Impact of the pre-operative chemoradiation therapy on complications in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the chemoradiation therapy on the incidence of postoperative complications and mortality rate in patients with locally advanced tumors of the thoracic esophagus. The study included men and women over 18 y.o. with histologically verified squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus with TNM stage cT3-4aN0-3M0. Patients were divided into two groups: patients in a main group (n=26) received a complex treatment, patients in a second group (n=30) undergoing only surgical treatment. The first stage of treatment was performed for all 26 patients and included 2 courses of preoperative chemotherapy, followed by a chemoradiation therapy with a 44-46 Gy with weekly injections of chemotherapy. Surgical procedure (R0) was performed for 24 patients (92.3 %) in the main group and for 26 (86.6 %) in a second group. Therapeutic complications were developed in 17 (65 %) patients in a first group, while in a second group this rate was in 18 (60 %) patients from 30...