Survival and esophageal passage after radiotherapy of inoperable esophageal carcinoma. A retrospective study of 106 cases.

Survival and esophageal passage were studied retrospectively in 106 patients with inoperable esophageal carcinoma treated with radiotherapy during the years 1972 to 1983. The survival rates were 30%, 13% and 7% at one, two and three years respectively. The survival rate for the female patients was significantly better than for the males throughout these three years; 9% of the female patients lived for three years compared to only 3% of the male patients. Forty-two percent of the patients received 'radical' irradiation (greater than 50 Gy). The 3-year survival rate was 16% after a tumor dose of 50 Gy or more, and zero with a dose less than 50 Gy, but this difference might be explained by selection factors, such as patients in poor general condition not receiving 'radical' irradiation. Esophageal passage after radiotherapy could be evaluated in 62 patients, and 22 (35%) of them required feeding gastrostomy due to esophageal discontinuity, most often within one year after completion of radiotherapy. It is concluded that radiotherapy has only a slight effect on the prognosis of inoperable esophageal carcinoma.