Should the clinical significance of supraclavicular and celiac lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal cancer be reevaluated?

BACKGROUND

Lower thoracic esophageal cancer (LTEC) with celiac node metastasis and upper thoracic esophageal cancer (UTEC) with supraclavicular node metastasis were previously categorized as M1a diseases. Our study aimed to investigate whether the clinical significance of supraclavicular and celiac lymph node metastasis should be reevaluated in thoracic esophageal cancer.

METHODS

A total of 6178 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database during 2004-2015. Treatment strategies and outcomes (OS, overall survival; CSS, cancer-specific survival) of patients with different nodal status were reviewed. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was applied to evaluate the prognostic factors. Statistical analyses were performed in all subgroups.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis identified supraclavicular node metastasis but not celiac node metastasis as an independent predictor of both OS and CSS in LTEC. However, metastasis to supraclavicular or celiac nodes was not an independent predictor of OS and CSS in UTEC. Surgery was not associated with increased OS and CSS for UTEC with celiac or supraclavicular node metastasis but was favored as a predictor of better OS and CSS for LTEC with celiac or supraclavicular node metastasis. Radiotherapy benefited OS and CSS in LTEC involving celiac or supraclavicular nodes and in UTEC involving celiac nodes, while only OS benefited from radiotherapy in UTEC involving supraclavicular nodes.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide preliminary evidence that the clinical significance of supraclavicular and celiac lymph node metastasis should be reevaluated in thoracic esophageal cancer with different prognostic information according to the primary sites.