgery for guiding postoperative radiotherapy in thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer (TESCC).

Methods

Clinical data of patients with locally advanced TESCC after radical surgery without perioperative anti-tumor therapies from June 2011 to June 2016 were reviewed. Logistic regression analysis was used to find out the high-risk factors of ALNR. The pattern of ALNR was analysed and a template CT in the Pinnacle treatment plan system was used to reconstruct the distribution of the sites of ALNR.

Results

A total of 63 (19.57%) patients with 276 lymph nodes of ALNR were identified in 322 patients. Univariate logistic regression indicated that pathological tumor location, width of tumor, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, ratio of lymph node metastasis (LNM), vessel carcinoma embolus, cancerous node, LNM in the middle and lower mediastinum, LNM in the abdominal region, ratio of LNM in the abdominal region were risk factors of ALNR. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only LNM in the abdominal region was an independent risk factor. The odds ratio was 7.449 (95% CI=2.552–22.297, P<0.001). Station 16a2, station 9, station 16b1, and station 8 were the major regions of ALNR. The recurrence rates were 10.56%, 9.63%, 7.14% and 5.28% in these stations, respectively.

Conclusion

Positive pathological abdominal lymph nodes should be the major indication for abdominal irradiation in postoperative radiotherapy for locally advanced TESCC. We recommended that the target volume includes station 8, station 9, station 16a2 and station 16b1 and proposed a specific delineation of the clinical target volume based on the distribution of ALNR on template CT images.

The Prognostic Impact of Extracapsular Lymph Node Involvement in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The role of extracapsular lymph node involvement (ELNI) in esophageal cancer has not been fully investigated. We aim to assess its incidence and prognostic significance in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with and without neoadjuvant treatments.

METHODS

Data of patients who underwent esophagectomy for ESCC in a single medical center was retrospectively reviewed. Patients with positive lymph node involvement were classified as either with ELNI or without ELNI (intracapsular lymph node involvement, ILNI). The impact of ELNI on overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and disease recurrence was analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 336 patients, including 179 without (NCRT -) and 157 with (NCRT +) neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, were included. Seventy-two of 179 (40.2%) patients in NCRT - group were with positive lymph node, of whom 19 (26.4%) had ELNI, whereas 49 (31.2%) patients in NCRT + group had positive lymph node, of whom 25 (51.0%) had ELNI. In NCRT + group, patients with ELNI had worse outcome compared to those with ILNI in 5-year OS (10.4 vs. 13.8%, p = 0.008), and DFS (5.3 vs. 17.5%, p = 0.008). The presence of ELNI was also associated with more distant recurrence (p = 0.03). In contrast, there was no survival difference between patients with ELNI and ILNI in NCRT - group.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with ILNI, ELNI is a significant poor prognostic factor in patients with ESCC treated with neoadjuvant treatments, but not in those with primary surgery.

HERG1 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma growth and metastasis through TXNDC5 by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway

Background

The human ether a-go-go-related gene 1 (HERG1) is involved in tumor progression; however, its role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is not well studied. This study investigated HERG1 function in ESCC progression and elucidated the underlying mechanisms.

Methods

The prognostic value of HERG1 was determined by immunohistochemistry in ESCC biopsies. Cell growth and proliferation were analyzed by colony formation and methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assays. Cell migration and invasion were analyzed by wound healing and Boyden transwell assays. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was evaluated by immunoblotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). A xenograft mouse model was used to validate the tumorigenic and metastatic roles of HERG1 in vivo.

Results

HERG1 expression was overall higher in ESCC tissues compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues. A retrospective analysis of 349 patients with ESCC (stages I–IV) confirmed increased HERG1 expression was associated with disease progression and higher mortality rate. The overall survival of the patients was significantly worse when their tumors displayed higher HERG1 expression. HERG1 knockdown reduced tumor growth and metastasis in athymic mice. HERG1 affected the proliferation, migration, and invasion of two ESCC cell lines (TE-1 and KYSE-30). Changes in HERG1 expression affected the expression of cell cycle- and EMT-related proteins; these effects were reversed by altering the expression of thioredoxin domain-containing protein 5 (TXNDC5), which is also associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with ESCC and is relevant to HERG1 in pathological biopsies. Additionally, HERG1 expression altered phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and AKT phosphorylation, thereby affecting TXNDC5 expression.

