Treatment strategies for elderly patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery remains a standard of care for resectable esophageal cancer (EC), and definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) is an alternative for unresectable diseases. However, it is controversial for the use of the two aggressive regimens in elderly patients.

Methods

We systematically searched multiple databases for studies comparing overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS) between dCRT and surgery (nCRT + surgery or surgery alone) or between dCRT and radiotherapy (RT) alone in elderly patients (age ≥ 65 years) until March 28, 2024. Statistical analysis was performed using random-effects model.

Results

Fourty-five studies with 33,729 patients were included. dCRT significantly prolonged OS (hazard

SUBMITTER: Yao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11373433 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature