Abstract
In a previous study, we performed a meta-analysis of the oncological outcomes of patients suffering from cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy. Further analysis was performed, and a random effect modeling showed a pooled local–regional failure rate of 41.4% (95% CI 32.2–50.8), and a pooled distant failure rate of 21.6% (95% CI 17.0–26.5). The included studies used a median radiotherapy (RT) dose of 61.2 Gy (95% CI 60.0–62.0, range 56.0–66.0), but we measured a non-significant impact of the RT dose on the pooled overall survival (OS), suggesting that an increased RT dose might not be related to an improved OS (p = 0.23). Further research should be conducted to define predictors and prognostic categories that may select the best treatment option for each patient.
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References
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ADV: study concept and design, manuscript development, review of final manuscript. AC: study concept and design, data analysis, manuscript development, review of final manuscript. BMF: data collection, manuscript development. GM: study design, review of final manuscript. DF: data collection, review of final manuscript. CF: study design, review of final manuscript. MS: supervision, review of final manuscript. AM: data collection, review of final manuscript. RC: study design, review of final manuscript. SM: data collection, review of final manuscript. CC: supervision, review of final manuscript. GS: supervision, manuscript development, review of final manuscript.
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De Virgilio, A., Costantino, A., Festa, B.M. et al. Reply to Letter to the Editor regarding “Oncological outcomes of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervical esophagus treated with definitive (chemo‐)radiotherapy: a systematic review and meta‐analysis”. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 149, 1369–1371 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-022-04441-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-022-04441-z