Conclusions

HERG1 contributes to poor prognosis in patients with ESCC by promoting ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via TXNDC5 through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Our findings provided novel insights into the pathology of ESCC and role of HERG1 in tumor progression, suggesting that targeting HERG1 has potential diagnostic and therapeutic value for ESCC treatment.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1284-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prognostic significance of tumor length in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing radical resection: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The prognostic significance of tumor length in esophageal cancer (EC) remains controversial. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to quantitatively assess the prognostic significance of tumor length in EC patients.

METHOD

A systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Hazard ratios (HRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the prognostic significance of tumor length for overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) in EC patients.

RESULTS

A total of 21 articles with 22 eligible studies involving 9271 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results of our pooling analyses demonstrated that tumor length was an independent prognostic parameter for OS (HR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.24-1.54, P < .01) and DFS (HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.50, P < .01) in EC patients. Moreover, our subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis showed that the pooled HRs assessing the prognostic significance of tumor length did not significantly fluctuated, suggesting our pooling analyses were stable and reliable.

CONCLUSION

The results of this meta-analysis demonstrated that long tumor is an independent risk of poor OS and DFS in EC patients, suggesting that it may provide additional prognostic information and thus contribute to a better stratification of EC patients, especially for those with no lymph node metastasis. However, more well-designed prospective clinical studies with large sample size are needed to strength our conclusion due to several limitations in this meta-analysis.

Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Versus Upfront Esophagectomy in Clinical Stage II and III Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The benefits of neoadjuvant chemoradiation (NCRT) compared to upfront esophagectomy (UE) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is controversial. Our purpose was to determine whether clinical stages based on the 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging system could guide treatment decision.

METHODS

Data from 2503 patients with clinical stages II and III ESCC diagnosed between 2008 and 2014 were obtained from a nationwide database. Propensity score matching was used to identify well-balanced pairs of patients. Cox proportional hazards regression and log-rank test were used in the survival analysis. The outcomes of patients receiving "NCRT followed by surgery" or "UE" strategies were compared.

RESULTS

The treatment modality (UE or NCRT) was not a prognostic factor in clinical stage II ESCC (HR: 0.97; p = 0.778). In contrast, the UE group demonstrated a significantly worse outcome compared with the NCRT group in clinical stage III ESCC (HR: 1.39; p < 0.001). After matching, patients who underwent UE for clinical stage II ESCC had median survival/3-year overall survival (OS) rates of 27.8 months/39.2% compared with 32.7 months/49.8% in the NCRT group (p = 0.508). The patients who underwent UE for clinical stage III ESCC had median survival/3-year OS rates of 17.9 months/28.2% in the UE group compared with 24.0 months/41.8% in the NCRT group (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that NCRT strategy improved survival compared with UE in clinical stage III ESCC but not in clinical stage II tumors.

The impact of adjuvant therapies on patient survival and the recurrence patterns for resected stage IIa-IVa lower thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

This study evaluated the impact of adjuvant therapies on patient survival and disease recurrence patterns to identify an effective adjuvant therapy for resected lower thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LTESCC).

Methods

Clinical data of 127 patients with stage IIa-IVa LTESCC with a minimum 2-year follow-up after oesophagectomy were analysed. The survival and recurrence patterns were compared among patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, or surgery alone.

Results

Eighty-eight patients (69.3%) were identified as having disease recurrence. The regional lymph node recurrence rate was 57.5%, and the recurrence rates were high in the lower neck, upper mediastinum, and upper abdomen. Compared to surgery alone, adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy significantly decreased the recurrence rate (p < 0.05). Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy significantly improved overall survival, disease-free survival, and locoregional recurrence-free survival compared to surgery alone (p = 0.01, 0.01, and 0.00, respectively). Pathologically positive lymph nodes (PPLNs) in the lower mediastinum represented a potential risk factor for cervical recurrence (HR 2.97, 95%CI 1.19–7.39). Multivariable analysis showed that postoperative radiotherapy (HR 0.30, 95%CI 0.13–0.68) and PPLNs in the upper mediastinum (HR 3.72, 95%CI 1.30–10.67) were independent risk factors for upper mediastinal recurrence, while postoperative radiotherapy (HR 0.37, 95%CI 0.16–0.85) and PPLNs in the abdomen (HR 2.57, 95%CI 1.12–5.92) were independent risk factors for abdominal recurrence.

