A retrospective study focusing on clinical predictive factors in 126 patients with oesophageal carcinoma.

In Sweden, approximately 400 patients are diagnosed each year with oesophageal carcinoma. Despite the introduction of different treatment schedules, only modest improvements in survival have been accomplished. To be able to select patients in whom a more favourable outcome of radiation/-chemotherapeutic treatment could be expected, the present study reviewed the charts from 126 consecutive patients with oesophageal carcinoma. All patients were treated at the Department of Oncology, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden, between 1990 and 2000. The charts were reviewed with focus on known and potential prognostic factors. Performance status, smoking habits, swallowing function, localisation of the tumour, leucocytes and albumin levels at first admittance, and stage of the disease were prognostic factors. However, performance status and stage of the disease only remained as significant independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis (both with p-values < 0.001). The results imply that further characterisation of tumour biology in oesophageal carcinoma is needed to find additional predictive factors for survival and future treatment strategies.