Gender differences in prognosis after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer

The purpose of this study was to clarify the gender differences in the prognosis, as well as mortality and morbidity, of patients who have undergone esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.

The clinical results of esophagectomy were compared between 975 male and 156 female patients with esophageal cancer.

The male to female ratios of cervical and thoracic esophageal cancer were 1.87 and 7.38, respectively (P < 0.01). The incidence of preoperative comorbidities was 32.4 and 17.4 %, respectively, and the rates of both tobacco and alcohol abuse were significantly lower in the females than in the males. The mortality rate was lower in the females (3.8 %) than in the males (5.7 %), although the differences were not significant. The overall survival was significantly better in the female than in the male patients (P = 0.039). The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 32.6 and 20.5 % in the males and 39.5 and 32.5 % in the females, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed gender to be an independent prognostic factor. However, no significant differences were recognized in disease-specific survival.

These results suggest that the prognosis of females with esophageal cancer is better than that of males after esophagectomy, most likely due to multiple clinical factors, such as a more favorable lifestyle and general status.