Table 2.

Patterns of distant metastases for the 3218 patients with stage IV esophageal cancer

Sites of distant metastases	n
One site of distant metastasis
Distant lymph node	544
Bone	278
Brain	56
Liver	702
Lung	305
Two sites of distant metastasis
Distant lymph node + bone	88
Distant lymph node + brain	18
Distant lymph node + liver	260
Distant lymph node + lung	117
Bone + brain	22
Bone + liver	118
Bone + lung	51
Brain + liver	20
Brain + lung	9
Liver + lung	233
Three sites of distant metastases
Distant lymph node + bone + liver	62
Distant lymph node + bone + lung	32
Distant lymph node + liver + lung	142
Distant lymph node + bone + brain	5
Distant lymph node + brain + liver	2
Distant lymph node + brain + lung	3
Bone + liver+ lung	52
Bone + brain+ liver	10
Bone + brain+ lung	6
Brain + liver + lung	12
Four sites of distant metastases
Distant lymph node + bone + liver + lung	41
Distant lymph node + bone + brain + liver	5
Distant lymph node + bone + brain + lung	6
Distant lymph node + brain + liver + lung	4
Bone + brain + liver + lung	10
Five sites of distant metastases	5