ABSTRACT
Esophageal cancer is one of the prevalent cancers in East Azerbaijan Province. The aims of this study are to estimate the survival rate of patients with esophageal cancer by treatment modalities and tumor location, as well as risk factors such as cigarette smoking, family history, age at diagnosis, and gender. In a cross-sectional study we evaluated 142 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer [89 men, 53 women] who referred to the Educational Center in Tabriz, Iran. Demographic data, risk factors, histology, tumor location, stage and treatment modalities were collected. We followed patients for one year after diagnosis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival probability and Cox proportional hazards model for multivariate analysis of risk variables. Mean age of patients was 65.63 +/- 11.98 years. A past history of cigarette smoking was positive in 50.4% of all patients, of which 66% were women. The lower third of the esophagus was the most common site of involvement. One year survival rate of our patients was 43%, with a low median survival time of 10 months. Age, gender, and tumor location did not show any significant effects on patient survival. Patients treated with surgery or chemoradiotherapy alone as well as those who smoked cigarettes had shorter survival. Although the survival rate is low in esophageal cancer patients in our province, the life expectancy among those patients can be increased by proper selection of the treatment modality