[Treatment of and survival after epidermoid cancer of the esophagus in the department of Finistère between 1984 and 1988 (716 cases)].

The incidence of esophageal cancer in the French county of Finistère is among the highest in France (26.7/10(5) for males). The authors analyzed the survival rates for squamous cell carcinomas from data of the Finistère tumor registry in order to describe different prognostic groups of patients using the multivariate Cox model. From 1984 to 1988, 716 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas were registered in an overall population of 828,000 residents: 675 males and 41 females. Survival was calculated using the actuarial method. Six hundred and seventy five patients died before the point date (31 Dec 1989). Only one patient was lost to follow-up. The actuarial survival rates of all patients were 89 +/- 1% at 3 months, 68 +/- 2% at 6 months, 37 +/- 2% at one year, 12 +/- 1% at 3 years and 6 +/- 1% at 5 years; median survival was 9.1 +/- 0.4 months. Survival was significantly related to cancer size, tumor extension and surgical contraindications. In the Cox model, age, cancer size, surgical contraindications, year of diagnosis were independent prognostic predictors. There was a significant increase in survival rates after 1986: median survival was 8.1 +/- 0.4 months between 1984 and 1986 and 10.1 +/- 0.5 months between 1987 and 1988. Patients treated by curative resection had higher actuarial survival rates (median survival 22.5 +/- 4.1 months) than patients who underwent palliative resection (median survival 11.3 +/- 1.2 months). In patients with cancer managed surgically, the prognostic predictors were tumor size, curative vs palliative surgical resection and association with chemotherapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)