title: Radical radiotherapy for superficial esophageal cancer: impact of clinical N stage on survival.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To retrospectively analyze the results of radical radiotherapy for patients with superficial esophageal cancer (SEC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight patients with SEC were reviewed. The median dose of external beam radiotherapy was 66 Gy (range, 30 to 70 Gy). Intraluminal brachytherapy was used in 10 patients, and 15 patients (31%) underwent chemotherapy. The median follow-up period was 28 months (range, 4 to 116 months).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen patients had recurrence (11 patients: in-field local recurrence; 3 patients: regional lymph node recurrence; 2 patients: distant metastasis), and the 5-year local control (LC) rate was 74.2%. The 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 44.5% and 48.6%, respectively. Patients with clinical N1 disease (5-year DFS: 0%) had significantly poorer DFS than patients with clinical N0 disease (5-year DFS: 51%, p=0.019).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radical radiotherapy yielded relatively favorable LC rates in patients with SEC, and clinical N stage was a significant prognostic factor for DFS.
authors: Department of Radiology, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
authors: Takuro
authors: T
authors: Ariga
authors: Kazuhiko
authors: K
authors: Ogawa
authors: Hideaki
authors: H
authors: Shimoji
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Karimata
authors: Takafumi
authors: T
authors: Toita
authors: Yasumasa
authors: Y
authors: Kakinohana
authors: Goro
authors: G
authors: Kasuya
authors: Tadashi
authors: T
authors: Nishimaki
authors: Naoki
authors: N
authors: Yoshimi
authors: Sadayuki
authors: S
authors: Murayama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis