Clinicopathological Features And Prognosis Of Esophageal Neuroendocrine Carcinoma

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma(ENEC)and its relationship with prognosis.Methods: The clinical data and follow-up data of 111 patients with ENEC treated in our hospital from 2009 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:The majority of 111 ENEC patients were middle-aged and elderly men,and the tumor location was mainly in the middle and lower segments.The clinical and imaging features were not specific.Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is the main type of esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma,accounting for 81.1%.The survival time of large cell carcinoma of esophagus was significantly higher than that of small cell carcinoma of esophagus(P=0.028),but the survival time of mixed neuroendocrine carcinoma was not significantly different from that of large cell carcinoma(P=0.901)and small cell carcinoma(P=0.182).The extent of tumor lesions is related to the stage of the patient.The smaller the diameter of the tumor lesion,the earlier the stage.The positive expression rates of immunohistochemical markers Syn and CD56 were higher than those of Cg A.Surgical treatment of patients with localized esophageal small cell carcinoma has a longer survival time than patients without surgery(P=0.014).Gender,tumor invasion depth,and lymph node metastasis are independent risk factors for prognosis.Conclusions: ENEC has a high degree of malignancy.The depth of tumor invasion is limited to the mucosal lamina propria,mucosal muscular layer and submucosal layer,and patients with small tumor diameters have greater survival benefits.Surgical treatment of local small cell carcinoma of esophagus can significantly prolong survival.However,large-scale prospective studies are still needed to determine the best treatment plan.