Clinical outcome of photodynamic therapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

• We performed 31 cases of photodynamic therapy for esophageal cancer.
• We analyzed treatment results including survival periods and complication rates.
• We obtained 15 cases of complete remission and 16 cases of partial remission.
• Complication rates were acceptable and overall survival periods were not inferior.
• Photodynamic therapy could be feasible and safe for esophageal cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a curative treatment option or as palliative therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Medical records of patients who received PDT for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, including carcinoma in situ, were reviewed retrospectively. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method.A total of 31 cases were treated with PDT between 2003 and 2013. Treatment was for palliative purposes in 11 cases (35.5%) and for therapeutic purposes in 20 cases (64.5%). We achieved 15 cases (48.4%) of complete remission and 16 (51.6%) cases of partial remission during the follow-up period. There were 6 fatalities, 5 of which were related to disease progression. Complications, including benign strictures, occurred in 11 cases (35.5%) but there was only 1 complication-related death. Recurrence occurred in 2 patients with complete remission. Overall survival was 31.9 months for patients with complete remission and 28.2 months for those with partial remission. Disease-free survival of patients with complete remission was 21.9 months.Our data suggest that photodynamic therapy is a reasonable palliative treatment option with acceptable complication rates for esophageal cancer and could be performed for therapeutic purposes in cases of early esophageal cancer.