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Review
. 2024 Dec;29(12):1777-1784.
doi: 10.1007/s10147-024-02639-4. Epub 2024 Oct 22.

Conversion surgery for esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancer

Yoshiaki Shoji  1 , Kohei Kanamori  1 , Kazuo Koyanagi  2 , Tetsuya Otsuka  1 , Rie Nakashima  1 , Kohei Tajima  1 , Mika Ogimi  1 , Yamato Ninomiya  1 , Miho Yamamoto  1 , Akihito Kazuno  1 , Takayuki Nishi  1 , Masaki Mori  1
Affiliations
Review

Conversion surgery for esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancer

Yoshiaki Shoji et al. Int J Clin Oncol. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

As a result of the recent advances in first-line treatment including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy (ICI) for locally advanced/metastatic initially unresectable esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancer, surgery aiming at cure after initial treatment, so-called "conversion surgery" has become more common in this field. Several studies have indicated encouraging survival outcomes for patients after conversion surgery with R0 resection. However, various issues, such the utility and the safety of conversion surgery remain unclear. In this review, we will focus on the surgical treatment for initially unresectable esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancer after first- or later- line treatment and review recent evidence regarding the safety and the efficacy of conversion surgery. Multidisciplinary treatment including surgery may serve as a novel treatment strategy for esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancer, thus provide a curative treatment option and potentially contribute to better prognosis for initially untreatable diseases.

Keywords: Conversion surgery; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma; Esophagogastric junction cancer; Induction therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conversion surgery for esophageal cancer and esophagogastric junction cancer
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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