Table 2 Relationships between various clinicopathological parameters and findings of isolated tumour cells.
| Variable | Positive (%) | Negative (%) | p‐Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| All patients | 12 (8) | 134 (92) | |
| Male | 7 (7) | 94 (93) | NS |
| Female | 5 (11) | 40 (89) | |
| Age | 60 (9) | 61 (10) | NS |
| Mean (SD) | |||
| Pathological tumour stage | |||
| Tis | 0 (0) | 4 (100) | |
| T0 | 1 (4) | 26 (96) | |
| T1 | 1 (4) | 25 (96) | NS |
| T2 | 2 (11) | 17 (89) | |
| T3 | 5 (9) | 49 (91) | |
| T4 | 2 (100) | 0 (0) | |
| Histology | |||
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 1 (2) | 48 (98) | |
| Adenocarcinoma | 11 (12) | 82 (88) | NS |
| Other | 0 (0) | 4 (100) | |
| Differentiation | |||
| Well | 1 (6) | 17 (94) | |
| Moderately | 4 (6) | 65 (94) | NS |
| Poorly | 6 (16) | 31 (83) | |
| Undifferentiated | 1 (5) | 20 (95) | |
| Tumour site | |||
| Upper oesophagus | 0 (0) | 3 (100) | |
| Middle oesophagus | 0 (0) | 21 (100) | NS |
| Lower oesophagus | 5 (9) | 52 (91) | |
| OG junction | 7 (11) | 58 (89) | |
| Treatment | |||
| Surgery alone | 9 (12) | 67 (88) | NS |
| Multi‐modal | 3 (4) | 67 (96) | |
| Barrett's oesophagus | |||
| Yes | 5 (12%) | 37 (88%) | NS |
| No | 7 (7%) | 96 (93%) | |
| No of dissected lymph nodes, mean (SD) | 16 (9) | 11 (13) | NS |
| Tumour length (cm) | 2.7 (0.9) | 3.5 (1.9) | NS |
OG, oesophagogastric; Tis, tumour in situ.