Patients with esophageal cancer who survive 5 years after undergoing surgery might breathe a sigh of relief and become complacent about continued monitoring.
READ FULL ARTICLE
From Medical Express
Survivors of esophageal cancer need surveillance beyond 5 years after surgery
the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:
A new study focuses on survival outcomes of patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (LAEC) beyond the 5-year mark.
In this retrospective analysis, researchers reviewed the health records of 355 patients with LAEC who underwent esophagectomy between January 1988 and September 2009.
Most of the patients were men; 52.9% of the group received other treatments as well (ie, chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, or radiotherapy before surgery).
Five years after surgery, 140 patients (39%) were still alive and were then followed-up for a median of 41 months. Overall survival (OS) was 86% at 7 years, 70% at 10 years, and 51% at 15 years. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) was 88% at 7 years and 84% at 10 years.
Almost one-third of patients who developed recurrent disease were still alive 10 years after their first surgery, with most recurrences occurring within the first 5 years.
The researchers report, “The annualized risk of recurrence was 1.4% per year until year 10, when CSS reaches its plateau.”
Although esophageal cancer survivors’ risks of disease recurrence, new primary cancers, or chronic pulmonary disease are low, long-term surveillance should be consider for these patients.
