Predictors of survival in patients with persistent nodal metastases after preoperative chemotherapy for esophageal cancer

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2009.10.003 Byline: Brendon M. Stiles (a), Paul Christos (b), Jeffrey L. Port (a), Paul C. Lee (a), Subroto Paul (a), James Saunders (a), Nasser K. Altorki (a) Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; pCR, complete pathologic response; PET, positron emission tomography; pT, pathologic T Abstract: In patients with esophageal cancer, a complete pathologic response after preoperative therapy is universally regarded as a favorable prognostic factor. However, less is known about factors predictive of outcome in patients with persistent nodal disease. The purpose of this study is to determine which variables affect survival in this patient population. Author Affiliation: (a) Division of Thoracic Surgery, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY (b) Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY Article History: Received 18 May 2009; Revised 3 September 2009; Accepted 1 October 2009 Article Note: (footnote) Disclosures: None., Dr Christos was partially supported by the Clinical Translational Science Center (CTSC) (UL1-RR024996) grant.