Dysphagia Score as a Predictor of Adverse Events Due to Triplet Chemotherapy and Oncological Outcomes in 434 Consecutive Patients with Esophageal Cancer

Takaomi Hagi MD, Tomoki Makino MD, PhD, Makoto Yamasaki MD, PhD, Koji Tanaka MD, PhD, Naohiro Nishida MD, PhD, Daisuke Sakai MD, PhD, Masaaki Motoori MD, PhD, Yutaka Kimura MD, PhD, Taroh Satoh MD, PhD, Masaki Mori MD, PhD, Yuichiro Doki MD, PhD
Thoracic Oncology
Volume 26, Issue 13 / December , 2019

View full article HTML | View full article PDF | Download Citation

Abstract

Background

Dysphagia is a major symptom of esophageal cancer (EC) that significantly affects patient quality of life; however, little is known regarding its clinical impact on the treatment course in patients with EC.

Methods

This retrospective study included 434 consecutive patients with EC who received docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) chemotherapy as an initial treatment. We evaluated the relationships between the dysphagia score at diagnosis and clinicopathological factors, including DCF therapy-related adverse events, tumor response, and survival.

Results

The dysphagia scores were 0 in 208 patients (47.9%), 1 in 82 patients (18.9%), 2 in 52 patients (12.0%), 3 in 59 patients (13.6%), and 4 in 33 patients (7.6%). High (≥ 3) dysphagia scores were significantly associated with high incidences of grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia (FN) (79.3 vs. 35.7%, P < 0.001) and diarrhea (63.0 vs. 28.1%, P < 0.001) compared with low (≤ 2) scores. Logistic regression analysis further identified the dysphagia scores as an independent predictor of both FN and severe diarrhea during DCF chemotherapy. Furthermore, compared with low scores, high dysphagia scores were associated with a worse clinical response to chemotherapy (response rate 65.2 vs. 78.7%, P = 0.008) and worse 5-year overall survival (35.4 vs. 56.4%, P = 0.001).

Conclusions

The dysphagia score at diagnosis was an independent predictor of FN and severe diarrhea. Furthermore, this score might be useful in predicting chemotherapy response and long-term survival in patients treated with DCF.

Go to Issue Contents