Impact of weekday of esophageal cancer surgery on long-term oncological outcomes

Eur J Surg Oncol. 2024 Apr;50(4):108005. doi: 10.1016/j.ejso.2024.108005. Epub 2024 Feb 12.

Abstract

Background: Studies about the influence of weekday of esophagectomy on survival are limited and show conflicting results. This study aimed to explore whether weekday of esophagectomy affects patient's survival outcomes.

Methods: Patients who underwent esophagectomy in a grade-A tertiary hospital from January 2015 to December 2016 were enrolled. The primary outcome was 5-year overall survival (OS). The secondary outcomes were 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and days of hospitalization. The impact of weekday surgery on 5-year OS and DFS were evaluated with Cox regression, and impact on days of hospitalization was assessed using logistic regression. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to balance the confounding factors.

Results: A total of 1478 patients were included. The 5-year OS and DFS were 63.77% and 59.26% respectively. Multivariate analyses adjusted for covariables indicated that weekday was not significantly associated with OS (P = 0.076), nor days of hospitalization (P = 0.824), but it appeared to be associated with DFS (P = 0.044). Additionally, PSM analysis showed no significant effect of weekday on the 5-year OS, nor DFS and days of hospitalization.

Conclusion: In patients diagnosed with squamous esophageal cancer, the survival outcome of patients was not influenced by weekday.

Keywords: Disease-free survival; Esophageal cancer; Overall survival; Timing of surgery.

MeSH terms

  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Esophageal Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Esophagectomy / methods
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • Propensity Score
  • Retrospective Studies