Relationship of Tumor Length and Invasion and Lymph Node Metastasis and Relevant Risk Factors on Survival of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients

Objective To investigate the relationship between tumor length (TL) and invasion (T-stage) and lymph node metastasis and survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Methods The questionnaire, home interview and / or telephone were performed for follow-up. The Chi-square test, Nonparametric test, Spearman Correlation, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression model were applied to assess the association between TL, invasion and lymph node metastasis and survival of ESCC in high-incidence areas of Tai-hang from 1995 to 2011. Results (1) With the infi ltration increasing, the largest diameter of tumor enhanced (P <0.001); lymph node metastasis in patients with maximum tumor diameter <3 cm was signifi cantly lower than that in patients ≥3 cm (P <0.001); tumor maximum diameter and depth of invasion were positively correlated to lymph node metastasis (RT=0.379, RN=0.213, P <0.001); (2) Overall survival in maximum tumor diameter ≥3 cm was signifi cantly shorter than that in <3 cm (P <0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that maximum tumor diameter, gender, age at diagnosis, extent of invasion, lymph node metastasis, gross type, degree of differentiation, tumor location were independent factors affecting survival (P <0.05). Conclusion Tumor length was an independent prognostic factor for survival time of ESCC patients.