Overall Survival in Esophageal Cancer Based on Type, Anatomical Location, and Site of Metastasis

The current study aimed to determine the trends in esophageal cancer (EC) patients and examine the impact of the type and anatomical location of the tumor and the site of metastasis on their survival.

In this retrospective cohort study, we investigated 305 patients with a definite diagnoses of EC, who had been hospitalized at the Mahdie Hospital of Hamadan, Iran, during ten years from 2005-2015. EC-related survival considering different types and locations of the tumor, as well as the sites of metastasis, was evaluated. Survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves and a multivariable Cox regression analysis (MVA) was performed.

Squamous cell carcinoma was found in 76.6% of the patients and 23.4% had adenocarcinoma (AC). There was a significant relationship between the location and pathological type of tumor; 87% of ACs happened in the lower part of the esophagus (P = 0.015). The 1- to 5-year relative survival of the patients was 46%, 25%, 22%, 12%, and 7%, respectively. The rate of death in liver, lung, brain, pancreas, abdomen, and lymph nodes metastasis were respectively 42.9%, 21.4%, 14.3%, 7.1%, 7.1%, and 7.1%. No significant relationships were observed between the tumor type and metastasis (P = 0.14) or between the tumor type and the location of metastasis (P = 0.7).

Similar to other reports, the rate of survival was higher in AC type, yet the rate of total survival in Iran was much lower than that in developed countries. There were no differences in the survival rate concerning the location of the tumor. The obtained results did not show any relationships among the tumor type, the location of metastasis, and the total survival.