Table 1.
Patient and tumor characteristics
| nCRT and surgery (161) | Surgery alone (161) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (year) median [range] | 60 [37–76] | 60 [36–76] | 0.72 |
| Sex (M:F) | 129:34 | 123:38 | 0.41 |
| WHO performance statusa | |||
| 0 | 27 | 20 | 0.28 |
| 1 | 134 | 140 | 0.34 |
| Comorbidity | |||
| Cardiovascular | 45 (28 %) | 40 (25 %) | 0.48 |
| Respiratory | 17 (11 %) | 19 (12 %) | 0.69 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 14 (9 %) | 11 (7 %) | 0.55 |
| Histology | |||
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 37 | 37 | 1.0 |
| Adenocarcinoma | 121 | 120 | 1.0 |
| Undifferentiated carcinoma | 3 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Tumor site | |||
| Proximal esophagus | 2 (1 %) | 3 (2 %) | 1.0 |
| Mid esophagus | 24 (15 %) | 16 (10 %) | 0.23 |
| Distal esophagus | 112 (70 %) | 123 (76 %) | 0.20 |
| Gastroesophageal junction | 23 (14 %) | 17 (12 %) | 0.40 |
| Mortality | |||
| 30-day | 3 (2 %) | 4 (3 %) | 1.00 |
| In-hospital | 5 (3 %) | 6 (4 %) | 0.99 |
| Surgical approach | |||
| Transhiatal esophagectomy | 72 (45 %) | 72 (45 %) | 1.0 |
| Transthoracic esophagectomy | 89 (55 %) | 87 (54 %) | 0.91 |
| Resection with tumour-free margins p(R0) | 148 (92 %) | 111 (69 %) | <0.001 |
Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding
WHO World Health Organization; nCRT neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
aWHO performance status scores are on a scale of 0–5, with lower numbers indicating better performance status; 0 indicates fully active, and 1 unable to carry out heavy physical work