Treatment Outcomes and Prognosis of Patients with Recurrent Diseases after Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer

We retrospectively analyzed the treatment outcomes of 52 patients with recurrent diseases after radical esophagectomy for esophagealcancer. Median time of diagnosis of recurrent diseases was 180 days after surgery, and 90.4%of allpatients were diagnosed with recurrent diseases within 2 years. Twenty-seven patients were diagnosed with single area recurrence, and the remaining 25 were diagnosed with complex recurrence. Among patients with single area recurrence, surgical intervention was indicated in 9, and chemoradiotherapy(CRT)was indicated in 14. Meanwhile, among patients with complex recurrence, surgicaltreatment was indicated in only 2 patients. Median survivaltime was 293 days in allpatients, 611 days in single area recurrence, and 148 days in complex recurrence. Among patients with single area recurrence, those treated with surgical intervention or CRT had significantly better survival than those who underwent other treatment modalities. Although the prognosis of the patients with recurrent diseases after esophagectomy was poor, the patients with single area recurrence or treated with local therapy were expected to survive longer than patients with complex recurrence or those treated with other modalities.