title: Esophageal Cancer Surgery for Patients with Concomitant Liver Cirrhosis: A Single-Center Matched-Cohort Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cirrhosis is a risk factor with nonhepatic surgery, but only three series regarding esophagectomy are reported. The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score has shown benefit in risk evaluation, but there is no experience regarding esophagectomy. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of surgery for esophageal cancer between cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients and to evaluate whether the MELD score has a prognostic value for risk stratification.
  
  
  METHODS
  From the authors' esophageal cancer database, they selected all the patients with concomitant cirrhosis who underwent surgery with curative intent and a matched cohort of patients without cirrhosis. The preoperative data included demographics, medical history, blood work, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, and MELD score. The operative data included type of surgery, radicality, operative time, and blood loss. The postoperative data included hemoderivatives, 90-day morbidity and mortality rates, lab works, and hospital length of stay. The cirrhotic patients were further divided and analyzed according to a MELD score cutoff of 9.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 3445 esophageal cancer patients, 73 cirrhotic patients underwent surgery. Their 90-day morbidity and mortality rates were higher than those for 146 noncirrhotic patients. The cirrhotic patients also had more respiratory events (p = 0.013) and infections (p = 0.005). The anastomotic complications among the cirrhotic patients were significantly more severe (p = 0.046). No difference in 5-year survival rates was registered. Stratification according to the MELD score showed that patients with a MELD score higher than 9 had a significantly worse postoperative course (5-year survival: p = 0.004). The patients with a MELD score of 9 or lower showed an outcome similar to that of the noncirrhotic patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Liver cirrhosis is not an absolute contraindication to esophagectomy. The MELD score can be applicable for esophagectomy risk assessment for cirrhotic patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy. michele.valmasoni@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1462-8275
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valmasoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa Sefora
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Pierobon
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: De Pasqual
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianpietro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanchettin
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moletta
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salvador
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruol
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Gastroenterological Sciences, School of Medicine, 3rd Surgical Clinic, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merigliano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D057868:Anastomotic Leak / Q000209:etiology; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D058625:End Stage Liver Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007902:Length of Stay; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate