Neo-adjuvant therapy or definitive chemoradiotherapy can improve laryngeal preservation rates in patients with cervical esophageal cancer. A Japanese nationwide survey

Background: Various options are available to treat cervical esophageal cancer (CEC), including primary resection, neo-adjuvant therapy followed by surgery, and definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). However, whether neo-adjuvant therapy or dCRT can improve larynx preservation rates in patients with CEC is unclear. This study investigated results of CEC treatment in clinical practice by a nationwide survey in Japan. Patients and methods: We retrospectively investigated results of clinical practices for patients with resectable CEC treated between 2012 and 2014, using a mailed questionnaire as a nationwide survey to 308 institutions recognized by the Japan Esophageal Society and the Japan Broncho-Esophagological Society. Results: We registered 792 patients from 93 institutions, of whom 11.1 % underwent endoscopic resection, 46.0 % underwent surgery, and 39.2 % underwent dCRT. Among patients with CEC who were considered to be poor candidates for laryngeal preservation at initial diagnosis, 24.5 % of the 139 patients treated with neo-adjuvant therapy, and 47.3 % of the 226 patients treated with dCRT preserved their larynxes. Conclusions: This questionnaire survey revealed that multimodality treatment for CEC could decrease laryngectomy rates, especially among patients who were not considered to be laryngeal preservation candidates. These treatment strategies can lead to both laryngeal preservation and postoperative quality of life, and should become more widely used.