Survival trends and conditional survival in primary non-metastatic esophageal cancer: a SEER population-based study and external validation

BACKGROUND: The dynamic survival trend of patients with primary non-metastatic esophageal cancer (nMEC) is unknown. We conducted a conditional survival (CS) analysis and developed a novel nomogram to predict it. METHODS: Patients with primary nMEC were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Independent prognostic factors of cancer-specific survival (CSS) were identified. The log-rank test and Cox analysis were used to calculate probabilities of CS. We constructed nomograms to predict survival trends and CS probabilities based on the prognostic factors. Calibration curves and C-indexes were used for internal and external validation. RESULTS: A total of 9,008 patients were identified from the SEER database and 37 patients were recruited as an external validation cohort. The 1- and 3-year CS rates were 69.6% and 43.1% at diagnosis, rising to 95.2% and 86.2% at the fifth conditional year. CS probabilities by different variables continuously improved over time. The calibration curves of the CS nomograms fit well. The C-indexes were 0.700 (95% CI: 0.693–0.709) in the training cohort, 0.693 (95% CI: 0.669–0.717) in the internal validation cohort, and 0.683 (95% CI: 0.556–0.810) in the external validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: CS rates are more dynamic than traditional survival rates for patients surviving for a relatively longer period. The CS rates of patients with nMEC improved over time and became stable after surviving for a few years. We developed and validated nomograms to predict CS probabilities.