Esophageal cancer surgery in Greece during the era of the financial crisis

• Published in: Diseases of the esophagus 2021-02, Vol.34 (2)
• Main Authors: Schizas, Dimitrios, Mylonas, Konstantinos S, Hasemaki, Natasha, Mpaili, Efstratia, Ntomi, Vasileia, Michalinos, Adamantios, Theochari, Nikoletta A, Theochari, Christina A, Mpoura, Maria, Bakopoulos, Anargyros, Liakakos, Theodoros
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1120-8694; 1442-2050
• DOI: 10.1093/dote/doaa067

The aim of this study is to describe outcomes of esophageal cancer surgery in a quaternary upper gastrointestinal (GI) center in Athens during the era of the Greek financial crisis. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients that underwent esophagectomy for esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer at an upper GI unit of the University of Athens, during the period January 2004-June 2019. Time-to-event analyses were performed to explore trends in survival and recurrence. A total of 146 patients were identified. Nearly half of the patients (49.3%) underwent surgery during the last 4 years of the financial crisis (2015-2018). Mean age at the time of surgery was 62.3 ± 10.3 years, and patients did not present at older ages during the recession (P = 0.50). Most patients were stage III at the time of surgery both prior to the recession (35%) and during the financial crisis (39.8%, P = 0.17). Ivor-Lewis was the most commonly performed procedure (67.1%) across all eras (P = 0.06). Gastric conduit was the most common form of GI reconstruction (95.9%) following all types of surgery (P