Tumor depth predicts esophageal cancer recurrence after surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The depth of tumor invasion is a significant predictor of recurrent disease following complete resection of esophageal carcinoma, according to a report published in the April 1st issue of Cancer.

The finding is based on a study of 439 consecutive patients who underwent complete resection of esophageal cancer at one French hospital between January 1982 and July 2002. The average follow-up period was 37.3 months.The overall 1- and 5-year survival rates were 91% and 41%, respectively, study author Dr. Jean-Pierre Triboulet and colleagues, from Hopital Claude Huriez in Lille, France, and colleagues note.Just over half of the patients developed a proven recurrence. Of these 230 patients, only 24 were alive at latest follow-up. The median time to recurrence was 12 months and the median survival after recurrence was 7 months.In terms of recurrence pattern, regional was the most common, observed in 20.5% of cases, followed by distant and local, the researchers state. The histologic subtype was found to have a significant effect on the overall pattern of dissemination (p = 0.021).On multivariate analysis, the only factor that was found to predict recurrent disease was the depth of tumor invasion based on histologic assessment (p = 0.001), the investigators note. The findings indicate that “depth of tumor invasion should be used to identify patients who will have recurrence within 12 months of operation, so that these patients may be either entered into trials of multimodality treatment or offered nonsurgical palliation,” Dr. Triboulet and colleagues advise.(Source: Cancer 2003;97:1616-1623: Reuters Health: April 25, 2003: Oncolink)