Radiation therapy of secondary nodal metastases in the neck and mediastinum after resection of esophageal carcinoma.

Abstract

Eighty-two patients underwent curative resection for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The 5-year actuarial survival rate was 33 per cent. Sixteen of 34 patients who developed secondary nodal metastases of the neck and mediastinum were irradiated with a dose of 40 to 60 Gy over 4 to 6 weeks (81 in average TDF), which probably prolonged the survival.