Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology Advance Access originally published online on October 4, 2006
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2006 36(10):632-637; doi:10.1093/jjco/hyl096
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© 2006 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer Enhances the Postoperative Systemic Inflammatory Response*
Department of Surgery, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
For reprints and all correspondence: Hironori Tsujimoto, Department of Surgery, National Defense Medical College, 3-2 Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-8513, Japan. E-mail: Tsujiflorida{at}aol.com
Received April 7, 2006; accepted June 16, 2006
Background: Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has been established to improve the long-term survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma. However, little is known about whether preoperative CRT may affect the postoperative systemic response.
Methods: We investigated the postoperative clinical course in terms of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in patients with preoperative CRT (CRT group) and surgery alone (SA group).
Results: Both the postoperative heart and respiratory rate in the CRT group were significantly higher than in the SA group. The duration and incidence of SIRS, as well as the number of positive criteria for SIRS, were significantly greater than those in the SA group. There was no difference in the postoperative morbidity and mortality between the two groups.
Conclusions: Preoperative CRT was found to significantly enhance the postoperative SIRS, thus suggesting its potentially higher risk of complications.
Key Words: chemoradiotherapy esophagectomy systemic inflammatory response syndrome
* Presented in part at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Japan Esophageal Society, Tokyo, Japan, 23 May, 2005.