title: Prognostic factors of curatively resected esophageal carcinoma associated with multiple metastatic lymph nodes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prognosis of esophageal carcinoma with multiple metastatic lymph nodes is dismal despite radical operation and adjuvant therapy. We investigated prognostic factors for curatively resected esophageal carcinoma with multiple positive nodes.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 1983 to December 2002, 343 patients with thoracic esophageal carcinoma underwent an esophagectomy with curative intent. Of these patients, 82 patients were associated with 4 or more histopathologically positive nodes. Of these patients, 59 patients underwent a curative resection. Of these 59 patients, 7 patients who died of postoperative complications during the hospital stay were excluded. Therefore, 52 patients were enrolled in this study. Survival curves were compared after stratifications according to 14 clinicopathologic variables. Independent prognostic factors were detected using a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cumulative 5-year survival rate for the subjects was 10.6%. The factors affecting cumulative survival rate by a univariate analysis were intramural metastasis (absence vs. presence) (p=0.03), and postoperative therapy (performed vs. not performed) (p=0.02). A multivariate analysis detected the performance of postoperative therapy (Hazard Ratio= 0.390, p= 0.002) and the absence of intramural metastasis (Hazard ratio=0.429, p=0.01) as positive prognostic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The positive prognostic factors for esophageal carcinoma with multiple lymph node metastases were the absence of intramural metastasis and the performance of adjuvant therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan. makihisa@kaiju.medic.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tabira
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuhara
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawasuji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016019:Survival Analysis