Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is not associated with a higher complication rate vs. surgery alone in patients undergoing esophagectomy.

Recent studies have claimed a higher rate of perioperative complications related to the use of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of esophageal cancer. We tested the hypothesis that neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has no significant effect on the perioperative complication rate. Data on 155 patients with esophageal carcinoma treated between 1996 and 2001 were collected in a prospective database. This included 61 patients (40%) treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (group I) and 94 patients (60%) who underwent esophagectomy alone (group II). Neoadjuvant therapy consisted of two courses of cisplatinum and continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil with radiation followed by esophagectomy. Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy was performed in 146 (94%) and a transhiatal resection in nine (6%). The two groups (I vs. II) were comparable in terms of age (61.3+/-11 years vs. 64.8+/-11 years), diagnosis (adenocarcinoma: 82% vs. 83%; squamous cell carcinoma:11% vs. 16%), and stage (stage 0 to I: 39% vs. 38%; stage II: 25% vs. 34%; stage III: 30% vs. 24%; and stage IV: 6% vs. 4%). The neoadjuvant group had 23 complete responses, 11 partial responses, and 27 nonresponses. There were 39 complications (25.1%) for the cohort, which included three deaths (1.9%) and four anastomotic leaks (2.6%) demonstrated by Gastrografin swallow (1 in group I vs. 3 in group II. Only one leak required reoperation (group II); all others responded to conservative treatment. Group I had 14 complications (22.9%) vs. 25 (26.5%) in group II (P=NS). Groups were comparable with respect to the rate of pulmonary events (4.9% vs. 6.3%), arrhythmias (6.5% vs. 8.5%), and stricture formation (6.5% vs. 7.4%). Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer was not associated with increased perioperative morbidity or mortality. Complete response to chemoradiotherapy also did not affect the complication rate (26% vs. 22%).