Endosonographic assessment of multimodality therapy predicts survival of esophageal carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Standard endosonographic (EUS) staging criteria are unreliable for staging esophageal carcinoma after neoadjuvant therapy; however, measurement of tumor size reduction can identify patients who have achieved a pathologic response. In the current study the authors prospectively compared survival between patients classified as responders and those classified as nonresponders by EUS.
METHODS: The maximal transverse cross-sectional area of the tumor was measured before and after neoadjuvant therapy in patients who were candidates for multimodality treatment. Response was defined as a > or = 50% reduction in tumor area.
RESULTS: A total of 59 patients at 2 centers were followed for a median of 19 months. EUS assessed response in 34 patients (58%). Overall, responders had a median survival of 17.6 months compared with 14.5 months for nonresponders (P < 0.005). Survival was significantly longer in responders compared with nonresponders in the patient subgroup who underwent surgical resection (19.7 months vs. 14.6 months; P < 0. 005), the patient subgroup with adenocarcinoma (21.4 months vs. 10.8 months; P < 0.005), and the patient subgroup initially classified as having T3N1 disease (17.6 months vs. 14.1 months; P < 0.05). Survival was not found to differ significantly between responders and nonresponders in the subgroup of patients with squamous cell carcinoma. EUS response was the only clinical variable that was associated with survival time in a multivariate analysis (relative hazard = 0.27; P < 0.005).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with esophageal carcinoma who respond to neoadjuvant treatment as identified by EUS measurement of reduction in tumor size have a significantly better prognosis than nonresponders. Copyright 2000 American Cancer Society.