OBJECTIVE: The prognostic significance of an incomplete @entity418 resection due to a positive microscopic radial margin remains unclear. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between radial margin status and oncologic outcomes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of @entity418 resections between 2004 and 2012. Radial margin status was defined according to the College of American Pathologists. Exclusion criteria were complete pathologic response (n  =  12), positive proximal or distal margin (n  =  11), R2 resection (n  =  5), and @entity189 in situ (n  =  2). RESULTS: Of 154 @entity1 , 30 (19%) had a positive radial margin (RM+) and 124 (81%) had a complete resection (R0). The 2 groups were similar with respect to age, gender, proportion of @entity5 , middle @entity5 location, rate of neoadjuvant chemoradiation and adjuvant radiation, transhiatal approach, number of examined lymph nodes, and length of proximal and distal margins. In @entity1 with stage III, the locoregional recurrence-free interval was similar between groups; however, RM+ was associated with a 17-month decrease in the median time to distant recurrence (RM+  =  7 months [95% confidence interval, 4-14]; R0  =  24 months [median not reached]; P  <  .01). The median survival was also significantly decreased by 12 months in the RM+ group (RM+  =  13 months [95% confidence interval, 7-26]; R0  =  25 months [95% confidence interval, 20-30]; P  =  .04). CONCLUSIONS: An isolated, positive microscopic radial margin was associated with a greater risk for distant recurrence. There was no impact on locoregional disease control. The role of adjuvant, systemic therapy in @entity1 with an isolated, microscopically RM+ merits further evaluation.

Prognostic significance of a positive radial margin after XXXX resection.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity189 :: ('MESH:D002277', 'Disease') :: ['carcinoma'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['squamous tumors', 'thoracic tumor'] @entity418 :: ('MESH:D004938', 'Disease') :: ['esophageal cancer']
@entity418 :: (MESH:D004938,Disease) :: ['esophageal cancer']
