Significance of allogenic blood transfusion on decreased survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma

BACKGROUND. To the authors' knowledge, the significance of allogenic blood transfusion in the prognosis of patients with esophageal carcinoma remains controversial. The objective of the current study was to elucidate the corr elation, if any, between intraoperative allogenic blood transfusion and pro gnosis in patients with esophageal carcinoma. METHODS. Two hundred fifty-nine patients with esophageal carcinoma who had undergone esophagectomy and reconstruction were studied. The clinicopatholo gic data and survival were compared between the 87 patients (33.6%) who rec eived an intraoperative allogenic blood transfusion and the 172 patients (6 6.4%) who did not. RESULTS. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the factors that appeared to independently determine prognosis in patients with esophageal carcinoma were the depth of the tumor (P = 0.0001), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.0001 ), lymphatic invasion (P = 0.0002), venous invasion (P = 0.0008). and the o ccurrence of postoperative complications (P = 0.034). Intraoperative alloge nic blood transfusion was not found to be an independent prognostic indicat or. CONCLUSIONS. In the current study, an advanced stage of disease at the time of surgery, which resulted in the need for blood transfusion and the occur rence of postoperative complications, appeared to worsen the prognosis in p atients with esophageal carcinoma. (C) 2001 American Cancer Society.