Conclusion

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was the most effective adjuvant therapy for resected stage IIa-IVa LTESCC. The lower neck, upper mediastinum, and upper abdomen were high-risk regions for postoperative radiotherapy. The regions of PPLNs may be important factors for individual targets.

The role of postoperative radiotherapy for radically resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a systemic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for radical resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. This meta-analysis aims to determine whether PORT achieves survival benefit compared with surgery alone (S alone) for radically resected ESCC.

METHODS

The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant articles. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), reported as hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Six randomized trials and 13 retrospective studies that included a total of 8,198 patients were eligible. PORT provided significant OS benefit compared with S alone in retrospective studies (HR =0.75, 95% CI: 0.65-0.85), but not in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (HR =0.94, 95% CI: 0.81-1.09). PORT was associated with significantly improved DFS and obvious reduction in the risk of locoregional recurrence compared to S alone in either retrospective studies or RCTs. In the subgroup analysis for retrospective studies, PORT gained superior OS in patients with lymph node-positive (pN+), patients with lymph node-negative (pN0) or pT2-3N0, PORT with three-dimensional radiotherapy (3D-RT), PORT with chemotherapy, and patients with R0 resection, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study shows that PORT can improve DFS and decrease risk of locoregional recurrence in patients with radically resected ESCC, and PORT using 3D-RT or in combination with chemotherapy is likely to be more useful. Further well-designed, prospective studies are needed to confirm the effect of PORT on OS.

Application of the Eighth AJCC TNM Staging System in Patients With Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging system separates classifications for the clinical (c), pathologic (p), and postneoadjuvant pathologic (yp) stages. We aimed to evaluate its application in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS

Patient data were obtained from the Taiwan Cancer Registry database. Patients who underwent esophagectomy for c stage I to III ESCC were included for survival analysis.

RESULTS

Data of 3,399, 1,805, and 1,594 patients were included for c, p, and yp staging, respectively. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rates for c stage I, II, and III were 67.4%, 46.7%, and 38.4%, respectively. The 3-year OS rates for p stage I, II, III, and IV were 70.7%, 49.8%, 30.8%, and 10.6%, respectively. The 3-year OS rates for yp stage I, II, III, and IV were 59.4%, 37.8%, 27.6%, and 3.7%, respectively. Survival curve analysis demonstrated a robust discriminatory capability and monotonicity of gradients of the new system. However, yp stage I was observed in a heterogeneous group of patients with substantial survival differences. Meanwhile, patients in the ypT0 N0 stage had a 5-year OS rate of 52.1%, which was equivalent to that of patients with p stage I (54.5%). The 5-year OS rate of patients in the ypTis-2N0 was 39.1%, which was equivalent to that of patients in p stage II (40.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study serves as an external validation of the newly released staging system in the prognostication of patients with ESCC and suggests subgrouping of the yp stage I into ypT0 N0 and non-ypT0 N0 in the future.

Upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation strategy in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Adjuvant chemoradiation is reported to have a survival benefit for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We evaluated the “upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation” strategy, in which adjuvant therapy is guided by pathological stage, in locally advanced ESCC. Data from 2976 clinical stage II/III ESCC patients, including 1735 in neoadjuvant chemoradiation and 1241 in upfront surgery groups, were obtained from a nationwide database. Patients in the upfront surgery group were further categorized into the “upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation” and “upfront surgery only” groups. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rates in the “neoadjuvant chemoradiation”, “upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation”, and “upfront surgery only” groups were 41.5%, 45.8%, and 28.5%, respectively. In propensity score matched patients, the 3-year OS rate was 41.7% in the neoadjuvant chemoradiation group, compared to 35.6% in the “upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation” group (p = 0.147), and 20.3% in the “upfront surgery only” group (p < 0.001). No survival difference was observed between the “neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery” protocol and the “upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation” strategy.

