Survival Rate and Prognostic Factors of Esophageal Cancer in East Azerbaijan Province, North-west of Iran

Background: Esophageal cancer in Iran is the sixth most common cancer and is particularly important ineast Azerbaijan. The aim of this study was to calculate survival rates and define prognostic factors in esophagealcancer patients.
Methods: In this study, all patients with esophageal cancer registered in the Radiation TherapyCenter, during March 2006 to March 2011, were analyzed and followed up for vital status. Data were analyzedusing the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard models.
Results: Out of 532 patients, survivalinformation was available for 460, including 205 (44/ 5%) females and 255 (55/4%) males. The mean age was65.8±12.2, ranging from 29 to 90 years at the time of diagnosis. 1- , 3- and 5-year survival rates after diagnosiswere 55%, 18% and 12%, respectively, with a median survival time of 13.2 ± .7 (CI 95% =11.8 -14.6) months. Inthe univariate analysis, age (P=0/001), education (P=0/001), smoking status (P= 0/001), surgery (P= 0/001), tumordifferentiation (P= 0/003) and tumor stage (P= 0/001) were significant prognostic factors. Tumor morphology,sex, place of residence, tumor histology and tumor location did not show any significant effects on the survivalrate. In multivariate analysis, age (P = 0/003), smoking (P= 0/01) and tumor stage (P= 0/001) were significantindependent predictors of survival.
Conclusion: In summary, prognosis of esophageal cancer in North Westof Iran is poor. Therefore, reduction in exposure to risk factors and early detection should be emphasized toimprove survival.