Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is superior to chemoradiotherapy in esophageal squamous cell cancer patients with resectable supraclavicular lymph node metastasis: a propensity score-matched analysis

• Published in: Annals of translational medicine 2022-03, Vol.10 (6), p.349-349
• Main Authors: Yu, Yongkui, Xu, Lei, Chen, Xiankai, Li, Haomiao, Liu, Qi, Zhang, Ruixiang, Xie, Hounai, Chen, Yongfeng, Yuan, Ling, Tan, Bo, Li, Yin, Xing, Wenqun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original
• ISSN: 2305-5839; 2305-5839
• DOI: 10.21037/atm-22-577

Multiple clinical trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy in esophageal cancer but exhibited mixed results, indicating that the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy remains controversial in the treatment of esophageal cancer. Our study was conducted to investigate the value of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with esophageal cancer with supraclavicular lymph node metastases. We retrospectively enrolled 231 patients who had resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with supraclavicular lymph node metastases from June 2008 to November 2018. All patients were divided into three groups: the neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery (Neo + S) group, the radical chemoradiotherapy (CRT) group, and the single radiotherapy (RT) group. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to exclude the impact of potential interferences. Kaplan-Meier analysis, the log-rank test, and competitive risk model analysis were used to assess the efficacy of different therapeutic methods. Patients in the Neo + S group had a better 3-year survival rate (72.0% 35.8%; P=0.005), progression-free survival (PFS) (24 14 months; P