Carcinoma of the esophagus: results of treatment

The treatment results of the Rotterdam working group on esophageal cancer during the period January 1970-January 1978 were assessed. A total number of 328 patients were treated: 230 males and 98 females. Of the 133 patients eligible for a combined treatment modality i.e. preoperative radiotherapy and surgery, 52 showed irresectable or metastatic disease during operation. The five year actuarial survival rate of the 81 patients, in whom curative surgical resection of the tumor was performed, amounted to 21%. Females fared better than males, the five year survivals being 42% and 12% respectively. This female preponderance in survival is partly explained by the considerable postoperative mortality of the male patients: 28% vs 7.4% in females. Patients who received only radiation therapy, whether curative or palliative, had a very bad prognosis. It is concluded that preoperative irradiation followed by surgical removal of the tumor should be performed in all operable-curable patients.