Survival After Recurrent Esophageal Carcinoma Has Not Improved Over the Past 18 Years

Abstract

Survival after recurrent EC in patients who undergo FU without routine imaging after esophagectomy is approximately 3 months and has not improved over the past 18 years.

Diagnostic Performance of 18F-FDG PET and PET/CT for the Detection of Recurrent Esophageal Cancer After Treatment with Curative Intent: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…90%), but both endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound fail to detect distant metastases (26). Currently, distant metastases are of particular interest because the incidence of locoregional recurrence is substantially reduced by new treatment algorithms, including neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (7). CT scans are commonly used for the detection of distant metastases, although the diagnostic value of CT for local recurrence is limited at the site of resection because of anatomic distortion caused by surgery and radiotherapy (9).…”

“…Overall 5-y survival rates of patients with esophageal cancer who are treated with curative intent remain relatively poor (34%-47%) (3,4). These low survival rates are mainly attributable to the high incidence of recurrent disease early after treatment ranging from 45% to 53% (5)(6)(7). Most recurrences occur within the first 2 y after surgery, with a median time to recurrence of 10-12 mo (6,7).…”

“…These low survival rates are mainly attributable to the high incidence of recurrent disease early after treatment ranging from 45% to 53% (5)(6)(7). Most recurrences occur within the first 2 y after surgery, with a median time to recurrence of 10-12 mo (6,7). About half of these patients (51%) are diagnosed with isolated distant systemic recurrence, which affects liver, bone, and lung mainly (5)(6)(7).…”

“…Most recurrences occur within the first 2 y after surgery, with a median time to recurrence of 10-12 mo (6,7). About half of these patients (51%) are diagnosed with isolated distant systemic recurrence, which affects liver, bone, and lung mainly (5)(6)(7). Locoregional recurrence or a combination of locoregional and distant recurrence occur less frequently (14% and 35%, respectively) (7).…”

“…In particular, baseline 18 F-FDG PET/CT has gained ground by outperforming CT alone in the detection of unexpected distant metastases (11). Accordingly, 18 F-FDG PET or PET/CT may also be a useful method for detecting recurrent disease in the postoperative follow-up of esophageal cancer patients because recurrences tend to occur predominantly at distant sites (7). In the past years, several studies have been published on the utility of 18 F-FDG PET or PET/CT in the detection of esophageal cancer recurrence.…”