“…Categories were based on previously published cut-off points or estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis while maximizing sensitivity and specificity. Clinical factors available before initiation of treatment that have previously been identified as prognostic factors in oesophageal cancer included gender [ 19 ], age (dichotomized into <65 and ≥ 65) [ 20 ], Histology (adenocarcinoma versus squamous cell carcinoma [ 3 , 20 ], histologic differentiation grade (good/moderate versus poor) [ 20 , 21 ], signet ring cell adenocarcinoma [ 22 , 23 ], EUS-based tumor length (dichotomized into <4.0 cm and ≥ 4.0 cm) [ 24 , 25 ], nontraversability by EUS [ 15 , 24 ], tumor location (upper/middle versus distal or gastro-oesophageal junction) [ 18 ], clinical T-status (T1b-2 versus T3–4) [ 19 , 20 ], clinical N status (N0 versus N1–3) [ 20 , 21 ], maximum lymph node diameter measured on axial CT image (<1.0 cm versus ≥1 cm) [ 26 , 27 ], and 18 F-FDG avid nodes at baseline PET [ 15 ]. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) of the primary tumor was dichotomized into <9.6 and ≥ 9.6 based on ROC curve analysis.…”