Does cell type influence post-esophagectomy survival in patients with esophageal cancer?

The change in the prevalence of esophageal cancer by cell type from predominantly squamous cell carcinoma to adenocarcinoma has been well documented in the USA, UK, and Western Europe. The objective of this study was to determine if this shift in cell type resulted in a change in survival in patients treated by esophagectomy without neoadjuvant therapy. Our study group included 106 consecutive esophageal cancer patients who underwent esophagectomy without neoadjuvant therapy. Cell type was adenocarcinoma in 76, and squamous cell in 30 patients. For stage 1 tumors there was a trend towards survival advantage for patients with adenocarcinoma, but this did not reach significance. For stage 2-4 tumors and overall, there was no statistical difference in survival as a function of cell type. Therefore, the observed shift in cell type to a higher prevalence of adenocarcinoma does not alter expected post-surgical outcome.