Thoracic para-aortic lymph node recurrence in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A propensity score-matching analysis.

Background: Thoracic para-aortic lymph node (TPLN) recurrence in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is rare and its impact on survival is unknown. We studied survival in patients with ESCC who developed TPLN recurrence.

Aim: To study the survival in patients with ESCC who developed TPLNs recurrence.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively for 219 patients who had undergone curative surgery for ESCC during January 2012 to November 2017 and who developed recurrences (36.29% of 604 patients who had undergone curative surgeries for ESCC). The patients were classified into positive (+) and negative (-) TPLN metastasis subgroups. We also investigated TPLN recurrence in 223 patients with ESCC following definitive chemoradiotherapy during 2012-2013. Following propensity score matching (PSM) and survival estimation, factors predictive of overall survival (OS) were explored using a Cox proportional hazards model.

Results: Among the patients with confirmed recurrence, 18 were TPLN (+) and 13 developed synchronous distant metastases. Before PSM, TPLN (+) was associated with worse recurrence-free ( = 0.00049) and OS [ TPLN (-); = 0.0027], whereas only the intergroup difference in recurrence-free survival remained significant after PSM ( = 0.013). The Cox analysis yielded similar results. Among the patients who had received definitive chemoradiotherapy, 3 (1.35%) had preoperative TPLN enlargement and none had developed recurrences.

Conclusion: TPLN metastasis is rare but may be associated with poor survival.