Real-world evaluation of multimodal treatment practice in older oesophageal cancer patients.

Objectives: Elderly-specific data for multimodal treatment of oesophageal cancer (EC) is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of multimodal treatment in older EC patients and to compare the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT).

Methods: Patients diagnosed with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma who received NCT/NCRT were identified in the National Cancer Database (NCDB, 2004-2015). First, we compared baseline and post-treatment characteristics between younger (<70 years) and older patients (≥70 years). Logistic regression was used to investigate risk factors of postoperative mortality. Second, we evaluated the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on postoperative mortality and overall survival in the older cohort. Inverse probability of treatment weights and multivariable analyses were used to compensate for differences in baseline covariates.

Results: We 1st compared outcomes of neoadjuvant therapy plus oesophagectomy in 14 778 eligible EC patients. The older group experienced higher rates of postoperative mortality at 30 days (5.8%) and 90 days (13.5%) compared to younger patients. Postoperative mortality was significantly related to the Charlson-Deyo score and treatment-related factors including neoadjuvant therapy type and minimally invasive technique. Second, among the 3141 older patients (with a median follow-up of 57.8 months and 2029 deaths), those receiving NCT obtained significantly lower postoperative mortality and improved overall survival compared with NCRT (inverse probability of treatment weights-adjusted P = 0.05; hazard ratio 0.85; 95% Cl 0.72-0.99).

Conclusions: Neoadjuvant therapy plus oesophagectomy carries increased short-term mortality risk in older EC patients. NCT in older EC patients showed lower postoperative mortality but no statistically significant differences in overall survival, with a point estimate favouring NCT compared to the NCRT group, making NCT a potential option for consideration in specific cases.