LAUSR

Reply: We thank Dr. Qi-Jiang Mao et al for their thoughtful comments on the present study. It is particularly important to identify prognostic markers in patients with esophageal cancer who undergone esophagectomy because it can help determine the treatment strategy and follow-up schedule to improve survival outcomes. A clinically useful prognostic marker after cancer surgery can be a potential comprehensive predictor of diverse factors affecting survival after surgery. The degree of malignant potential of the individual cancer, one of the most important factors, should be considered to determine the value of a prognostic marker. Various factors other than the degree of malignant potential of cancer affect the survival after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Preoperative malnutrition adversely affects survival outcomes via various mechanisms, such as a decrease in perioperative anticancer treatment and an increase in postoperative morbidities. Patients who experience postoperative complications have an increased risk of recurrence and a poor prognosis. Deterioration in quality of life, activities of daily living, and nutritional status induced by surgery are possible factors that lead to death other than esophageal cancer. Other multiple primary malignancies caused by past smoking and drinking could also affect overall survival (OS) after esophagectomy. In the present study, we have suggested that mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is effective in predicting OS in patients with esophageal cancer who undergone esophagectomy. High MCV was associated with an increase in postoperative complications related to past smoking and alcohol. High MCV could reflect malnutrition, which also negatively affects shortterm outcome after esophagectomy. In