Survival benefit of radiotherapy to patients with small cell esophagus carcinoma - an analysis of Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data

// Yaqi Song 1, * , Wanwei Wang 1, * , Guangzhou Tao 1, * , Weiguo Zhu 1 , Xilei Zhou 1 , Peng Pan 1 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Huai’an First People’s Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Huai'an 223300, China * These author contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Yaqi Song, e-mail: songaqi@163.com Keywords: esophageal cancer, small cell carcinoma, radiotherapy, prognostic factors, stage Received: July 23, 2015      Accepted: November 29, 2015      Published: December 26, 2015 ABSTRACT Background and Aims: Small cell esophageal carcinoma (SCEC) is a rare malignant tumor. So far, few studies are found to research the effect of radiotherapy (RT) to it. This study is designed to explore the prognostic factors, and analyze survival benefit of RT to patients with SCEC. Results: Patients with SCEC were more likely to be in female, older, higher disease stage than those with non-small cell esophageal carcinoma. RT was used in more than 50% SCEC patients. RT tended be reduced as the disease stage raise in SCEC. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that age, year, disease stage, and RT were the prognostic factors of survival ( P 0.05) and nearly 30% risks of death in distant stage ( P > 0.05). Methods: SCEC patients between 1973 and 2012 were searched from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data. Clinical factors including age, year, sex, race, stage, surgery, and RT were summarized. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to explore the independent prognostic factors of SCEC. Cox regression survival analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of RT to SCEC based on different stages. Conclusions: Stage, age, year, and RT are independent prognostic factors of SCEC. Survival benefit of RT exists in any disease stage, but is only statistically significant in localized stage of SCEC.