Role of Postoperative Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Carcinoma: A meta-analysis of 2165 Patients

Purpose: This meta-analysis was aimed to evaluate the role of postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (post-CCRT) for esophageal cancer patients after surgery. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, PMC, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases. Studies which compared CCRT with non-CCRT treatment for esophageal cancer patients after surgery were eligible. Outcomes of interest were odds ratios (OR) for overall survival (OS), local-regional recurrence rate, distant metastasis rate and adverse-event rate. Results: Thirteen studies with 2165 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Post-CCRT significantly improved OS for esophageal cancer patients. Comparing the CCRT group with the non-CCRT one, the OR and 95% confidence interval (CI) for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year OS were 1.66 [1.30-2.11], 1.50 [1.24-1.81] and 1.54 [1.22-1.94], respectively. The local-regional recurrence rate was significantly reduced in the CCRT group (OR=0.58, 95% CI=0.46-0.72), but no significant difference was observed in the distant metastasis rate between the CCRT and non-CCRT groups (OR=0.94, 95% CI=0.68-1.30). Post-CCRT didn't increase the risk of pneumonitis, anastomotic stenosis or severe hematologic toxicities. Mild esophagitis in the CCRT group was increased but could be well tolerated. Conclusions: This meta-analysis based on the largest-scale of published literature confirms that post-CCRT yields significant survival benefit and improves local-regional control with tolerable toxicity for patients with esophageal carcinoma.

The Impact of Postoperative Conformal Radiotherapy after Radical Surgery on Survival and Recurrence in Pathologic T3N0M0 Esophageal Carcinoma: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The role of conformal radiotherapy (cRT) in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TESCC) has not been addressed in adjuvant settings. The aim of this study was to investigate whether postoperative radiotherapy using cRT after an R0 resection improves outcomes in pT3N0M0 TESCC compared with resection alone.

METHODS

This study included 678 patients with pT3N0M0 TESCC who were treated at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from January 2004 to December 2011. The patients were divided into two groups: a surgery plus cRT group (S+cRT group) comprising patients who underwent cRT after an R0 resection and a surgery group (S group), comprising a control group of patients who underwent an R0 resection alone. Propensity score matching was used to create patient groups that were balanced across several covariates (n = 83 in each group). Outcome measures included overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and recurrence.

RESULTS

In the overall study cohort, 5-year OS (75.2% versus 58.5%, p = 0.004) and DFS (71.8% versus 49.2%, p = 0.001) rates were significantly higher in the S+cRT group than in the S group. These data were confirmed in the matched samples (5-year OS, 75.7% versus 58.8% [p = 0.017]; DFS, 71.7% versus 50.3% [p = 0.009]). The overall (p = 0.001) and locoregional (p = 0.004) recurrence rates in the S+cRT group were significantly lower than in the S group. Multivariate Cox analyses in the matched samples revealed that surgery and postoperative cRT were independently associated with longer OS (hazard ratio = 0.505, 95% confidence interval: 0.291-0.876, p = 0.015) and longer DFS (hazard ratio = 0.513, 95% confidence interval: 0.309-0.854, p = 0.010) than resection alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative radiotherapy using cRT is strongly associated with improved OS and DFS in patients with pT3N0M0 TESCC. A multicenter, randomized phase III clinical trial is warranted to confirm these findings.

Patterns of recurrence after oesophagectomy and postoperative chemoradiotherapy versus surgery alone for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Patterns of recurrence after surgery with postoperative chemoradiotherapy (S-CCRT) or surgery alone in patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) may differ. This might influence the nature and timing of subsequent management strategies.

METHODS

Patients with SCC who had undergone R0 resection were included. Propensity score matching was used to select matched groups. Survival and recurrence were compared by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to identify prognostic factors for overall and disease-free survival.

RESULTS

A total of 1390 patients were included, of whom 1000 had surgery alone and 390 underwent S-CCRT. Propensity score matching yielded 213 well balanced pairs. The 3-year overall survival rate and median survival time in the S-CCRT group were 0·50 and 36·5 (95 per cent c.i. 25·1 to 52·6) months respectively, compared with 0·38 and 22·8 (18·2 to 29·0) months in the surgery-alone group (P = 0·006). The 3-year disease-free survival rate and median disease-free survival time in the S-CCRT group were 0·46 and 30·6 (22·2 to 39·3) months respectively, compared with 0·36 and 17·6 (11·3 to 23·9) months in the surgery-alone group (P = 0·006). The 2-year freedom from locoregional recurrence rate was 0·87 and 0·77 in the S-CCRT and surgery-alone groups respectively (P = 0·003). In multivariable analysis, independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival included age over 56 years, pT3-4 category, pN category, poor differentiation, tumour length exceeding 4·0 cm, and receiving postoperative chemoradiotherapy (hazard ratio 0·62, 95 per cent c.i. 0·47 to 0·81; P < 0·001).

CONCLUSION

Oesophagectomy with postoperative chemoradiotherapy was associated with longer survival and lower recurrence rates, especially at a locoregional level, compared with surgery alone.