The feasibility of post-photodynamic therapy salvage esophagectomy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy.

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive salvage treatment for local residual or recurrent lesions that persist after the definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) of esophageal cancer. However, esophageal cancer persistence after PDT is associated with a poor prognosis. Although esophagectomy is a curative treatment option, few studies have evaluated its efficacy. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of salvage esophagectomy after PDT. 14 patients who underwent salvage esophagectomy for residual or recurrent esophageal cancer after PDT between April 2006 and November 2022 at our institution, were enrolled. The short-term (e.g., blood loss, operative time, R0 rate, postoperative complications, and postoperative hospital stay) and long-term (e.g., overall survival [OS] and recurrence-free survival [RFS]) of salvage esophagectomy after PDT were evaluated retrospectively. The median operative time and intraoperative blood loss were 355min and 350ml, respectively. Eight patients (57.1%) had postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo grade II or more. The median postoperative hospital stay was 20.5days. The 3-year OS and RFS rates were 23.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.7-48.0) and 16.3% (95% CI 2.7-40.3), respectively. Seven patients with an R0 had significantly longer OS than the seven patients with R1 and 2 (p = 0.045). The 3-year OS rate for patients with R0 was 52.6%. Although salvage esophagectomy after PDT carries certain risks, patients who achieved an R0 had a promising long-term prognosis. The location and size of the lesion may be critical factors in determining whether R0 can be achieved with salvage esophagectomy after PDT.