Treatment Trends, Risk of Lymph Node Metastasis, and Outcomes for Localized Esophageal Cancer [1]
This study tracked changes in management for and outcomes of T1a and T1b esophageal cancer using data from the National Cancer Data Base. Endoscopic resection increased nearly 3-fold to 53% for T1a lesions during the interval, and increased nearly 3-fold to 21% for T1b cancers. Nodal involvement was predicted by T status, tumor size >2cm, and tumor grade. The rate of nodal involvement in resected pts was 5% for T1a and 17% for T1b. Endoscopic therapy had a lower risk of procedure-related mortality (HR 0.33). 5-year survival was better after surgical resection (88% vs 77%).