Short- and long-term survival of esophageal cancer patients treated at the Cancer Institute of Iran.
BACKGROUND
Little data is available on the prognosis of esophageal cancer (EC) in Iran. We studied the short- and long-term survival of EC patients treated at the Cancer Institute of Iran.


METHODS
619 patients were followed who had been operated in the years 1997-2006. The 1-month to 5-year survival rates of EC and hazard ratios (HR) for different prognostic factors were estimated.


RESULTS
Median survival was 11.5 months and 5-year survival was 10%. Patients at the advanced stage had a 2.1-fold higher risk of mortality compared to the early stage (95% CI 1.2-3.4). One-month mortality decreased from 12.2 in 1997-1999 to 9.1% in 2003-2006. In the first month, patients who were diagnosed in 2003-2006 had a significantly (60%) lower HR compared to 1997-1999 (HR = 0.4, 95% CI 0.1-0.9). In addition, patients with cardiopulmonary complications had an 11.7-fold higher HR compared to patients without complications (95% CI 4.7-29.3).


CONCLUSIONS
The 5-year survival rate for operated EC patients was considerably low in Iran. Cardiopulmonary complications were the strong prognostic factors for first-month mortality. We suggest improving the pre- and postoperative care of EC to control these complications. Regular monitoring of patient survival is recommended to evaluate the effect of this intervention.
Cancer Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Reza
MR
Mir
Mojtaba Vand
MV
Rajabpour
Mojtaba Maleki
MM
Delarestaghi
Mrayam
M
Hadji
Iraj
I
Harirchi
Parisa
P
Mir
Ali
A
Mir
Marzieh
M
Lashkari
Kazem
K
Zendehdel
D000047:Academies and Institutes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000379:methods