Outcomes of extended radical esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal cancer

Great controversy exists concerning the adequate extent of esophagectomy for cure in patients with esophageal cancer. Extended radical esophagectomy combined with three-field lymphadenectomy has been performed to improve the cure rates for patients with the disease in Japan. The purposes of this study were to assess the mortality and morbidity rates after extended radical esophagectomy and to determine the oncologic indications for this procedure.

We reviewed 190 patients who underwent extended radical esophagectomy for invasive esophageal cancer. The procedures were performed prospectively between 1982 and 1996.

The 30-day mortality, in-hospital mortality, and morbidity rates were 1.6%, 4.7%, and 58.4%, respectively. The most common postoperative complication was vocal-cord paralysis (45.3%), followed by major pulmonary complications (21.6%). The overall survival rate for the 190 patients was 41.5% at 5 years, with a median followup period of 61 months. Some subgroups of patients had an extremely poor prognosis despite extended radical esophagectomy. Survival was < or = 5 years in all patients with five or more positive nodes; all patients with simultaneous metastases to the cervical, mediastinal, and abdominal lymph nodes; and all patients with cervical metastases from a lower esophageal tumor.

Extended radical esophagectomy is potentially associated with high morbidity rates although the mortality rates are acceptable, suggesting the necessity of careful patient selection. This procedure is indicated oncologically only for patients with four or fewer metastatic nodes or with metastases confined to one or two of the three anatomic compartments (neck, mediastinum, and abdomen) from upper or midesophageal tumors.