Comprehensive registry of esophageal cancer in Japan, 2016

The registration committee for esophageal cancer in the Japan Esophageal Society (JES) has collected the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of patients who underwent any treatment in 2016 in Japan.

We analyzed data on patients who had visited the participating hospitals in 2016. We collected the data using the National Clinical Database with a web-based data collection system. We used the Japanese Classification of Esophageal Cancer 11th edition by JES and the TNM Classification 8th edition by the Union of International Cancer Control (UICC) for cancer staging. Two committee members (A. O. and M. T.), endorsed by the Japan Esophageal Society and certified by the NCD, analyzed the data.

A total of 9,593 cases were registered from 347 institutions in Japan. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma accounted for 87.5% and 7.2%, respectively. The 5-year survival rates of patients treated by endoscopic resection, concurrent chemoradiotherapy, radiotherapy alone, and esophagectomy were 89%, 36%, 26%, and 59%, respectively. Esophagectomy was performed in 4,988 cases. Minimally invasive approaches were selected for 65.1%, and 57.7% underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy. The 5-year survival rates of esophagectomy cases with pStage 0, I, II, III, IVa, and IVb in the JES system were 83%, 79%, 67%, 40%, 34%, and 27%, respectively. In the UICC system, the survival of surgically resected SCC cases with pStage IVB, mainly due to supraclavicular lymph-node metastasis, was better than that with pStage IVA.

We hope that this report improves all aspects of diagnosing and treating esophageal cancer in Japan.