Synchronous Head and Neck Cancer and Superficial Esophageal Squamous Cell Neoplasm: Endoscopic Treatment or No Treatment for the Superficial Esophageal Neoplasm

SIMPLE SUMMARY: How to treat patients with synchronous head and neck cancer and superficial esophageal squamous cell neoplasm (SHNSESCN) has not been studied. This study found that endoscopic resection (ER) of superficial esophageal squamous cell neoplasm (SESCN) significantly improved overall survival in patients with SHNSESCN compared with no treatment (NT) of SESCN. Furthermore, treatment-related mortality and morbidity were not significantly different between ER and NT of SESCN. Multivariate analysis showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score and head and neck cancer disease progression were the two independent indicators of overall survival. Endoscopic resection of SESCN is the recommended treatment for patients with SHNSESCN, but further prospective randomized studies are needed to confirm this. ABSTRACT: There are no studies on treating synchronous head and neck cancer (HNC) and superficial esophageal squamous cell neoplasm (SESCN). We aimed to report the outcomes of endoscopic resection (ER) and no treatment (NT) of SESCN in patients with synchronous HNC and SESCN (SHNSESCN). This retrospective study included 47 patients with SHNSESCN. Treatment for SESCN was ER (n = 30) or NT (n = 17). The ER group had significantly lower Charlson comorbidity index scores and a higher proportion of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) scores ≤1. The location and stage of the two tumors did not differ significantly between the groups. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS rates of the ER group were significantly better than those in the NT group. Treatment-related morbidity and mortality were not significantly different between the two groups. In the subgroup analysis of synchronous advanced HNC and SESCN, ER for SESCN also had a higher OS rate. Multivariate analysis showed that ECOG PS score and HNC disease progression were the two independent indicators of OS. In conclusion, treatment of SESCN with ER is the recommended approach for patients with SHNSESCN, but further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm this.