Survival rates for Esophageal cancer in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Esophageal cancer is often diagnosed at a stage in which the opportunity to completely cure the patients is long gone and the patient’s survival chances are very low. Different studies have estimated very different survival times for patients suffering from esophageal cancer in different parts of the country hence there is no common estimation about the survival time for cancer patients in Iran. Objective of this meta-analysis is to determine the survival time for patients suffering from esophageal cancer in Iran.

A systematic review was carried out based on domestic medical databases including: SID, MagIran, Irandoc and Iranmedex as well as reliable foreign databases like PubMed using “cancer” and “survival” as keywords. All reviewed articles and dissertations, which met the entry criteria, were analyzed regardless of the publication date. The data were analyzed by using meta-analysis method (random model) and by means of STATA software application version 11.1

Data from 18 studies were included 2932 people with esophageal cancer had been studied. One year survival chance was estimated at 47 percent (95% CI: 34-61) and the five year survival chance was estimated at 12% (95% CI: 8-16). The two, three and four year survival chances were 31% (95% CI: 18-44), 22% (95% CI: 13-31) and 21% (95% CI: 4-38). Lowest and highest 5-year survival rate were documented from Tehran, (4%) and Rasht, (80%), respectively.

According to this study the one year survival rate of esophageal cancer in Iran, is almost 4 times the survival rate of five years also 5-year survival in Iran is lower than many parts of the world. Screening for esophageal cancer in at risk population is essential for early diagnosis and improved survival rates, Keywords: Cancer, Esophagus, Survival, Meta-analysis, Systematic review.