Outcomes of recurrence after complete response to definitive chemoradiotherapy for stage II/III (non–T4) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

179 Background: Recurrence after definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) for locally advanced esophageal cancer is associated with poor outcome. We examined patterns of recurrence and clinical outcomes in patients with recurrence after complete response (CR) to dCRT. Methods: We retrospectively investigated 238 patients who had achieved initial CR after dCRT for locally advanced esophageal cancer between January 2000 and December 2010. From among these patients we selected 95 who had developed disease recurrence after CR. Overall survival was defined as survival time from recurrence to death and was calculated by using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with the Cox regression model to determine prognostic factors for survival. Results: The characteristics of the 95 patients were as follows: male: female = 84:11; median age = 64 years (range 46 to 80); clinical stage at diagnosis (UICC 6th edition) IIA/IIB/III = 20/31/44; and performance status at recurrence (0/1) = (51/44). Primary CRT consisted of 5-FU+cisplatin (n = 87), 5-FU+nedaplatin (n = 3), S-1+cisplatin (n = 3), 5-FU+cisplatin+ nimotuzumab (n = 1), or docetaxel (n = 1). The pattern of recurrence was locoregional failure (n = 53) or any distant failure (n = 42). Median time from the start of dCRT to recurrence was 13.0 months, and median survival time from recurrence to death was 19.6 months. Median survival time according to the pattern of failure was 34.7 months (locoregional failure) or 17.0 months (any distant failure). Application of the Cox regression model, including the additional prognostic variables of age, ECOG performance status, number of organs in which metastases were present, and LDH, revealed that any distant failure (hazard ratio [HR] 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2 to 4.1; P = 0.01) and recurrence before 13.0 months (HR 2.1; 95% CI 1.2 to 3.6; P = 0.01) were predictors of poor overall survival. Conclusions: Early recurrence and any distant failure were associated with poor prognosis after CR to dCRT for locally advanced esophageal cancer.