Table 2.
Pathological stages and histological tumour responses in patients with oesophageal cancer that underwent 2 vs. 3 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).
| Characteristic | Category | 2 NAC courses (N = 88) | 3 NAC courses (N = 85) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pT stage | 0 | 8 (9.1%) | 14 (16.5%) | 0.333 |
| Tis | 0 (0%) | 1 (1.2%) | ||
| 1 | 25 (28.4%) | 19 (22.3%) | ||
| 2 | 14 (15.9%) | 18 (21.2%) | ||
| 3 | 40 (45.5%) | 34 (40.0%) | ||
| 4 | 1 (1.1%) | 0 (0%) | ||
| Number of pNs | 1 (0–22) | 1 (0–12) | 0.214 | |
| pN stage | 0 | 39 (44.3%) | 30 (35.3%) | 0.584 |
| 1 | 32 (36.4%) | 35 (41.2%) | ||
| 2 | 13 (14.8%) | 16 (18.8%) | ||
| 3 | 4 (4.5%) | 4 (4.7%) | ||
| pM stage | 0 | 85 (96.6%) | 76 (89.4%) | 0.058 |
| 1 | 3 (3.4%) | 9 (10.6%) | ||
| pStage | 0 | 5 (5.7%) | 11 (12.9%) | 0.077 |
| I | 19 (21.6%) | 12 (14.1%) | ||
| II | 33 (37.5%) | 24 (28.2%) | ||
| III | 28 (31.8%) | 29 (34.2%) | ||
| IV | 3 (3.4%) | 9 (10.6%) | ||
| Lymphatic invasion | Absent | 60 (68.2%) | 53 (62.4%) | 0.550 |
| Present | 27 (30.7%) | 29 (33.0%) | ||
| Unknown | 1 (1.1%) | 3 (3.6%) | ||
| Venous invasion | Absent | 67 (76.1%) | 63 (74.1%) | 0.930 |
| Present | 20 (22.7%) | 19 (22.4%) | ||
| Unknown | 2 (2.2%) | 3 (3.5%) | ||
| Residual tumour | R0 | 86 (97.7%) | 82 (96.5%) | 0.621 |
| R1/2 | 2 (2.3%) | 3 (3.5%) | ||
| Histopathological tumour response | Grade 0 | 3 (3.4%) | 2 (2.4%) | 0.898 |
| Grade 1a | 27 (30.7%) | 31 (36.4%) | ||
| Grade 1b | 23 (26.1%) | 18 (21.2%) | ||
| Grade 2 | 27 (30.7%) | 21 (24.7%) | ||
| Grade 3 | 8 (9.1%) | 13 (15.3%) |