POOR-PROGNOSIS IN ESOPHAGEAL CANCER-PATIENTS WITH POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS

We investigated the relationship between postoperative complications a nd prognosis in esophageal cancer patients. Two hundred five patients with esophageal cancer were divided into three case groups. Group A (n = 100) consisted of cases without postoperative complications. Groups B (n = 58) and C (n = 47) consisted of cases with minor and major pos toperative complications. The 5-year survival rates were 41.8%, 21.3%, and 20.2% in groups A, B, and C, respectively, There was a significan t difference in the prognosis between groups A and B, and also between groups A and C. Any patients who died within 5 years without a relaps e their cases were excluded from the study; the 5-year survival rates were 46.7%, 32.3%, and 22.5% in groups A, B, and C, respectively, with a significant difference between groups A and B, There were no signif icant differences between the three groups regarding the patient chara cteristics. These results therefore indicate that postoperative compli cations might contribute to a poor prognosis in cancer patients.