Adjuvant strategies for patients with T1b invasion after endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective·To compare the prognostic effects of radical resection of esophageal cancer, concurrent chemoradiotherapy and simple follow-up observation on the prognosis of patients with T1b invasion of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).Methods·From May 2016 to May 2021, the clinical data of 67 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were pathologically confirmed as pT1b after ESD and treated in Shanghai Chest Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the additional treatment after ESD, the patients were divided into additional surgery group (S group), chemoradio-therapy group (CRT group) and observation group (O group). χ2 test was used to compare the clinical baseline data and pathological information of the three groups of patients. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to compare the disease free survival (DFS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) of the three groups of patients, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used on DFS and RFS by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results·Among all 67 patients, there were 23 cases in the S group, 19 cases in the CRT group, and 25 cases in the O group. There was no significant difference in age (P=0.080), gender (P=0.078), tumor length (P=0.485), tumor location (P=0.655), lesion circumferential ratio (P=0.310), histological grading (P=0.084), depth of tumor invasion (P=0.066) and lymphovascular invasion (P=0.279) among the three groups. During (42.6±16.7) months of follow-up, tumor recurrence was observed in 10 cases (14.9%), including 6 patients (60%) with local recurrence, 2 patients (20%) with regional lymph recurrence and 2 patients (20%) with distant metastasis. The median recurrence time of group S, group CRT, and group O was 40.1, 36.6, and 22.1 months, and the 3-year DFSs were 100%, 89.5%, and 74.5% (P-trend=0.040). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that additional esophagectomy was the key to improving independent protective factors of RFS (HR=0.097, 95%CI 0.010‒0.956, P=0.046).Conclusion·For patients with superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma confirmed as pT1b after ESD, additional surgery can significantly reduce the possibility of long-term recurrence.

Keywords

• superficial esophageal cancer
• esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
• pathology stage
• endoscopic submucosal dissection
• additional treatment