618. A COMPARISON OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AT ONE YEAR FOLLOWING MINIMALLY INVASIVE VERSUS OPEN ESOPHAGECTOMY

Abstract Introduction Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) is being increasingly adopted in the surgical management of esophagogastric cancer. While equivalent clinical and oncological outcomes have been demonstrated in comparison with open resections, differences in health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) between the 2 modalities into survivorship remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in HR-QOL between MIE and open esophagectomies (OE) at 1 year post-resection. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing an esophagectomy at a single, U.K based tertiary referral centre for esophagogastric cancer between January 2018 – December 2022 were evaluated. MIE was defined as utilisation of laparoscopic, thoracoscopic or robotic access for at least one phase of an esophagectomy. HR-QOL at 1 year following surgery was measured using the validated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and esophagogastric cancer module (QLQ-OG25) and compared between groups. Results A total of 28 patients undergoing MIE and 25 patients undergoing OE were included. No statistical difference was noted in mean global HR-QOL between the OE and MIE cohorts at 1 year (69.33±19.50 vs 64.88±22.05; p=0.66). No statistically significant intergroup differences between OE versus MIE were observed at 1 year in physical functioning (82.67±16.89 vs 79.05±24.39; p=0.97) or role functioning (73.33±29.27 vs 67.86±32.37; p=0.60) domains. Similarly, no difference was observed in symptoms of nausea/vomiting (10.67±18.17 vs 8.93±14.69; p=0.56), pain (29.33±25.56 vs 26.79±33.44; p=0.26) or fatigue (29.78±25.40 vs 37.70±30.44; p=0.44). Conclusion HR-QOL remains comparable between MIE and OE at 1 year. Patient-reported outcomes must be assessed in the long-term to determine if minimally invasive approaches confer HR-QOL improvements well into survivorship.