TREATMENT RESULTS AND LONG-TERM SURVIVAL AFTER INDUCTION CHEMOTHERAPY PLUS SURGERY VERSUS SURGERY ALONE IN THORACIC ESCC: A SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE

Objective: This research was intended to demonstrate the long-term results of the surgical treatment of patients with operable esophageal scuamouse cell cancer by comparing the group treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the group treated with surgery alone. Patients and Method: 37 patients, who were documented in archives of the Republic scientific center of oncology and radiology of Uzbekistan from 2021 to 2024 years, treated with neoadjuvant chamotherapy following curative intend esophagectomy (nCS) were included to our study. For control group, patients with comparable gender and age parameters, the degree of concomitant diseases and the volume of surgery who underwent only surgical procedure (S) during the specified period were randomized. Results: Median OS was 31 months in nCS group versus 24 months in S group. 3-year survival rates were 41.65% and 29.9% respectively. Common chemotherapy complications were hematotoxicity (leukopenia) 81.1% and nausea/vomiting 67.5%. Postoperative complications were recorded in 15/37 (40.54%) patients in the nCS group and in 11/35 (31.42%) patients in the S group. One patient (8.1%) in the nCS group died within 30 days of surgery. Frequency of non-fatal therapeutic postoperative complications was almost the same in both groups. Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that preoperative chemotherapy does not affect a significant increase in the incidence of surgical and therapeutic complications in patients with resectable cancer of the thoracic esophagus, while it has been proven to prolong the overall survival. However, individualization of the combined treatment regimen in this group of patients is necessary.