• Lovisa Backemar, Pernilla Lagergren, Therese Djärv, Asif Johar, Anna Wikman, and Jesper Lagergren.
• Surgical Care Science, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, NS 67, 2nd Floor, 17176, Stockholm, Sweden, lovisa.backemar@ki.se.
• World J Surg. 2015 Sep 1; 39 (9): 2282-8.

BackgroundThe selection for surgery is multifaceted for patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Since it is uncertain how comorbidity should influence the selection, this study addressed comorbidities in relation to risk of severe complications following esophageal cancer surgery.MethodsThis population-based cohort study was based on prospectively included patients who underwent surgical resection for an esophageal or gastro-esophageal junctional cancer in Sweden during 2001-2005. The participation rate was 90%. Associations between pre-defined comorbidities and pre-defined post-operative complications occurring within 30 days of surgery were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. The resulting odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were adjusted for age, sex, tumor stage, tumor histology, neoadjuvant therapy, type of surgery, annual hospital volume, other comorbidities, and other complications.ResultsAmong 609 included patients, those with cardiac disease (n = 92) experienced an increased risk of pre-defined complications in general (adjusted OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.13-2.90), while patients with hypertension (n = 137), pulmonary disorders (n = 79), diabetes (n = 67), and obesity (n = 66) did not. Patients with a Charlson comorbidity index score ≥2 had substantially increased risks of pre-defined complications (adjusted OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.60-3.72).ConclusionCardiac disease and a Charlson comorbidity index score ≥2 seem to increase the risk of severe and early post-operative complications in patients with esophageal cancer, while hypertension, pulmonary disorders, diabetes, and obesity do not. These findings should be considered in the clinical decision-making for improved selection of patients for surgery.

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