RESUMEN
Objective To analyze the effects of gross tumor volume(GTV-T)and positive lymph node volume(GTV-LN)on the prognosis of radical concurrent chemoradiotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC). Methods A total of 79 patients with stage N1ESCC undergoing radical radiotherapy in our hospital from 2012 to 2015 were enrolled as subjects. GTV-T and GTV-LN were calculated by the Pinnacle39.0 treatment planning system. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to evaluate the value of the GTV-LN/GTV-T ratio in the prediction of local recurrence(LR)and distant metastasis(DM)of ESCC. Results The median follow-up time was 17.2 months in all patients. The ROC curves were made using the GTV-LN/GTV-T ratio. The optimal cut-off values of GTV-LN/GTV-T ratio for predicting the risk of LR and DM were 0.34 and 0.59, respectively. The statistical analysis revealed that the LR rates were 50% and 8% in patients with GTV-LN/GTV-T ratios of<0.34 and ≥0.34, respectively(P<0.01), while the DM rates were 11% and 43% in patients with GTV-LN/GTV-T ratios of<0.59 and ≥0.59, respectively(P= 0.003). Conclusions The GTV-LN/GTV-T ratio may be a predictor of LR and DM in patients with ESCC. Further studies on the GTV-LN/GTV-T ratio may help to make personalized chemoradiotherapy strategies for patients with ESCC.