Reply to Letter to the Editor regarding "Oncological outcomes of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervical esophagus treated with definitive (chemo-)radiotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis"

Abstract

In a previous study, we performed a meta-analysis of the oncological outcomes of patients suffering from cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy. Further analysis was performed, and a random effect modeling showed a pooled local-regional failure rate of 41.4% (95% CI 32.2-50.8), and a pooled distant failure rate of 21.6% (95% CI 17.0-26.5). The included studies used a median radiotherapy (RT) dose of 61.2 Gy (95% CI 60.0-62.0, range 56.0-66.0), but we measured a non-significant impact of the RT dose on the pooled overall survival (OS), suggesting that an increased RT dose might not be related to an improved OS (p = 0.23). Further research should be conducted to define predictors and prognostic categories that may select the best treatment option for each patient.

Keywords: Chemoradiotherapy; Proximal esophagus; Recurrence; Regional failure; Upper esophagus.