Radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for postoperative recurrence in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The optimal treatment for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients with postoperative recurrence remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the effects of radiotherapy (RT) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on postoperative recurrence in ESCC patients. METHODS: Recurrence ESCC patients who received salvage RT and CRT from January 2015 to January 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Post-recurrence survival (PRS) and prognostic factors were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively. Subgroup analyses were performed based on pathological lymph node (LN) status (negative/positive) to evaluate the differences in salvage treatments and toxic reaction. RESULTS: A total of 170 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 60 years (range 43-77). No significant difference was found in the median PRS between the salvage RT and CRT groups (p > 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that TNM stage III and IV, macroscopic medullary type, and distant metastasis recurrence pattern were independent prognostic factors (all p < 0.05) for PRS. Salvage treatment was not associated with PRS (p = 0.897). However, in patients with negative LN, CRT was associated with prolonged survival (p = 0.043) and had no significant differences in toxic reactions compared to RT (p = 0.924). In addition, RT showed better prognoses (p = 0.020) and lower toxic reactions (p = 0.030) than CRT in patients with positive LNs. CONCLUSIONS: Based on prognosis and toxic reactions, ESCC recurrence patients with negative LNs could benefit from CRT, but RT should be recommended for patients with positive LNs.

Role of Lower Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Margin Location on Abdominal Lymph Node Metastasis Risk.

BACKGROUND: Different sites of esophageal cancer are accompanied by different regional lymph node metastasis (LNM) risks. We aimed to investigate the impact of a lower tumor margin on abdominal LNM risk. METHODS: We enrolled patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal squamous carcinoma (ESCC) from 2014 to 2017 in West China Hospital. Overall survival (OS) analysis was performed. We measured the distance between the lower tumor margin and esophagogastric junction (LED) with upper gastrointestinal contrast-enhanced X-ray (UGCXR). Multivariate logistic regression analysis and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed to explore the relationship between LED and the risk of abdominal LNM. Abdominal LNM risk in ESCC was stratified based on the location of the lower tumor margin. A model predicting abdominal LNM risk was constructed and presented with a nomogram. RESULTS: The included patients had an abdominal LNM rate of 48.29%. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, LED was identified as a risk factor for abdominal LNM. Subgroup analysis of middle ESCC showed that patients with an LED less than 10 cm had a significantly higher rate of abdominal LNM than those with an LED greater than 10 cm. The abdominal LNM rate in middle ESCC patients with an LED less than 10 cm was 32.2%, while it was 35.1% in lower ESCC patients whose lower tumor margin did not invade the esophagogastric junction (EGJ), which was comparable after PSM. CONCLUSIONS: LED could help surgeons evaluate the risk of abdominal LNM preoperatively and better guide dissection of abdominal lymph nodes according to risk level.