Survival data and prognostic factors seen in Pakistani patients with esophageal cancer

Background: Esophageal cancer is common in Pakistan. An attempt has been made for the first time to look at the survival data and prognostic factors associated with esophageal cancer in this region. Patients and methods: We did a retrospective review of 263 cases seen at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi. Data analysis was done using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Squamous cell carcinoma was noted in 81% of the cases, whereas adenocarcinoma was the second most common. At the time of diagnosis, early-stage disease was found in 25%, locally advanced in 41% and metastatic in 34% of all cases. Mean age at diagnosis was 56 years, with 59% males and 41% females. Survival data were available in 89 cases. Median survival was 7 months. On univariate analysis, the following factors were of prognostic significance: obstruction, histology, albumin level at diagnosis, age and platelet count. On multivariate analysis, three factors were found prognostic: presence or absence of obstruction, squamous cell carcinoma versus adenocarcinoma and platelet count. Conclusions: We found that patients with squamous cell carcinoma and absence of thrombocytopenia and obstruction had a better overall survival. However, this is a limited retrospective analysis; we therefore recommend that these prognostic factors be evaluated in larger studies.