Factors affecting long-term survival in elderly patients undergoing radiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma

This study was conducted with the aim to analyze the factors affecting the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate of elderly patients with esophageal carcinoma. Between 2004 and 2008, a total of 371 patients aged >= 70 years treated with radiotherapy alone were enrolled in this study. The clinical characteristics and radiotherapy dose were evaluated by survival rate and the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were found to be 42, 13.2 and 9.16%, respectively. The univariate analysis revealed significant differences in T, N, M and clinical stage and radiotherapy dose (all P-values <0.05) and no significant differences in gender (all P-values >0.05). There was a difference in tumor location when only comparing the 3- and 5-year OS rates (P=0.031 and P=0.025, respectively). The multivariate analysis identified clinical stage as an independent factor for the 1-year OS rate (P=0.003), whereas radiotherapy dose and clinical stage were found to be independent factors for the 3- and 5-year OS rates (all P-values 0.05). In the analysis of radiotherapy dose, we observed no significant difference in the 1-year OS rate between the radiation dose (DT) >60 Gy and the 50 Gy <= DT<60 Gy groups (P=0.363); however, there were statistically significant differences in the 3-year OS rate between the 50 Gy <= DT< 60 Gy and the other groups (P=0.039 and P=0.032); there were no significant differences in the 5-year OS rate among the dose groups (all P-values >0.05). In conclusion, according to the findings of this retrospective study, radiotherapy alone for elderly patients with esophageal cancer does not appear to be acceptable and there is a need for a more effective treatment. T, N, M and clinical stage and radiotherapy dose were identified as factors significantly affecting the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS in elderly patients with esophageal carcinoma, although a higher radiotherapy dose with normal fractionation did not appear to improve the OS rate.