Chemoradiotherapy Followed by Active Surveillance Versus Standard Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis.

Objective: To compare overall survival of patients with a cCR undergoing active surveillance versus standard esophagectomy.

Summary Of Background Data: One-third of patients with esophageal cancer have a pathologically complete response in the resection specimen after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Active surveillance may be of benefit in patients with cCR, determined with diagnostics during response evaluations after chemoradiotherapy.

Prognostic significance of prospectively detected bone marrow micrometastases in esophagogastric cancer: 10-year follow-up confirms prognostic significance.

We have previously reported that most patients with esophagogastric cancer (EGC) undergoing potentially curative resections have bone marrow micrometastases (BMM). We present 10-year outcome data of patients with EGC whose rib marrow was examined for micrometastases and correlate the findings with treatment and conventional pathologic tumor staging. A total of 88 patients with localized esophagogastric tumors had radical en-bloc esophagectomy, with 47 patients receiving neoadjuvant (5-fluorouracil/cisplatin based) chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and the remainder being treated with surgery alone.

Using a structured morbidity and mortality meeting to understand the contribution of human error to adverse surgical events in a South African regional hospital.

Background: Several authors have suggested that the traditional surgical morbidity and mortality meeting be developed as a tool to identify surgical errors and turn them into learning opportunities for staff. We report our experience with these meetings.

Methods: A structured template was developed for each morbidity and mortality meeting.

Targeting therapy for esophageal cancer in patients aged 70 and over.

Background: While cancer is a disease of the elderly, these patients are under-represented in randomized trials. Esophageal cancer-management in the elderly is challenging because of the morbidity and mortality associated with surgery.

Objectives: We examined a strategy of neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (naCRT), followed by surgery or surveillance, in selected patients with cancer aged 70 and older.