Concordance of studies for nodal staging is prognostic for worse survival in esophageal cancer

Pretreatment clinical staging in esophageal cancer influences prognosis and treatment strategy. Current staging strategies utilize multiple imaging modalities, and often the results are contradictory. No studies have examined the implications of concordance of computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) when used for the evaluation of nodal disease. The objective of this study was to determine if concordance of CT, PET, or EUS for nodal disease predicts worse overall survival. We reviewed 615 esophageal cancer patients with pretreatment CT, PET, and EUS that underwent esophagectomy for survival outcomes based on concordance of studies for nodal disease. Concordant N+ is defined as two or three studies positive for nodal disease; non-concordant N+ is defined as only one positive study. Node-positive disease by any study predicted shorter survival than node-negative disease (42% vs. 73% 5-year survival; P < 0.001). Additionally, non-concordant N+ patients had shorter survival than N- patients (52% vs. 73% 5-year survival; P < 0.001). Concordant N+ patients had shorter survival than non-concordant N+ patients (38- vs. 61-month median survival; P = 0.017). There were no statistically significant differences in survival based on specific combinations of studies. When PET was disregarded, patients with bothCT+ and EUS+ had shorter survival than patients with eitherCT+ or EUS+ (39- vs. 58-month median survival; P = 0.029). Pretreatment CT, PET, or EUS concordance for node-positive disease predicts shorter overall survival in patients that undergo esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Predicting survival in esophageal cancer should consider the synergistic capabilities of CT, PET, and EUS in evaluating nodal status.