Preoperative chemotherapy for advanced esophageal cancer and relation with histological effect

P = 0.01), ineffective in low responders (P = 0.61), and detrimental to nonresponders (P = 0.03). Postoperative morbidity was significantly higher in the chemotherapy group than in the control group (P = 0.02). These findings suggest that preoperative chemotherapy is necessary only for high responders and we therefore need to reliably identify non-, low, and high responders before chemotherapy to improve the survival and quality of life of patients with advanced esophageal cancer. (Received for publication on June 8, 1998; accepted on Jan. 7, 1999)