Comparison of long-term outcomes of minimally invasive esophagectomy and open esophagectomy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: To compare surgical outcomes and oncologic efficacy between minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and open esophagectomy (OE) for operable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: 81 consecutive esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who underwent MIE and another 81 patients who underwent open resection between January 2007 and December 2013 were enrolled in this study. Results: There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics and pathological features between the two groups of patients. Regarding short-term outcomes, blood loss, post-operative analgesia and postoperative stay were significantly shorter in the MIE group than in the open group, while operation time was significantly longer in the MIE group than in the open group. Overall morbidity was similar in the two groups. There were no significant differences in the 5-year overall and disease-free survival rate between the two groups. In multivariate analysis, surgical approach was not found to be a significant predictor for overall survival and disease-free survival. Conclusion: This case-control study presented that MIE may be a safe and acceptable procedure in terms of long-term results for operable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.