Impact of tumor location on prognosis in patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The impact of tumor location on prognosis is still controversial in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of tumor location on prognosis in patients with thoracic ESCC and evaluate the scientific value of adding tumor location as a staging factor in the seventh edition of American Joint Cancer Committee staging system of ESCC. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 1,512 consecutive patients with thoracic ESCC who underwent esophagectomy in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and The Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University from December 1996 to December 2008. Prognosis could be evaluated satisfactorily for the entire cohort of patients regardless of employing the sixth or the seventh edition staging system. In the entire cohort of patients, no significant difference in survival was found concerning different tumor locations (p > 0.05). In the patients staged T2-3N0M0, there was no significant difference in survival between upper/middle thoracic and lower thoracic groups (p > 0.05). Adding tumor location as a staging factor in the new American Joint Cancer Committee staging system of ESCC may be not suitable for patients with ESCC in China.