LAUSR

Abstract To investigate factors related to poor prognosis of patients with stage IV esophageal cancer and to provide some bases on which proper therapeutic schemes could be formulated for stage IV esophageal cancer patients with performance status (PS) score between 0 and 2. Clinical data of 60 patients with stage IV esophageal cancer were retrospectively analyzed, and the relationships of clinical characteristics and therapeutic methods with patients’ prognosis were explored. Univariate analysis on factors possibly affecting the prognosis of patients with stage IV esophageal cancer was performed using Log-rank test, and independent risk factors for the prognosis were estimated in multivariate Cox regression analysis through embracing variables which showed statistical significance in univariate analyses. According to univariate analysis results, nutritional status, anemia, therapeutic method, esophageal stent, and visceral metastasis were main influencing factors for the prognosis of stage IV esophageal cancer (P < .05). While in multivariate Cox regression analysis, visceral metastasis was revealed to be an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with stage IV esophageal cancer. Visceral metastasis is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with stage IV esophageal cancer. Optimizing therapeutic modes according to with or without combined visceral metastasis possesses certain clinical significance in prolonging survival time and in improving the quality of life among patients with stage IV esophageal cancer.