Abstract 411P
Background
Despite significant improvements in staging, radiotherapy and surgery techniques, the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer remains poor. The aim of this study was to determine whether time-to-treatment initiation influences clinical outcomes in locally advanced esophageal cancer.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 252 patients with squamous cell (n=129) or adenocarcinoma (n=123), locally advanced esophageal cancer treated with neo-adjuvant chemoradiotherapy at our institution between 2013 and 2023. The association between time-to-treatment initiation on pathological or clinical complete response (cCR, pCR) rates, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) was analyzed using Cox proportional hazard analyses. Kaplan–Meier curves for short (<8 weeks) and long (≥8 weeks) time periods were constructed.
Results
A total of 252 patients were treated with neo-adjuvant chemo-radiation. Mean age at diagnosis was 68.8, 40% female. Short waiting time periods (<8 weeks) were significantly associated with higher CR rates (p=0.032), longer DFS (p=0.023) and OS (p=0.01).
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that longer waiting time periods from diagnosis to treatment initiation in locally advanced esophageal cancer patients with curative intent worsen the response and the prognosis in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival.
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.