Abstract
BackgroundEsophageal cancer carries a poor prognosis with an overall 5-year survival of less than 20%. However, the causes of death in patients with esophageal cancer have not been well described.MethodsThis nationwide, population-based cohort study included 18 229 esophageal cancer patients who were diagnosed between 1961 and 2014 in Sweden. We assessed the distribution of main causes of death in patients with esophageal cancer and used competing-risks regression to compare the cause-specific risks of death across sexes, ages at diagnosis, and calendar periods of diagnosis.ResultsA total of 16 938 (92.9%) patients died during follow-up. Esophageal cancer accounted for 79.5% of all reported deaths. Other major causes of death were non-esophageal cancers (9.8%), ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease (4.2%) and respiratory diseases (1.3%). Female patients had a lower risk of death from esophageal cancer (sub-hazard ratio [SHR]=0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87, 0.94), which was more pronounced in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SHR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.89). Risks of death from esophageal cancer and other cancers in patients who were diagnosed in more recent calendar periods were lower than in those diagnosed in earlier periods.ConclusionsPatients diagnosed with esophageal cancer are more likely to die from this cancer than from other causes. However, these patients also face considerable risk of death from other cancers, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and respiratory diseases. These common causes of death should be taken into consideration in esophageal cancer management.
Highlights
Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common type of malignancy and the sixth leading cause of cancer death globally. [1, 2] There are two main histological types, i.e., esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC)
ESCC accounts for approximately 90% of all cases of esophageal cancer worldwide, the incidence of EAC has been rapidly increasing in many regions, including Europe and North America, during the past four decades. [3, 4]
This study included 18 229 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer, including 10 230 (56 %) cases of ESCC, 5 140 (28 %) cases of EAC, and the remaining cases were diagnosed with other (n = 2 189, 12 %) or unspecified (n = 670, 4 %) histology
Summary
Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common type of malignancy and the sixth leading cause of cancer death globally. [1, 2] There are two main histological types, i.e., esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Esophageal cancer carries a poor prognosis with the overall 5-year survival following diagnosis lower than. [6,7,8] A high incidence of secondary malignancies in patients with esophageal cancer has been noted. Total Sex Male Female Age at diagnosis, years 5. This population-based study to assess causes of death in patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer in Sweden over more than 5 decades. Esophageal cancer carries a poor prognosis with an overall 5-year survival of less than 20%. The causes of death in patients with esophageal cancer have not been well described
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