[Cox regression analysis of the prognostic factors of unresectable esophageal carcinoma after stenting].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: There are many factors affect the prognosis of the patients with unresectable esophageal carcinoma who underwent intubation, however, it is unclear which ones are main causes so far. This study was designed to analyze the prognostic factors of unresectable esophageal carcinoma after stenting in order to find the reasonable modalities of palliative therapy.

METHODS

Consecutive 102 patients with unresectable esophageal carcinoma who were eligible for inclusion criteria were analyzed after stenting. Twelve factors including gender, age tumor site, tumor length, stricture degree in diameter, pathologic type, grade of cell differentiation, clinical tumor stage (T, N, M), pre-stenting therapy and post-stenting therapy (radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy) were used for Cox regression model analysis. The survival rate was calculated by life table.

RESULTS

The technical sucess rate of stenting was 98.3%. There were significant improvement on the grade of swallowing function (P = 0.000) and quality of life (KPS scores, P = 0.000). The incidence rate of complications was 43.1% (44/102). The survival rates of 3, 6, 9, 12 months were 67.53%, 40.59%, 27.43%, and 18.65%, respectively. The results of Cox regression showed that invasion degree of primary tumor (T, P = 0.0410) and distal metastasis (M, P = 0.006) were the statistically significant prognostic factors. The odds ratio(ORT) was 1.750 (95% CI, 0.996-3.074) on T stage of primary carcinoma, ORM was 1.527 (95% CI, 1.126-2.069) on M stage. There was no statistical significance in the survival of the patients affected by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy after intubation.

CONCLUSION

T stage and M stage are the major prognostic factors affecting the survival of patients with unresectable esophageal carcinoma after stenting. There is no benefit for survival of patients treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy after intubation.