To analyze the relationship between the circumferential resection margin status and prognosis and clinicopathological features of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The information of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who underwent radical resection at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from October 2017 to March 2019 were collected. All patients were diagnosed with advanced squamous cell carcinoma by postoperative pathology. Demographic data including sex, age, T stage, N stage, tumor location, lesion length, gross pathological type, vascular tumor embolization, nerve invasion and circumferential resection margin were collected and analyzed. The circumferential resection margins were evaluated using the College of American Pathologists(CAP) criteria. A total of 328 cases were included in this study according to the inclusion criteria. Using SPSS 20.0 statistical software, univariate survival analysis was assessed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves, survival curves were compared using Log-rank tests, and multivariate analysis was carried out by Cox regression. The Fisher exact and Chi-square tests were used to compare counting data.

As of the follow-up date, the 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates of 328 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were 91.9% and 84.8%, respectively. The median overall survival was 16 months(range 2-25 months). Univariate analysis showed that T stage, vascular embolism and nerve invasion were the influencing factors of overall survival, multivariate analysis showed that nerve invasion was an independent risk factor for overall survival, stratified analysis showed that the circumferential resection margin was related to overall survival in patients less than 60 years old(P=0.006), patients with ulcerative type of gross pathology(P=0.002) and patients with tumor length ≥4 cm(P=0.046). The 1-year and 2-year disease-free survival rates of the whole group were 89.7% and 67.8%, respectively. The median disease-free survival was 16 months(range 2-25 months). Univariate analysis showed that N stage was the influencing factor of disease-free survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and stratified analysis showed that the disease-free survival rate of patients with ulcerative type(P=0.002), tumor length ≥4 cm(P=0.015) and circumferential resection margin negative group were better than that of circumferential resection margin positive group. There were 66 patients with positive circumferential resection margin in the whole group, and the positive rate of circumferential resection margin was 20.1%. Univariate analysis showed that T stage, N stage, vascular embolism, nerve invasion and gross pathological type were the influencing factors of circumferential resection margin, while multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that T stage, vascular embolism and gross pathological type were the influencing factors of circumferential resection margin.

According to CAP criteria, circumferential resection margin is not related to the prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Positive circumferential resection margins of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma correlate with T stage, vascular embolism, and gross pathologic type, but not with other clinicopathologic features.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Circumferential resection margin; Pathological; Survival rate